BUMP enjoy BIRTH relax & BABY prepare

Hypnosis for Childbirth Classes

Access the power of your own mind to enable total relaxation and comfort during childbirth.

This course is run by Lucy Coffin, Registered Nurse, Holistic Fertility Practitioner & Clinical Hypnotherapist and Jane Pardoe, Registered Midwife, Life Coach & Massage Therapist

This course is available as a 5 week course (one session per week) in a relaxed and friendly group environment, or we can tailor a one to one package to suit your individual needs (see options at the bottom of the page).

We aim to equip you with the skills to have a focused and calm attitude throughout your pregnancy and labour. We start from a physiological baseline to ensure that you are working in harmony with your body in order to have the best experience possible.

You will always be totally aware and in control as you learn how to:

• Summon instant calm and analgesia (pain relief) over your whole body
• Heighten levels of the feel good hormone ‘oxytocin’ so that your body can labour more easily
• Ensure you are so relaxed that you are working with your body to help your cervix dilate gently but easily so your labour progresses quickly and calmly
• Clear any fears or past experiences which might be causing anxiety
• Reduce the risk of complications such as caesarean section, ventouse / forceps or induction 
• Reduce the need for pharmaceutical pain relief
• Improve newborn baby health check scores (APGAR scores which assess pallor, breathing and pulse)
• Reduce the chance of your baby requiring the Special Care Baby Unit

Hypnosis feels like being very relaxed. It is pleasant and easy to achieve and is similar to the sensation of being very absorbed in watching a really great film. You will be fully aware and in control of your thoughts and actions and will be in a relaxed and friendly environment. 

We work to personalise the experience to each person and will ensure you can safely and gently ease away any fears and start to look forward to the day your baby is born. The hypnosis works to allow you to work with your body so that tension does not cause the process to be delayed or prolonged. Fear increases tension and tension increases pain. This in turn creates more fear and so the cycle continues. As your body attempts to gently dilate your cervix and ease your baby gently down this fear -tension - pain cycle increases adrenalin and causes you to tense your muscles and literally fight against your body's process. This only makes things take longer and feel more uncomfortable. Hypnosis can enable you to completely relax, thus allowing your body to labour and also making it feel much easier and more controlled.

Self hypnosis is not all you will learn on our course. We look at how your baby will fit into your life and enhance your family. We can help you to start making plans on how best to support each other and work as a team. During the birthing partner session we focus on you as a family unit. We will also build in cues for your partner to use with you when you're in labour to deepen your relaxation and pain relief. We will go through some massage and reflexology techniques they can learn which you may find helpful both during pregnancy and labour. 

It is wonderful if partners want to come to support and understand the process, but not essential, although it is very useful if they are able to attend the partner session.

Courses are run all the time and with no more than eight couples. You may well find that you make friends for life there as you get ready to experience parenthood together!

Structure: CDs are given in between classes to practise with at home, plus one for you to use on the day the baby is born if you wish.

Week 1- Welcome, discussion on what hypnosis is and is not. How hypnosis works. Relaxation session as an introduction.

Week 2 - Anatomy and physiology - how the birthing muscles and hormones work together.

              Deepening relaxation, how to create analgesia and self hypnosis.

Week 3 - Discussion around body image, Fear release session, reinforcement of relaxation and analgesia

Week 4 - Birthing Partner session - How will your family work? Massage and Reflexology techniques, Building in cues for partners  to deepen relaxation and strengthen analgesia. 

Week 5 - Active birth positions, birth breathing, discussion and explanation around the 2nd & 3rd Physiological stages of labour.

              'Rehearsal' of labour using your techniques

Week 6 - Bringing the above all together plus bonding with your baby session. What to expect in the early days. 

              Reinforcement relaxation with positive affirmations

Cost - £147 for the course and CDs (can be paid in instalments).

Suitable from 2nd trimester (13 weeks)

If you have particular needs please do get in touch. We can also work on a one to one basis with you if you have had a previous difficult experience which is impacting on your pregnancy in any way or if you simply prefer to do things in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

ONE TO ONE OPTIONS:

1) Lucy & Jane

All the content of the course split up and taught in your home. 

Two half day sessions with Lucy

One session with Jane

CDs & Resources

£197

2) Just Jane

Jane is a qualified ‘hypnobirthing’ instructor. This is done in your home over a 5 week period. This is done together as a couple if possible and includes hypnosis, antenatal education, and lots more techniques for labour. Hypnobirthing is the orginal method and is now an international franchise. More info on hypnobirthing here - www.hypnobirthing.co.uk

£300

3) Just Lucy

All of the self hypnosis and CDs as well as various tips and techniques, birthing partner session, birth breathing and helping you with any birth preferences you may have. 

This is usually done in two half day sessions or can be split up if you prefer. I tend to work mainly with the lady, bringing in the partner near the end to go through the birthing day and to experience the hypnosis. I designed this course to be flexible, personalised and affordable to all. 

£120

The easiest thing to do is to look at all the options and just go with your instinct. Whatever you choose will be perfect for you. If you would like to chat to Jane and / or Lucy we are always very happy to support you. We collaborated so that between us we could always make sure women were pointed in the direction that was best for them.