What is hypnobirthing?
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.
Hypnobirthing 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.
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
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, visualisation 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.
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.