Just finishing up the January series and ready to announce our next group Hypnobabies Class!
BlossomBelly Hypnobabies and Birth Doula Services will be teaching a group class in Santa Cruz, CA
starting March 18th, 1:30 – 4:30pm.
Please contact me to reserve your spot!
Beautiful Hypnobabies Birth Story! This mama went from “Why would anyone want natural childbirth?” …to…” I just had a natural pain free birth!”
Posted on a fellow Hypnobabies Instructor blog site, read the story here: http://prenatalcoach.com/inspiration-beautiful-hypnobabies-birth-story/
I’m so thrilled that soon I will have both my “babies” home for the holidays… which makes this a perfect holiday season for me. Wishing you all a joyous season as well.
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness.”
– Helen Keller
Hypnobabies allows our moms to be self- empowered: Hypno-Moms find that preparing for childbirth using the power of their own minds, tuning in to their bodies and babies, and trusting the birth process, allows giving birth to be an empowering, life-affirming journey.
– Hypnobabies
Announcing our next group Hypnobabies Class!
BlossomBelly Hypnobabies and Birth Doula Services will be teaching a group class in Santa Cruz, CA
Starting January 15th, 1:30 – 4:30pm.
Please contact me to reserve your spot!
Private classes are always available too.
Announcing our next group Hypnobabies Class!
BlossomBelly Hypnobabies and Birth Doula Services will be teaching a group class in Santa Cruz, CA
Starting October 30th 1:30 – 4:30pm.
Please contact me to reserve your spot!
Benefits of using hypnosis for childbirth – part 2
Many Hypno-mothers have shorter labors since hypnosis training can minimize discomfort and fear, and create less resistance between the birthing muscles. Using deep hypnosis, muscles in the body remain very deeply relaxed, which allows the uterus to work more effectively.
- From Hypnobabies
I’ve completed all the training and requirements and I’m just waiting for my certification to come through now! I will soon be offering Hypnobabies Childbirth Education classes right here in Santa Cruz. Check back for more information soon, or contact me to inquire…
UPDATE: Certified! Can’t wait to begin teaching….
Benefits of using hypnosis for childbirth – part 1
Expectant moms are “deprogrammed” from the typically negative childbirth stories and scenarios they’ve heard by participating in Birth Hypnosis classes and listening to audio CDs that actually re-train the inner mind in a very positive way. This allows them to remain relaxed and confident during pregnancy and to enjoy preparing for childbirth.
- From Hypnobabies
excerpted from Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices, lamaze.org
Healthy Birth Practice #1: Let Labor Begin on Its Own
Induction of labor—starting labor artificially—is one of the most controversial issues in maternity care today. In many hospitals, labor is induced only for medical reasons, and care providers follow strict guidelines. Yet, in other hospitals, women have elective inductions—those done for convenience rather than for medical reasons. Many women are confused about when induction is truly necessary. Are there problems with induction? What are the benefits of letting labor begin on its own? When does it make sense to induce, and when is it better to wait? What is safest for you and your baby?
Your body is perfectly designed to birth your baby. During the last weeks of pregnancy, your body and your baby prepare for birth. For a first-time mother, the baby often “drops down” into the pelvis in the weeks before birth. The cervix tilts forward and gradually begins to soften. Over a period lasting from a few days to a few weeks, you may (or may not) feel irregular contractions that help your cervix gradually thin and, perhaps, even dilate a few centimeters.
During the last part of your pregnancy, your baby’s lungs mature, and he puts on a protective layer of fat, taking on the characteristic chubbiness of a newborn. Critical brain development continues through 41 weeks of gestation. Scientists estimate that there is a five-fold increase in the volume of white matter in the fetal brain from 35 to 41 weeks gestation. Researchers are still investigating how the brain continues to grow after the baby is born, compared to how the brain grows when the baby is still inside his mother (Kinney, 2006).
When the baby’s organs are fully mature and he is ready for life outside his mother’s uterus, scientists believe the baby’s body releases a tiny amount of a substance that signals the mother’s hormones to begin labor (Condon, Pancharatnam, Faust, & Mendelson, 2004). The surge of maternal hormones that accompanies full-term gestation and spontaneous vaginal birth appears to help the baby prepare for the transition from life inside the womb to outside and, especially, for breathing with his lungs for the first time (Jain & Eaton, 2006). Even if you know ahead of time that your baby needs to be delivered by cesarean surgery, the best way to tell that your baby is healthy enough to be born is to let labor begin on its own.
Interested in the whole article? Read on here
I am loving all this hypnosis! I can hardly wait for my next practice sessions, it’s so much fun. After years of meditation and putting myself into a relaxed trance state, I’m really enjoying leading my practice clients through the scripts and into hypnosis. Even my most stressed out family members tell me they feel good upon awakening. I’m realizing more and more just how much I am going to enjoy being a Hypnobabies childbirth instructor. I’m already a hypno-doula, qualified to support any mothers using hypnosis during childbirth. I can’t wait to add these childbirth classes to my list of services, and to help moms and families enjoy greater relaxation at their births using hypnosis.
What if you were pregnant, but didn’t even know how you got that way? What if you were giving birth, but didn’t know where the baby came out?
Imagine going to the hospital to have your baby, but having no idea what lay ahead, and having no loving friend or family member to help you through.
Most of us do have the basic information about pregnancy and childbirth. We know how the baby got there, and how it will make his/her way out. We live in a culture where women are open about their bodies, share their birthing stories, and pass on the latest information and advice. But what if you come from a different culture, that does not talk openly about sex, pregnancy, or birth?
I recently spoke to a woman who came from such a background and went through her first pregnancy and birth just as I described, having no idea how she got pregnant or how a woman gave birth. Her partner wasn’t allowed in the hospital room, and the whole experience was extremely traumatic for her. She is now doing things differently with her daughters, hoping to create an atmosphere of openness and respect.
Not everyone has access to much needed information or a network of support. Many don’t know that doulas are available to provide information, navigate the many childbirth options, and provide physical and emotional support during labor and birth.
For those just beginning your pregnancy journeys, whatever your background and culture, here are my top 3 ways to enhance your experience:
Most importantly… don’t forget to stop and marvel… a baby comes out there!
Enjoy your baby!
Holding your baby close stimulates all of her senses. A baby who is smiled at, talked to and cuddled will develop a sense of security. Breastfeeding is more than simply providing nutrients and calories for physical growth – it contributes to an intimate and special relationship.
You and your baby have the right to breastfeed anywhere, anytime and there are many techniques to help you achieve this comfortably. Ask your friends, family, midwife, lactation consultant, doula, or attend a breastfeeding support group to see how it can be done.
– excerpted from Public Health Agency
I’m continuing to work on my hypnosis class on my way to becoming a Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis Instructor.
My latest assignment was to try out some suggestibility tests – on myself first. It was a simple assignment and I did it easily in just a few minutes. But this simple task led to some complex thoughts. Taking the time to sit quietly, by myself, forgetting everything around me, reminded me of the years that I spent meditating. Every morning I spent 45 minutes in what was basically a hypnotic state. Because I did this faithfully every morning, it became second nature for me to enter that meditative state. All I had to do was sit down and I’d be there, feeling the energy running up my spine and letting my stress and worries take a break of their own for awhile. The most remarkable things happened in my life during those years that I was meditating, and I fully believe there is a connection. How did I let myself move away from this practice? It’s time to make time for this again. I know I will better be able to help my future Hypnobabies clients when I’ve been faithfully practicing my own self – hypnosis. Ooohhhhmmmmm!