Convenient New Course Venue

I've just found a great venue for a course which will help people in Surrey or South London. This week I visited The Banstead Centre which is in a really convenient position just off the M25. There's plenty of parking there, and I'm delighted that The HypnoBirthing Centre can start courses there in the summer. It plugs a gap in the provision of courses in that area, and is in a relaxed and quiet setting. Have a look at the website for details of dates www.thehypnobirthingcentre.co.uk.

Sticking to your guns to achieve a beautiful HypnoBirthing child-birth

Hello again,

I wanted to reproduce this story in full, as its something quite remarkable and very inspiring for those of us that believe strongly in the benefits of natural child-birth, for both baby and mother. Liz did a HypnoBirthing course with me a few months ago, and ended up walking into a hospital situation she wasn't happy with. However she had the courage and conviction to take things into her own hands and achieve a healthy natural birth on her own terms.

Here is Liz's remarkable HypnoBirthing story...

"Being told that your waters have broken and that you are putting your baby's life at risk by not following professional advice is hard to hear. The strange thing is, a woman's intuition is much stronger than a doctor trying to take control and do what they think is best.

Trying to explain to them, however, that you know that your baby is fine and well is another matter. After giving mixed reports of whether my waters had gone or not I was sent to Bath hospital to discover the truth. I was examined after 3 hours of being on a machine, listening to Alfie's heart and watching my surges be printed - no you are not in labour I was told - what is that then I thought?

Three days before I was 3 cms dialated - what is labour then? I don't think they believed me as I was so calm and in minimal pain. They examined me and explained that yes my waters had gone and then the flurry of information - disease, infection, responsibility, harm, care - words thrust thoughtlessly into the air - as if I was for one minute going to put Alfie's life at risk? I knew that he was fine and would continue to be fine if I kept my nerve. I asked to see the delivery room above screams next door that sounded as if someone was being murdered and doctors running up and down the corridor asking for emergency blood supplies. I looked at the room - cold, medical and unfriendly. I would not be allowed the bath as I would be connected to electricity - that is dangerous you see? Do I look stupid? The possibility of induction scared me senseless. I asked if the drip could be removed after 'getting going' and was informed no as I would just stop again.

After feeling near to despair I asked for my notes and said that I would be back at 7 if necessary. The midwife rolled her eyes and sighed as if I was such a pain in the arse. An hour wouldn't make any difference - I would love to see her to explain that my baby was born at 7 on the dot!

I walked out with a sense of fear - not for giving birth but that someone could try and control me. I rang Liz for advice and was told to pray - excellent advice. I rang my homeopath and was told what remedies to take. I picked up my mum from the station, who just so happened to be in Bath and within 10 minutes was having surges every 3 minutes. We went home and ate Spaghetti Bolognaise amidst my mum saying every 5 minutes 'anyone for a cup of tea?' My husband could see that things were getting closer and suggested we take the trip to Paulton. Upon arrival I was so calm that the midwife waited to examine me - she was used to my false starts! The look on her face when she discovered that I was 8-9 cm dilated was a picture.

Within 3 1/2 hours Alfie was born calmly into the world feeling no stress and not crying at all. The experience was magical and beautiful. I will never forget those first precious moments when Alfie was looking around the room wondering about life outside the womb and who his parents were. My whole family came into the delivery room to welcome him too.

Alfred Tom on his first day

I have had flashbacks to the time I spent in Bath and it still upsets me greatly that they said what they did. If I hadn't been strong enough to follow my intuition, our story would have been a
completely different one and I don't think Alfie would be the peaceful baby that he is. The HypnoBirthing course helped me to believe in myself and follow my intuition - it has been amazing and the best £270 we have ever spent!

If you know in your heart that you are right, without a doubt, then stick to your guns, so that more babies are born peacefully and calmly, with a mother's love and intuition, not technology and fear.

Thanks again and lots of love to you

Liz, Jim and Alfred
xxx"

Fantastic HypnoBirthing News from the US

A US hospital has started offering HypnoBirthing to its mothers for the first time, and the first birth has been predictably a great success. A great story here in the New Jersey Times, it looks like sanity may finally be catching on!

Story follows.....

"The Hopewell Township woman was in paradise -- not as a result of frequent-flier miles or winning a contest. She reached the imaginary place through self-hypnosis -- and did so while in labor, opting for the self-induced state over pain medication to deliver a healthy baby boy, her first child, after four hours of labor.

Giller is the first to deliver her baby at University Medical Center at Princeton after completing the hospital's new HypnoBirthing course. The five-week course teaches expectant mothers self- hypnosis techniques such as visualization, guided imagery, special breathing techniques and positive affirmations. It can result in a faster, less painful and less stressful experience during a time traditionally distressing for the mom-to-be.

Says Linda Stout, certified Hyp noBirthing instructor and class teacher at UMCP: "Often the discomfort and pain felt in labor is brought on by tension caused by a mother's fear of pain. A woman who learns how to decrease her anxiety through techniques of Hyp noBirthing can also reduce the pain she feels."

For Giller, it couldn't have gone more smoothly. The pain of labor was manageable, she said, using hypnosis to work with her body instead of against it.

"The breathing technique helped me tremendously, and when I let go of the fear and pain, it was as if someone had just given me drugs," she says. "It totally re laxed me. I pictured a place where I was happy and a beach in the Caribbean is a happy place. In between the contractions, I pretended I was there."

Childbirth changes The business of birthing has changed over the years from the traditional hospital setting to one that now includes involvement by a midwife and the use of hypnosis as a way to reduce or eliminate pain medication. Some clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of hypnosis in reducing pain following surgery, as well as provid ing relief from cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, headaches, arthritis and other conditions.
The HypnoBirthing program taught at UMCP was developed 18 years ago by New Hampshire hypnotist Marie Mongan and has since grown in popularity. Today, it is taught internationally by more than 1,700 doctors, nurses and midwives, including Stout, a registered nurse, who were trained and certi fied by Mongan's institute.

For the excited parents-to-be, the big moment arrived at 5:35 p.m. Dec. 16 when Susanne and husband, Oliver, welcomed a baby boy, Alexander Heinz Giller, who weighed in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

Four hours of labor.

No pain medication."

More of the story here.....

What is HypnoBirthing?

What is HypnoBirthing?: "Graves, Katharine. (2007, October 22). What is HypnoBirthing?. EzineArticles. Retrieved January 18, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-HypnoBirthing?&id=794366"

A Well Lived Life: Amazing 67 Hour HypnoBirth Story

Hello everyone,

For this post I have found a nice HypnoBirthing story posted by Carol Yeh-Garner from San Diego in the US, on her "Well Lived Life" blog. Please read and enjoy this post - yet another great story about HypnoBirthing.

Of course I particularly liked the bit at the end where the mother said:
"It was really amazing. HypnoBirthing was awesome! I still had lingering doubts that it would work beforehand & I have a lot a practice using meditation for other things, but it turned out to be a great experience. He's a really mellow baby & he's so alert. I wouldn't have been able to have a 67 hour birth without HypnoBirthing." She said the midwives were very impressed & said they've never seen a woman talking through the transition stage. One midwife said "I've never seen anything like that...smiling & talking while you were pushing!".

Here is a link to the full story.......

A Well Lived Life: Amazing 67 Hour HypnoBirth Story: "Hi-

I wanted to share a really amazing HypnoBirth story from one of my class participants:

Kristin & Will (July 2007 class) shared their birth story with me. I spoke to Kristin over the phone & took detailed notes.


Here is Oliver's birth story:Tuesday 11/6/07--Kristin's mom arrived in town. She had been eagerly awaiting her arrival.


Wednesday in the middle of the night--felt surges start, tried to sleep

Wednesday day--all day the surges were about 4 minutes apart,"

From a first time HypnoBirthing Mum

embracing ennui: "To Those Medical Personnel Who Will Be Attending My Labor and Delivery:
I’m a first-time, hypnobirthing mom, and I’d appreciate any consideration and thoughtfulness in working with me and with this birth plan. I understand that I am nowhere as experienced and knowledgeable as the hospital’s nursing staff when it comes to labor and delivery, but there are a few things which I would like to work for in my own personal labor and delivery experience."

Hello my little boy

A really nice story which talks about Independent Midwives and HypnoBirthing:

Hello my little boy: "The other thing I invested in was going on a Hypnobirthing course. I am so glad I did this as well because the techniques and tips we learned there helped make my labour a chilled out and manageable one.

Now,

Although the baby's head had been about 2/5 down in the pelvis since week 37 I had absolutely no other signs of imminent labour right up until I woke up at 1am on Sunday the 30th (having slept for only two hours, doh!) with strong, regular contractions 4 minutes apart. To be honest I had been expecting labour to start itself off more slowly and that I'd be able to drift off between contractions in the latent phase but no, it was all systems go from the beginning."

A week in the snow!

This is just to say that I'm away for a ski - the first time in years and I'm so looking forward to it. I'll be back on the 14th of January ready for the next HypnoBirthing Courses, which start:

• In Teddington on January 19th.
• At the Triyoga Centre in Primrose Hill on January 20th.

Please keep your questions and comments coming, I may be able to check emails while I'm away, and if not I'll answer promptly on my return.

Fearless Birthing: Great HypnoBirthing interview and testimonials!

Here is a link to a great HypnoBirthing site in the USA. Kim Wildner pracices HypnoBirthing in Wisconsin USA, but here has an interview and a little other information that should interest anyone considering HypnoBirthing.

See extract from a post below from Kim....

"I've been far too busy to do the blogging I've been wanting to do! However, one thing I did do recently was this interview with Sheri Menelli (link below), author of Journey Into Motherhood: Inspirational Stories of Natural Birth, and it turned out great! She called a couple of my past clients to talk about their experience, and the link here is the end result."

Fearless Birthing: Great HypnoBirthing interview and testimonials!

January Blues? - not in Wiltshire.

Not here, because I'm off skiing for the first time in several years on Sunday, but there's lots to do before then. Since the New Year the phone hasn't stopped ringing for HypnoBirthing couples, and it looks like I'll have to cut down a little on 1 to 1 client work just to keep up with the HypnoBirthing demand!

I did do a nice course yesterday however - it was a one-off evening workshop for a lovely couple in Bath yesterday who had done HynoBirthing for their first birth 18 months ago, but then found themselves on the induction conveyor belt so had been unable to have the natural birth they had planned. They wanted a specially designed refresher course so that their second baby can have a calm and natural birth in February.

Then I did Part 1 of an HynoBirthing course at my home this evening because the couple will be away for the first day of the course at the end of the month so I laid on a Part 1 especially for them so that they wouldn't miss out.

I'm planning the summer programme and on into the autumn and waiting for the venues to come back to me with approval of the suggested dates, so we'll put them on the web site as soon as they start coming through. There have also been lots of new bookings and courses filling up fast now that Christmas is over and mothers are enquiring who will be having their babies as far ahead as May and June, so things are looking good for 2008 so far.

On the home front I'm trying to get ready to go skiing (did I mention that!), spent a whole day moving furniture so the house could be tidier, had lunch with Alice in Stroud today too. I'm going to Qigong in Bath tomorrow, a workshop on Saturday and is flying out early Sunday. I'll let you know how the skiing went when I get back - I'll see if I can get any photos!