Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better

Product Information

Pregnancy and parenting books can be a great source of advice, guidance and comfort. From books for first and second-time mums to guides on hypnobirthing, water births, breastfeeding and the fourth trimester, and books written for dads-to-be, there’s a huge variety on the market.

Here are the best hypnobirthing books 2023. The best hypnobirthing books, audio and apps: at a glance This class will enable you to navigate your birth experience with confidence, equipping you with practical tools that will help you to feel calm and in control throughout. It doesn’t matter how your baby appears, or when, or with what help; what matters is that you are fully informed of the choices available, and that you feel calm, respected and supported each step of the way. After this class, you will feel more confident and empowered to make the right decisions for you and your baby, allowing you to have the best birth possible. Course content In fact, when it comes to pregnancy, birth and parenting, a good rule of thumb is: never miss an opportunity to sleep. Once your baby is here you will come to appreciate every moment of sleep. Sleep is so important for your well-being."Expert hypnobirthing teacher and founder of The Positive Birth Company Siobhan Miller has made it her mission to change the way women around the world approach and experience birth. Through her teaching she seeks to educate and empower women - and their birth partners - so that they can enjoy amazing and positive birth experiences, however they choose to bring their babies into the world. Reading the title, I thought this would be about hypnosis, but it's actually about breaking a cycle of fear and trying to create an environment where the mum-to-be can relax and allow her body to work its natural magic. It's not dogmatic about birth needing to be 'natural', and the author says to be ready for changes to the plan, and that a C-section is just as positive as a vaginal birth if it feels positive. I'm grateful to no longer be the quintessential helpless father figure, but the "keeper of the cave", responsible for managing the environment, relaxing mum, supporting her through the breathing exercises, and being by her side throughout the experience. Also, there are claims such as "Birth is not supposed to be painful!". This can make women who experience a painful birth (the majority !!) feel like they are doing something wrong and it's their fault. Breathing and relaxation are important, but I remain skeptical that by "making the birth room feel like a spa" and "use your 5 senses to relax" I can have a pain-free labor. Last hilarious thing is the advise to ask the surgeon to dim the lights and use a small light during a cesarean birth! I am not going to interfere with a surgery and tell a doctor how to do their job, and honestly would feel much safer and relaxed knowing that they can see well!

Fast forward to the delivery suite, and it seemed that hypnobirthing came into its own, and I took more on board than I perhaps thought. Any mum will know that you get into your zone when in labour, and I think the breathing and reframing of the birth away from terrifying to positive with a hypnobirthing approach massively helped me (as well as being fed Haribo gummy bears on demand for the whole labour). I managed to get through labour without pain relief, something I’d never imagined possible before, and I definitely credit that to the techniques I learnt. Most empowering pregnancy book: Your No Guilt Pregnancy Plan: A revolutionary guide to pregnancy, birth and the weeks that follow I read Your Baby, Your Birth by Hollie de Cruz and it’s brilliant. I also did the Positive Birth Company online course and although I haven’t read Siobhan’s book, the course was brilliant and I liked her approach.” (Recommended by Mumsnetter Excitednerves) Our verdict A great option if you’d like a personalised class at home, the Inspire Mum & Baby sessions are delivered over five classes and can be tailored to you in terms of timing. Some of the content you can expect to learn includes how to assist, rather than resist, your natural birth instincts; optimal position for baby during labour and birth, and how to avoid artificial induction (where possible). Giving birth—however you choose to do it—is truly the most amazing thing you will experience in your life, and meeting your precious baby for the first time is one of life's most unforgettable moments."Whether it’s on a ward or birthing centre, the guided audio has been designed to help women practise self-hypnosis to help you overcome a fear of labour and feel more calm and relaxed. Using the sights, sounds and smells from a hospital the audio puts in place triggers so your mind knows what to do when you go into labour. There are currently 62 episodes, with two new ones released every month. For anyone wanting to research and learn more about hypnobirthing and how it can be put into practice, this is a great place to start. Leaning more into the Hypno part of Hypnobirthing where a lot of the other resources I've read or classes have tried to distance themselves from things like scripts for relaxation; the general parts, talking about using your BRAIN as an acronym for Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Instinct rather than just taking the first option that comes to you is one of many structures that the author has formalised in her own way and is generally good advice. There’s really no set time for this so it’s totally up to you. Obviously, the more time you give yourself to learn the techniques the better - especially if you plan on doing a course - but you can start as early as say six weeks or as late as 34 weeks, or even later. Hypnobirthing teacher and Founder of The Positive Birth Company, Siobhan Miller’s name pops up again and again on our Mumsnet forums. In her book, Siobhan aims to debunk common myths around hypnobirthing while educating women so they can have more control over their body, resulting in a more positive birthing experience.

In this review, I'd like to share the contents of this book to give an idea to those who are interested in reading it as well. At the start, Siobhan Miller explains the science behind hypnobirthing, how the body works, and why it's so important for mothers to be relaxed. This first chapter describes how the uterus needs blood and oxygen for the muscles to work effectively. I also learned the importance of one of the happy hormones, oxytocin, during labor and birth. I think it is essential to understand how the system works because being frightened about the birthing process proves to be unhelpful. I especially love how the author constantly reminds us that what we see on TV or in movies doesn't represent a real birth experience—because that's what most of us imagine how it would be.

8. Best hypnobirthing book for a relaxing pregnancy: Mindful Hypnobirthing: Hypnosis and Mindfulness Techniques for a Calm and Confident Birth by Sophie Fletcher

Throughout my pregnancy, I've been trying to read several books that will prepare me for what's to come. One of the most important topic that I'd like to know more about is the process of birthing a baby. Hypnobirthing was recommended to me by a close friend who gave birth last year and told me it had helped her tremendously. So a few months before my due date, I made it a mission to finish reading this book and see what it has in store. Even though some parts of this book felt irrelevant due to the different cultures in my country, I'm still grateful I took the time to read it because it allowed me to understand what will happen during labor and delivery. I can't say much about the hypnobirthing techniques because I haven't got a chance to practice them yet, but I think it's worth trying since it sounds so logical and science-based.

As someone who enjoys yoga and have experience with breathing techniques for meditation etc, I can see this being useful. Obviously I won't know how useful for a few more weeks yet, though! Being pregnant for the first time, I was absolutely terrified about birth (aren’t we all?!). I usually (and still do) faint during a routine blood test. So the thought of bringing another human being into the world was beyond scary. For a while, I just avoided thinking about it; denial seemed to be a good default. That changed when a friend mentioned hypnobirthing. She was very much into yoga pre-pregnancy (I wasn’t), so I was a little sceptical that it would be for me. I thought it was really reserved for the wellbeing and mindfulness crew (not the chocolate and Netflix gang). Looking for the lowdown on all things hypnobirthing in Singapore? Searching for the best classes to get clued up? We've got all the intel from a mum who's a hypnobirthing sceptic turned convert... Tommy’s Pregnancy Hub describes hypnobirthing as “a method of pain management that can be used during labour and birth, involving a mixture of visualisation, relaxation and deep breathing techniques.” Basically, it uses hypnosis to take on labour pain, helping mums re-frame pain and to see childbirth as a positive process. The general idea is if you can reduce the fear factor that comes with birth, your body can relax and produce endorphins rather than the stress hormones that can cause your muscles to tense up, which should make birth a little bit easier. What are the benefits of hypnobirthing? In this book, Siobhan debunks common myths about hypnobirthing and explains why she believes it can make every type of birth a better experience - from a water birth at home to an unplanned caesarean in theatre.Not sure where to start? We have you covered. We did the research and searched the BabyCentre Community to find out which pregnancy books our parents and parents-to-be enjoyed reading so you can enjoy them too.