HOW HYPNOBIRTHING CAN HELP FACILITATE A GENTLE, CALM CHILDBIRTH

02/01/19 • 87 min

WHAT IS HYPNOBIRTH?

This week’s episode is all about HypnoBirthing and how gentle, calm, and natural childbirths are possible.

HypnoBirthing was first created by Marie Mongan 30 years ago when she published her book “HypnoBirthing: A Celebration of Life” and started the HypnoBirthing Institute.

The Hypnobirthing classes are 2.5 hours long and are generally taken once a week over a five week period. However, if your due date is in less than 5 weeks, usually special accommodations can be made with a practitioner for the classes to be completed before the due date.

But to discuss Hypnobirthing even further, I chatted with Tara from organichypnobirthing.com. It was such an enlightening conversation to learn that labour didn’t have to be a painful, traumatic experience that is often portrayed in the movies.

DURING THE EPISODE WE DISCUSS:

How HypnoBirthing is empowering for the mom, the partner, and the baby
What the fear-tension-pain cycle is and how to avoid it during labour
The importance of continuous breathing and therefore a continuous oxygen flow to both mom and baby during birth
Tara shares her own birth experiences of giving birth with Hypnobirthing vs. without
How we shift to the limbic part of the brain during labour – so logic thinking is gone
Why we need to raise the bar from just “healthy mom and healthy baby”. While it is something that is important, it’s not the only important thing.
How HypnoBirthing mothers have a rate of C-section at 13% versus the national average that is at 33%
Why pregnant women should fill their mind with positive birth experiences and videos
How the birthing experience sets the tone for the parenting relationship the parents have – team effort during birth goes a long way
How a positive, empowering birthing experience can really bring couples closer together and move them positively into their new roles as parents who work as a TEAM

This was definitely an action packed episode full of tons of wisdom.

RESOURCES

Tara’s website: http://organichypnobirthing.com
Official HypnoBirthing website to find practitioners near you: https://us.hypnobirthing.com/
Tara’s Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbvrSXvzA-FERJy8OMZyDFA
Video of a mother giving birth with HypnoBirthing techniques
Connect with Tara on Instagram: http://instagram.com/organicbirthing/
Connect with the host on Instagram: http://instagram.com/chemistkarma/

WHAT IS HYPNOBIRTH?

This week’s episode is all about HypnoBirthing and how gentle, calm, and natural childbirths are possible.

HypnoBirthing was first created by Marie Mongan 30 years ago when she published her book “HypnoBirthing: A Celebration of Life” and started the HypnoBirthing Institute.

DURING THE EPISODE WE DISCUSS:

How HypnoBirthing is empowering for the mom, the partner, and the baby
What the fear-tension-pain cycle is and how to avoid it during labour
The importance of continuous breathing and therefore a continuous oxygen flow to both mom and baby during birth
Tara shares her own birth experiences of giving birth with Hypnobirthing vs. without
How we shift to the limbic part of the brain during labour – so logic thinking is gone
Why we need to raise the bar from just “healthy mom and healthy baby”. While it is something that is important, it’s not the only important thing.
How HypnoBirthing mothers have a rate of C-section at 13% versus the national average that is at 33%
Why pregnant women should fill their mind with positive birth experiences and videos
How the birthing experience sets the tone for the parenting relationship the parents have – team effort during birth goes a long way
How a positive, empowering birthing experience can really bring couples closer together and move them positively into their new roles as parents who work as a TEAM

This was definitely an action packed episode full of tons of wisdom.

RESOURCES

Tara’s website: http://organichypnobirthing.com
Official HypnoBirthing website to find practitioners near you: https://us.hypnobirthing.com/
Tara’s Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbvrSXvzA-FERJy8OMZyDFA
Video of a mother giving birth with HypnoBirthing techniques
Connect with Tara on Instagram: http://instagram.com/organicbirthing/
Connect with the host on Instagram: http://instagram.com/chemistkarma/

Previous Episode

Have You Been Lied To About Circumcision?

Myths Surrounding Circumcision

For This week's episode, I interviewed Brendon Marotta, the director of the documentary film called American Circumcision that was newly released on Netflix.

We talked about how much of what we're told about circumcision is a plain myth and how those myths must be addressed before the conversation can move forward.

For one, many medical aspects we were told about circumcision either aren't true or are extremely exaggerated while the risks are majorly downplayed.

Also, unless there was an extreme botch that's immediately noticed, they almost always go unreported and many problems aren't revealed until the male has reached puberty. This makes it very unlikely that the dots will be connected 15+ years down the line.

Another aspect of the conversation I find to be very interesting is asking the question if we even have to right to remove part of a vital organ without someone's consent? Is that a violation of rights even if there were actually medical benefits to it? Doesn't that seem like an extreme solution for something that is a preventative measure?

Other aspects we discussed include:

How it's so normalized we've lost our ability to objectively look at the practice. (i.e. suggesting to cut off part of a newborns pinky finger as a preventative measure would seem crazy, but when it's male genitalia we don't blink an eye)
Many forget that it is a surgery and the risks must be weighed before agreeing to move forward with it
It's the only preventative surgery that is done and the only type of surgery that doesn't include a prolonged routine follow-up to make sure there were no complications
All genitalia practices are cultural and something that happens at the identity level (i.e. men say "I AM circumcised" not "I HAD a circumcision")
It is generally not a skilled surgeon performing the surgery, but often medical students who have only done one or two prior
Infants CAN and DO remember the pain from circumcision (somatic memory - see studies linked below)
Circumcision was used in the Victorian era as a means to desensitize the penis in hopes of preventing masturbation (they now claim that no feeling is lost from removing the foreskin)
Religious aspects of the conversation including: how it originally was a much smaller procedure when done as a religious ceremony and how the practice is actually not supported by Christianity

It was such an intriguing conversation with Brendon and brought many nuances to light. However, I highly recommend watching the full film over on Netflix or at circumcisionmovie.com.

Resources:

Stay up to date with the film on Instagram at instagram.com/circmovie
Find the host at instagram.com/chemistkarma
Hickey and Anand pain study
Study- Exposure to Early Life Pain: Long Term Consequences and Contributing Mechanisms

If you enjoyed the show, I'd love if you could leave a 5 star review on the Apple podcast app so more women can find this vital information. See you next week!

Next Episode

The Fourth Trimester:

Post Partum and Why it Matters

This week's conversation centered all around the postpartum phase and why it is so important.

To learn all about this topic, we were lucky enough to be joined by Kayla Levine, a postpartum expert and doula.

Her offerings to the world include:
Postpartum Doula Care
Placenta Medicine Making
Vaginal Steaming for Womb Health
Postpartum Education & Planning
Birth Worker Support Groups

All of her offerings are holistic in nature. She looks at the whole body, mind, and spirit in her approach to helping you remember your body’s innate healing abilities.

Also be sure to head over to tucsonplacentaencapsulation.com to download a FREE 10 page ebook Kayla has created for us all about 4th trimester planning for the modern mama.

OUR CONVERSATION

To me, I was most surprised to learn that the postpartum phase could actually bring about radical healing if just a couple of important factors were focused on.

Many women also experience the onset of autoimmune conditions and other chronic illness after birth - basically the opposite of radical healing. However, Kayla says two key factors contribute to which side of the story you are on: 1.) nutrition and 2.) community support

She also said that she believes postpartum depression should really be called postpartum DEPLETION. As the root of what is wrong is micronutrient deficiencies and lack of support.

Pregnancy can be quite taxing on the body and much higher quantities of nutrients are needed during that time. If those needs are not met, the body pulls from stores that it has saved up. This is why after pregnancy many women are extremely depleted of certain nutrients that are not common in a standard American diet.