“My labor was so fast I didn’t have time to use my hypnobirthing techniques”

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard this and I can’t help but smile knowing that all of the preparation that you (and your partner) did contributed to that shorter, less stressful, more positive birth experience.  

Let’s be clear.

It wasn’t a fluke.

It wasn’t luck.

It wasn’t an accident.  

It was preparation.

Don’t believe me?  Go check out the many many similar experiences of hypnobirthing parents around the world. It’s not a coincidence that so many parents in hypnobirthing groups repeat the same thing over and over again.  There’s one big common denominator - preparation.

What Do I Mean When I Say ‘All of the Preparation’?

Preparing for your baby’s birth using GentleBirth has to be the most enjoyable ‘work’ ever.  Most of our preparation is done either lying on the couch or tucked up in bed – hardly a huge commitment especially for the incredible benefits for the whole family!   (That’s the foundation work – you’ll also learn about comfort measures. meditation, breathing and navigating your way through your birth options too).  The sooner you start the sooner you’ll feel excited instead of stressed about labor and you’ll enjoy your pregnancy so much more. 

Your daily practice has a cumulative effect as in the more regular your practice the better you feel. (And yes I recommend you take a daily ‘nap’ as you listen to the app – you don’t even need to hear it for it to work – how amazing is that!)

Never feel guilt for napping in pregnancy - sleep deprivation is associated with more pain in labor! If that isn’t a guilt free excuse to to lie down right now I don’t know what is!

If you’ve been to a GentleBirth workshop or worked with a doula trained in supporting GentleBirth families you and your partner have a game plan for the big day.  You’re more likely to stay home longer to hack those birthing hormones which means your body works so much more efficiently without stress hormones putting on the brakes of labor progress.  All of that snoozing on the couch and sleeping really well at night (compared to non GB moms) retrained your automatic behavior from panic to excitement when labor starts so your body can just get on with the job of birthing (and that can be quite quick and intense for some of our moms). 

In some hypnobirthing classes birth partners are expected to read scripts to mom throughout labor.

That can be almost impossible (and incredibly stressful) if your partner is doing the double hip squeeze or pressing on those acupressure points when things are moving fast.  (This is why the Labor Companion in the GentleBirth App is such a favorite with our GB parents as it frees up the partner/doula to focus on comfort measures). 

So if you’re one of the many moms that thinks you didn’t get to use your hypnobirthing during labor stop right there.   Give yourself credit for doing so much ‘work’ in the months leading up to your guess date to retrain your brain so that you didn’t need to listen to the app on the day itself or have anyone read a script to you through your surges. 

Don’t forget - all that time spent relaxing during your pregnancy listening to the app, getting excited about your baby’s arrival and stressing less meant your baby spent more time marinading blissfully in the hormones of love and anticipation and less often being bathed in the hormones of stress and worry. What an incredible gift you gave to your baby long before labor began.

Own your positive birth! 

You worked for it (and probably not very hard if you’re like most GentleBirth parents).

(Note to partners: Always suggest playing the Labor Companion during labor even without headphones.  Or play the GentleBirth music in the background can be helpful as mom is already entrained to that music through her app practice).

Don’t forget to subscribe below for Part 2 next week!

Did you experience something similar in your labor?