Fear of Childbirth: How HypnoBirthing® Can Help, Earlier The Better

Photo by Øyvind Holmstad

When pregnant women call to inquire about HypnoBirthing®, they often tell me they want to take the classes later in pregnancy, so as not to "forget" what they have learned in class. In fact HypnoBirthing educators worldwide know from experience that it is better for women to start classes earlier in pregnancy. You can start HypnoBirthing classes anytime from the beginning of the second trimester. The more time to practice, the better women can integrate their newly learned techniques. While many moms-to-be contact us around 15-22 weeks pregnant, some wait quite late in pregnancy. In order to encourage more women to start classes early, we should call our classes Pregnancy Classes, rather than Childbirth Classes! Clients invariably tell us that the amazing benefits derived during the pregnancy alone were worth taking HypnoBirthing, as they feel less anxious and more relaxed, both physically and emotionally, starting from the first class.

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A new study published by the National Institute of Health in the US sheds light on why starting classes early would be important. In their survey on Fear of Childbirth and Preference for Cesarean Delivery Among Young American Women Before Childbirth (1), researchers found that fear of birth is similar among pregnant and non-pregnant women. The study concluded that attitudes toward birth are formed in young adulthood or earlier. Furthermore, women with a high degree of fear were FOUR times more likely to prefer Cesarean birth. Based on the results, researchers recommended that fears related to pregnancy and birth should be addressed by Public Health Initiatives before pregnancy, with a focus on promoting birth as a normal life event. 

HypnoBirthing®, which is celebrating 25 year anniversary this year, is an extremely powerful method in releasing fears going back to early childhood by teaching pregnant women not only relaxation and breathing techniques, but self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is the most effective and fastest way to change deep-seated, negative beliefs about childbirth, ourselves, and the world around us. HypnoBirthing can greatly increase the success of VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). While there were amazing results even for women who started our HypnoBirthing classes as late as 37 weeks of pregnancy, it stands to reason that we all need time to shift beliefs held since childhood. HypnoBirthing allows women to have a more relaxed and better birth experience. To find out why Jessica Alba, Anna Trebunskaya, and the Duchess of Cambridge used HypnoBirthing, read some of our HypnoBirthing stories HERE and check out the statistics of over 2,000 HypnoBirths. Contact us to see how HypnoBirthing® can benefit you during your pregnancy, birth, and beyond!

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26104997

Kris Pedder is owner and operator of Beautiful Bellies Doula Care in Toronto, Canada. Kris is a Doula, HypnoBirthing and Childbirth Educator, a Certified Hypnotist and Fertility Consultant, and HypnoBirthing Institute Regional Liaison for Ontario and Eastern Canada.