HypnoBirthing® is a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education, enhanced by self-hypnosis techniques. It provides the missing link that allows women to use their natural instincts to bring about a safer, easier, more comfortable birthing. Emphasis is placed on pregnancy and childbirth, as well as on pre-birth parenting and the consciousness of the pre-born baby.
HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method is designed especially to serve the 95 percent of families whose pregnancies fall into the normal, low or no-risk categories. If you are a part of this vast majority, HypnoBirthing will teach you techniques for relaxation and visualization, along with physical exercises and a sound nutritional guide that will help you to ease through a happy, healthy pregnancy and childbirth.
"My dream is that every woman, everywhere, will know the joy of a truly safe, comfortable and satisfying birthing for herself and her baby." ~ Marie F. Mongan |
Preparing to welcome a baby is a life-changing experience, not just through pregnancy and birth, but for the rest of your lives. HypnoBirthing offers a remarkably simple, relaxed approach to this most important transition, as you step into your role as parents and, together, become a family.
Your journey into parenthood is one of the most amazing experiences that you will ever know. Choosing to explore HypnoBirthing will make the event all the more fulfilling.
Making this choice, however, is only one of many decisions you and your partner will make along this journey. It will be a very busy time for you, and many of the decisions are so important when you consider how they could impact your lives and that of your baby.
A key factor for many of these decisions is closely tied to how you look upon birth and how you regard your own role in this adventure into pregnancy, birthing and parenting. The material in HypnoBirthing will help you and your birthing companion to sort through many of the important aspects of pregnancy and birth, and assist you in your role as parents. The program is designed for you both, for your birth companion will play a vital role during your pregnancy and the birthing itself. You will attend classes together and actively take part in exercises and practice. If you detect a bit of hesitancy of the part of your partner, perhaps you will want to consider a secondary birthing companion for your labour and birthing. Both people will be welcome at your classes. But know that it's not unusual for a partner who was initially hesitant to absolutely blossom when he or she becomes involved with the discussions that take place. Most become more willing to assume an active role through the preparation phases and labour, even if this wasn't the case at the beginning.
The realization that you are carrying and will soon give birth to a new life is bound to evoke a number of feelings and emotions that you have never felt before. Like most parents-to-be, much of your thinking is given over to this little baby you are carrying and for whose birth you are preparing. This is very important. Reflect on how very special you are, as well as your feelings about the changes that are taking place as your baby develops
This experience, no matter how many children you have, is unique to you and your baby. This child will never be physically born again, and its birth can never be duplicated. There are no other human beings in the world who could conceive this tiny person and bring him into the world. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it's only natural that you and your birthing companion are seeking a birthing that is as safe, satisfying and naturally comfortable for your baby as possible.
HypnoBirthing is designed to enhance those feelings of uniqueness and awe, helping you to reach an awareness of your body as the most perfect instrument of nature - the vehicle through which your child will miraculously develop and enter into this world. Birthing is nature characterized at its best. It is the implementation of the highest power of life that ensures the survival of the human race. All other works of nature pale by comparison to the miracle of birth, and you both are at the heart of that wonderful miracle.
Nature has been working with you from the very beginning of your pregnancy to prepare your body of this great wonder. Your perfected body works in harmony with your mind. You will learn how to work with nature, and you will become consumed with preparing for a naturally safe birth through proper nutrition, good posture, fitness and an attitude of trust in the birthing process. You will come to understand that when your mind is free of fear and tension, your body can be free of pain and will function as it was created to do.
With these understandings and the HypnoBirthing techniques that you will practice, you empower yourself with confidence that will allow you to experience the birthing of your baby with relaxed expectation and joy.
"A pregnant woman is like a beautiful flowering tree, but take care when it comes time for the harvest that you do not shake or bruise the tree, for in doing so, you may harm both the tree and its fruit." ~ Peter Jackson |
You look forward to serving as a birthing companion - husband, partner, friend, sister, mother - have a very special part to play in HypnoBirthing. Countless women who have given birth through this program have laid the success of their birthing experience directly upon the support and assistance of the birth companion. The support and bonding that take place throughout labour and birthing create a partnership, the beauty of which defies description. Couples report that they become closer than they ever thought they could be. The knowledge that she is supported by a caring and loving companion is one of the most important factors in maintaining the emotional wellbeing of the pregnant mother and the baby she is carrying.
It is important that you share in the task of selecting a health-care provider who will support you in your wishes to have a normal, safe birth. Most dads find that they are quite welcome when they attend prenatal visits and enjoy sharing the excitement of learning about their baby's growth and development. Your willingness to take the lead in assuring that the birthing you both have planned becomes a reality is vital, and your confidence will help to build the mother's confidence, as well as pave the way for a good relationship with your provider.
By learning techniques to support the mother during pregnancy, and participating in the necessary practice at home, you give assurance to your baby that he or she is already an important part of your lives.
As an integral part of the process, you bring the necessary elements of trust and assurance to the birthing environment. You will be the facilitator - helping her to condition her mind to relax in response to your prompts. The sound of your voice and the touch of your hand will guide her through labour. The attention, understanding, encouragement and closeness creates a sharing that is unequaled, and all these things will help create a bond that will linger throughout your lives.
If you are approaching this birth with fear of watching someone you love experience discomfort, the HypnoBirthing classes will allay those fears. You and the birthing mother will learn techniques that will alleviate discomfort and possibly even eliminate it. Your support and love help to make this happen.
A woman in labour can be vulnerable, sensitive and unassertive. You will be her advocate, her spokesperson, her guide. You will be the liaison between her and your caregivers, both before and during birthing.
Your presence and support, especially during the actual birthing, cannot be equaled. And, at the moment of birth, you will feel the exhilaration that comes with knowing that together you have made this miracle - one that neither of you will ever forget.
"Somebody said that no one can love a child the way a mother can. Somebody was never a father." ~ Unknown |
HypnoBirthing's philosophy is tied to the way that birthing as practiced in ancient times- as a celebration of life. It is as much a philosophy of birth as it is a technique or method for birthing. The basic tenet of the program is that childbirth is a normal, natural and healthy function for women. As such, birth can be accomplished gently and calmly for the very large number of women who are not in a high-risk situation.
Like the bodies of our sister creatures in nature, the bodies of healthy pregnant women instinctively know how to birth, just as their bodies instinctively know how to conceive and how to nurture the development of the babies they are carrying. HypnoBirthing helps mothers align with their own innate capacity to be able to give birth gently, comfortably, powerfully and joyfully. We don't promise births that are totally free of discomfort, but we firmly believe that comfortable birthing is a possibility for 95 percent of birthing mothers through this philosophy and program.
"It is not only that we want to bring about an easy labour, without risking injury to the mother or the child; we must go further. We must understand that childbirth is fundamentally a spiritual, as well as a physical, achievement.The birth of a child is the ultimate perfection of human love."
~ Grantly Dick-Read
HypnoBirthing is helping women reclaim their right to call upon their natural birthing instincts, and with the total involvement of their partners, they are creating one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
HypnoBirthing continues to be a safe vehicle for those parents who are learning that they have options and are actively exploring them to find the optimal setting for their birthing. they are not willing to settle for anything less than the best for their babies.
Each year, thousands of couples are joining the ranks of HypnoBirthing families. Like you, these couples want the very best for themselves and their children, and they are taking responsibility for seeing that it happens. They are planning and directing the course of their pregnancies, and confidently looking forward to a joyful birthing experience.
Families embracing the belief that birth is about them and the wonderful life-changing transition they are making into parenthood don't really need to be taught how to birth. They simply need to learn about birth. They come to understand that when the mind is free of stress and fear that cause the body to respond with pain, nature is free to process birth in the same well-designed manner that it does for all other normal physiological functions.
If you haven't already fallen madly in love with your baby and are not playing and communicating with her on a daily basis, now is the time. Getting acquainted with your baby is a very magical experience, and you don't have to wait until she is born to enjoy making this connection. You can begin to connect socially and emotionally with your unborn baby as soon as you know that you are pregnant. In addition to making your pregnancy so much more enjoyable and exciting, when you "tune in" to this little person who has become part of your life, you lay the foundation for a relationship that can last for the rest of your lives. Pre-birth parenting activities tell your baby that she is welcome and wanted. |
The idea that both parents influence their pre-born baby is neither supposition nor superstition. The close bond that is built while the baby is still in the womb can be very real when it is time to connect with your baby during birthing.
Thanks to the relatively young study of fetology, advanced during the late seventies and early eighties by Dr. Thomas Verny in his book The Secret Life of the Unborn Child, we know that babies are cognizant during their time in the womb. In addition to developing physically, babies are developing mentally, emotionally and psychically. Parents should do all they can to be sure that the baby's emotional development, his sense of well-being and his esteem as a loved being are being fostered through caring and consistent pre-birth parenting.
"Leave it to a baby to turn your world upside down, take your breath away and make you fall in love again. With his toothless grin, your baby sets your heart on fire."
~ Jan Blaustone
Understanding the origin of many of the beliefs and myth surrounding birth that we, as a culture, have come to accept can assist you in making some of the decisions you will face in preparing for this most important time in your lives. The HypnoBirthing classes will introduce you to ways in which you can connect with your pre-born baby and build a better understanding of your baby as a conscious little person, who is fully able to interact with you, even before birth. You can learn how to prepare your mind and your body in such a way that you will be able to achieve a happier birthing regardless of your present intent.
The content of this program is not intended to replace the advice and care of a health-care provider. You should always seek the advice of a qualified professional caregiver for all pregnancy-related matters.
"We believe that every woman has within her the power to call upon her natural instincts to bring about the best possible birthing for her baby and herself"
~ Marie F. Mongan