If you are pregnant and have been thinking about potentially doing a Hypnobirthing course but are unsure if it’s for you, or how it works, read on to hear a first hand account from a very happy client who recently did the course with Polly and had a beautiful, positive birth using all the learnt techniques.
“Without hypnobirthing, I would not have been prepared for giving birth at all. This was my first baby, and I was going through my pregnancy focusing on what life would be like as a mother, blocking out thoughts about the actual birth. This until I met my sister’s friend, who made me realise I was suppressing thoughts of the birth out of fear, and that I should absolutely prepare myself through hypnobirthing: she regretted not doing so with her first, and had a much better experience with her second thanks to the relaxation techniques she’d learnt.
Luckily, upon moving to Bath, I found Polly, who was the perfect guide along the hypnobirthing journey. She is a kind and gentle person whose methods really put my partner and I at ease around the other people who attended the course.
Thanks to hypnobirthing, I was able to cope with a) the discomfort and b) the unexpected elements of my birth in a much calmer way than I otherwise would have. (These being a strong urge to push at 7cm dilated that completely took over due to my waters not breaking fully and an amniotic sac fooling my body into thinking it was the baby’s head! This meaning the baby was in the birth canal for longer than would have been ideal, and his heart rate had to be monitored on the way out.)
In spite of this, I was able to give in to the situation and take control at the same time – give in to what my body was doing but also push things (literally) along with my strong willpower and determination, narrowly avoiding a ventouse and episiotomy! There was no fear or panic, I just gave in to what my body was doing with some help from gas and air, and I know that I would have panicked without the preparation I received thanks to Polly’s help.
The classes consisted of a great mix of audio (mp3s and Polly reading passages to send you off into a relaxing trance), visual (birth videos), and kinaesthetic content (practical breathing exercises, practising birthing positions, showing partners where to massage the lower back, etc), as well as group conversations and lecture-style slides. We found this mixture of teaching techniques very stimulating.
Hypnobirthing is not an airy fairy technique, it includes pragmatic scientific knowledge about birthing as well as the promotion of mindfulness during this all-important phase of a woman’s life!
Finally, I benefitted from the very nice and relaxing venue, its perfect location in the centre of Bath, and appreciated the lovely home-made snacks you made. Thank you Polly for contributing positively to my birthing experience”.
Patricia, Bath
