What is hypnobirthing?
Find out more about hypnobirthing and how it works!
Hypnobirthing is a complete birth preparation method that combines antenatal education, mindset work, and relaxation techniques to help parents feel calm, confident, and prepared for labour.
It empowers parents to trust their bodies, make informed decisions, and advocate for themselves, leading to a more positive and empowering birth experience—whether at home, in a birth centre, or in hospital.
Hypnobirthing also ensures birth partners play an active role, providing support and reassurance throughout the process. Using techniques such as deep relaxation, breathing, visualisation, and self-hypnosis, hypnobirthing helps to reduce fear and tension, encouraging a smoother, more comfortable labour with less need for intervention.
How does hypnobirthing work?
The biggest barrier to a smooth and comfortable birth is often our overactive and highly sensitive minds. Our thoughts and emotions influence the release of hormones, which in turn affect our reactions and feelings and how our body works. When we feel stressed or anxious, our bodies release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which can block the production of oxytocin—the hormone essential for labour.
Oxytocin plays a crucial role in labour, triggering contractions and helping them become stronger and more effective. That’s why creating a calm, supportive environment is key. Hypnobirthing techniques, such as breathing exercises, visualisatio and relaxation strategies, help reduce stress, allowing oxytocin to flow freely, which supports a smoother labour.
Hypnosis, a core element of hypnobirthing, helps the body and mind relax, providing the optimal state for birth to unfold effectively. When we are calm, happy, and relaxed, everything works better—including childbirth.
Oxytocin is so important in labour & birth
The Power of the Unconscious Mind
While much of birth preparation focuses on the conscious mind (learning positions, reading books), birth is largely driven by the unconscious mind, including our fears and perceptions of pain.
This is what makes Hypnobirthing so unique—it works on a subconscious level, helping reframe core beliefs around birth. This shift in mindset can have a profound impact on your birth experience.
By reducing fear and promoting relaxation, hypnobirthing encourages a positive birth experience, even if things don’t go exactly as planned. Many parents report shorter labour times, less need for pain relief, and a greater sense of control and empowerment during birth.
Elements of a Hypnobirthing Course
A good hypnobirthing course should cover these points…
Education
Physiology of birth and what to expect from labour
Techniques
A tool kit to keep you calm, focused and managing comfort levels in labour
Rights & choices
Understanding the maternity system and making informed decisions
Mindset tools
Hypnosis and tools to aid anxieties on a subconscious level
The biggest inhibitor to smooth and comfortable birth is our over-thinking and highly sensitive human brain. That’s because it influences what hormones are released into our body and our hormones determine our reaction and feelings.
Hypnosis allows the body and mind to be in a relaxed state during childbirth and that’s the perfect place to be to let birth unfold most effectively.
Everything’s better when we are calm, happy and relaxed right?
So much of birth preparation is focused on the conscious mind (read this book, learn this position) when actually birth is largely driven from the unconscious mind – including our fears and perception of how it might feel.
Thats what makes Hypnobirthing so special – Hypnobirthing is the only form of birth preparation that works on a subconscious level, reframing our core beliefs on birth, and this has a huge impact on our experience of it.
Hypnobirthing can help reduce fear and anxiety, promote relaxation, and create a more positive birth experience. Many parents report shorter labor times, reduced need for pain relief, and a greater sense of control and empowerment during childbirth.
Hypnobirthing focuses on a positive birth rather than perfect. Birth can be unpredictable sometimes but the aim is for you to come out of it feeling good about the experience on a whole,. feeling a sense of empowerment and control in the situation.
What’s the ‘Hypno’ Part About?
The hypno in hypnobirthing refers to the practice of hypnosis, which induces a deep state of relaxation, turning off the thinking part of the brain (the neo-cortex). In this relaxed state, we become less sensitive to external stimuli and more in tune with our bodies, optimising the flow of hormones like oxytocin.
Hypnobirthing uses hypnotherapy to help eliminate fear and build confidence, sending positive messages to the subconscious mind about birth, so you can face labour with calm and control.