HypnoBirthing

HypnoBirthing by Marie F. Mongan was a book I wished I read before baby came! I loved this book. I am grateful to have read it now though while I am designing my childbirth prep course so I can incorporate it. While I don't completely agree with everything in the book (maybe because my own experience was without learning about hypnobabies?) I think some of the exercises are extremely valuable. Not everyone is going to peacefully breathe their baby out - some birth fears are so deeply rooted you'll still have some resistance mentally and physically. Not to mention each labor is physically different and it can be very challenging to adopt the kind of mindset advocated for in HypnoBirthing in certain situations. Very beneficial but very hard. Then, it's nice to have other things to turn to - such as physical comfort measures and even medical comfort measures. But, this still gives you three very powerful tools to handle labor and birth. The three types of relaxation breathing especially spoke to me. I needed something to focus on. Something to "do". And focusing on breathing was great. Visualization and touch relaxation I found take much more concentration and it's more likely my mind will wander. But, it's different for everyone so I'm going to introduce all three methods of relaxation in my classes and you'll have options galore when labor starts.

Another thing that really appealed to me in this book was the emphasis placed on mindset in the beginning. The mental clearing out fears and doubts is something I figured out myself when I thought the stresses of pregnancy were going to drive me insane. It's nice to see that what I figured out on my own is part of a method specifically designed to relax you and help you feel more in control. Seeing it in this book, it's easier for me to explain and help others implement it. The work of explaining how I mentally adjusted to my upcoming labor is done for me in this book. I would definitely recommend anyone associated with birth to read it. Knowing these techniques you can help relax a mom who's never even met you or heard of hypnobabies before! It's that good.

#birth #hypnobirthing #bookreview #childbirtheducation #naturalbirth