Has the Duchess of Sussex found the secret to a Positive Birth experience?
The Duchess of Sussex is expected to give birth any day now, and following in the footsteps of her Sister in Law the Duchess of Cambridge, it's been reported that she too, will be using the mystical techniques of hypnobirthing. Made fashionable by the royals and their celebrity peers, is hypnobirthing the key to a positive birth experience, or one step too far on the scale of celebrity fads?
Megan Rossiter, hypnobirthing practitioner and founder of Positively Birthing, uses her online voice to share the message of hypnobirthing and give women all over the world the tools and information they need to make their births a positive experience!
'It might surprise you to discover that hypnobirthing is actually grounded in science, evidence based and not quite as Derren-Brown-esque as you might have thought', Megan says. The Positively Birthing hypnobirthing course provides women and their birth partners with a thorough antenatal education, an understanding of the physiology and mechanisms of birth and how they themselves can influence the emotions surrounding labour and the environment they give birth in to aid the process of birth itself.
Something that has a big impact on the physiological processes of birth is the emotion of fear. Hypnobirthing draws from the practice of hypnotherapy which has been used and recommended by doctors for years to effectively manage fears and phobias and is therefore easily translated to the feelings many women have about giving birth.
So there's no swinging pocket watches, and no one will be clucking like a chicken! Hypnobirthing is probably more comparible to something like sports psycology- to put it simply, the tools of hypnobirthing enable women to utilise the power of their mind to help their body perform as it's best physically!
Research has shown that hypnobirthing reduces the chance of intervention, but Megan says 'this isn't the be all and end of all of utilising hypnobirthing in preparation for birth. The ability to remain calm and focussed and take control of the decision making around your birth choices (as The Duchess has already demonstrated when selecting her own, non traditional, birth support team) gives women the power to make whatever their birth looks like a truly positive experience!'
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Notes to editor:
Megan Rossiter qualified hypnobirthing practitioner, Cert HE Midwifery and founder of Positively Birthing is available for further expert comment on this story or related stories around the birth preferences of the Duchess of Sussex.
Tel- 07702306973
Email- info@positivelybirthing.com
www.positivelybirthing.com
Instagram @positivelybirthing
References
McAllister, S., Coxon, K., Murrells, T, et al. (2017). Healthcare Professionals’ attitudes, knowledge and self-efficacy levels regarding the use of self-hypnosis in childbirth: a prospective questionnaire survey, Midwifery. Apr;47:8-14.
Swencionis, C., Litman-Rendell, S., Dolce, K., et al. (2012). Outcomes of HypnoBirthing. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health. Vol. 27, No. 2, Winter.
Werner, A., Uldbjerg, N., Zachariae, R., et al. (2013). Antenatal Hypnosis Training and Childbirth Experience: A Randomized Controlled Trial. BIRTH 40:4 December, 272-280