I have recently worked with a couple who desperately wanted to conceive again, but the woman was having very irregular cycles.  Although she was ovulating, it was not occuring until day 24+ of her cycle and the following luteal phase was too short to allow implantation to occur at just days.  The woman wanted to prepare her body as much as possible to give herself the best possible chance of conceiving and was already doing a great deal to be as healthy as possible.  However, they both work long hours in very stressful jobs and were also concerned about how a new baby would change their family's dynamics, having several children already. I suggested that she and her partner listen to a Prepare to Conceive Natal Hypnotherapy CD every evening to aid relaxation, and to help deal with any anxiety or unspoken issues that may be holding her back from conceiving.  After the first two months of this preparation, the woman's cycle was more regular, with ovulation now around day 19 and the luteal phase extending to 7-8 days, so they decided that they would "actively" try to conceive the next cycle.  Amazingly she conceived that month!!!  They both put this down to the hypnosis allowing them to feel and be more relaxed, more in tune with her body systems and releasing their joint anxieties about coping with the much wanted new addition to their family.  They wanted to share their positive experience with you and are now very much looking forward to their new addition due in the New Year!

A recent article in "The Practising Midwife" commented on the usefulness of being able to incorporate Hypnosis into Midwifery.  It warns of women consulting hypnotherapy practitioners who have no formal training in obstetrics and who are unaware of the techniques and processes of modern midwifery.  "Such practitioners may create unrealistic expectations in women, creating problems rather than alleviating them".  I can tell you from first hand experience that this can lead to numerous difficulties, having cared for a number of women in labour let down by hypnotherapy practitioners with insufficient knowledge of birthing who have built unrealistic (and sometimes dangerous) expectations of birth, creating conflict between the birthing woman, her birth attendants and midwife.  Not a picture wholly conducive to the atmosphere of relaxation, mutal respect and confidence required for women to birth comfortably and calmly!

Consequently, the ability to utilise my Midwifery skills and knowledge has always been paramount to my Natal Hypnotherapy practice.  Unlike HypnoBirthing (which is a very specific technique), Natal Hypnotherapy allows me to incorporate my numerous Midwifery skills and extensive knowledge and experience, ensuring that I am able to use the most appropriate and efficacious techniques for each individual.  In this way, women can achieve the best possible outcome for them and their baby - and this is most likely to be a natural birth. But if events take a different course, they are still able to manage them confidently, calmly, effectively and appropriately, still gaining a positive experience of birthing, whether it be in hospital or home, with or without an epidural, vaginally or by caesarian section.  Being able to explain and understand pregnancy complications is important for women who already have underlying issues with their health or pregnancy and this knowledge has enabled me to help women to adapt their hypnosis to their specific circumstances and situations and to explore ways of optimising their chances of having a positive birth experience adapting their birthing environment / hypnosis script to empower them to take control of thier experience. This is the point of hypnosis for birth - giving women confidence to take control of the experience, empowering them to make the right choices for themselves and their babies and to have a good birth experience, whatever, wherever and however.  The lower rates of intervention, less need for drugs, less postnatal depression and higher rates of normal spontaneous birth and higher APGAR scores for their babies are the wonderful "side effects" of Natal Hypnotherapy!!!

A comparitive study carried out in British Columbia, Canada looked at all planned home births between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004.  The outcomes of these births were compared with those conducted in hospital by the same cohort of registered Midwives.  The results showed that planned home births attended by a registered Midwife were associated with the same very low rates of perinatal death as those planned hospital births, but also were associated with LOWER rates of intervention (such as electronic fetal monitoring, assisted vaginal delivery, caesarian section and episiotomy).  Other adverse perinatal outcomes (third/fourth degree perineal tears, posptartum haemorrhage, raised temperature) were low in both groups, but significantly LESS LIKELY for those women choosing a planned home birth.

Overall the study offers more evidence in support of planned home births with a registered Midwife for healthy women experiencing healthy pregnancies.

Drugs routinely administered to women during labour, like oxytocin and ergometrine, may be associated with reduced breastfeeding rates according to a new study, reported in "Midwives" the official magazine of the Royal College of Midwives.  The study found reduced breastfeeding rates when the drugs were used as part of routine management of the third stage (delivery of the placenta), with a reduction in breastfeeding of 6-8% at 48 hours following birth.  Prostaglandins used for inducing labour were also associated with lower rates of breastfeeding.  The study just goes to show that "routine" use of drugs can have a detrimental effect on the delicate hormonal balance of normal healthy pregnancy and birth.  Whilst some women and babies do need to have drugs administered to ensure their safety, this study reinforces the need to support women in labouring without the use of drugs as far as is possible, and also highlights the need for all women to receive adequate encouragement and support to breastfeed their babies successfully.

Ref:

Jordan S, Emery S, Watkins A, Evans JD, Story M, Morgan G (2009) Associations of drugs routinely given in labour with breastfeeding at 48 hours: analysis of the Cardiff Births' Survey. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2009.002256.x

Herts Holistic Health Centre is a group of accredited and recommended holistic health practitioners.  Containing contact details and taking bookings for a huge range of practitioners for all areas of life including root cause healing, counselling, EFT, colonic irrigation, reflexology, reiki to name but a few.  Lorraine Berry has now joined their list of qualified, accredited, approved  and recommended practitioners under the headings of Natal Hypnotherapy and Antenatal courses.  Visit their website today and search for Lorraine under these heading on the drop down menu on the left!!

Come along to the Mums in Business event on 28th May 6pm-9pm at Wolsey Hall, Cheshunt for your chance to win a £200 voucher for a Natal Hypnotherapy course with Lorraine Berry!

The Mums in Business event will showcase a wide variety of businesses, from jewellry and beauty, to Mini IQ and music train classes for kids.  As part of this exciting event, Lorraine Berry from Birth Affinity will be on hand to answer your questions and offer advice about birth preparation and the use of hypnosis for birth.  You will also have the opportunity to sample a mini relaxation technique and to purchase CD's, homeopathic kits, birth balls and courses on the night.

As part of the event, Mum's in Business are holding a raffle in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.  Birth Affinity are delighted to be able to support this fantastic cause and have donated a £200 voucher to be raffled on the night.

Come along to Wolsey Hall, Cheshunt from 6pm to 9pm - Support local Mums in Business, Macmillan Cancer support and win a voucher!

A Dutch study of low- risk women has found that giving birth at home with a midwife is as safe as giving birth in hospital.

The researchers looked at a sample of 529,688 low- risk women in primary midwifery care who gave birth between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2006.  The findings showed that 321,307 (60%) women planned to give birth at home and 163,261 (30.8%) intended to give birth in hospital. The researchers examined the perinatal mortality rate during the first 24 hours after birth and the first week after deliver and found no significant differences between women who gave birth at home with those who planned a hospital birth.

Furthermore, babies of women who had planned a home birth were equally likely to be admitted into a neonatal intensive care unit when compared to women who had a hospital birth.


Lead researcher Professor Simone Buitendijk, head of the child health programme at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, in Leiden said: ‘Since 1993, the official policy in the UK has been to give women more choice in their place of birth. In the Netherlands, about 30% of women give birth at home. So far, it has been unclear whether giving birth at home is safe. 
 
‘The number of babies that died or were admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit was the same in both groups, namely, seven per 1000. We conclude that women can safely choose where they want to give birth, provided the maternity care system is well equipped for home births.’

The deputy general secretary of the RCM Louise Silverton said: ‘This is a major step forward in showing that home is as safe as hospital, for low-risk women giving birth when support services are in place.’


‘I hope this research will be reassuring to women who may have concerns about home birth, and to critics who have questioned its safety. There is another major study on the safety of home births currently taking place in England by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit. I look forward to seeing the results of this study, which should present more definitive evidence about the safety of home births in the UK.’

Reference

de Jonge A, van der Goes B, Ravelli A, Amelink-Verburg M, Mol B, Nijhuis J, Gravenhorst J, Buitendijk S. (2009) Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529 688 low-risk planned home and hospital births. BJOG 116: 1–8.

If you're scared or worried about the prospect of birth sadly you are not alone -   a survey by Mother and Baby Magazine found that 80% of women are terrified of childbirth. I find this really troubling - my experience of looking after a large number of women (too many to carry on counting now!!) has shown me just how safe birth is for women and their babies and how the vast majority of women can and should enjoy a pregnancy and birth that is an empowering and positive experience for them.   It is the skewed image of childbirth and pregnancy portrayed by the media that seems to be perpetuating the myth that birth is something scary and dangerous, with out of proportion / context tales of bad midwives, bad obstetricians, superbugs and staff shortages.   Whilst I'm not denying the experiences some women have reported and feel wholeheartedly that they should have support in order to overcome their trauma, they are in the minority. I am determined to make a difference to the number of women fearful of birth, through delivering high quality birth preparation, but also through sharing the overwhelming number of positive stories of birth, which seem to get overshadowed by the negative images so often portrayed in the media.   If you have a positive experience and would like to share it, then email it to me and I will gladly publish it!   It doesn't need to be a natural, no drugs, home birth; just a story where you felt empowered to make the decisions that were right for you and enabled you to have the type of birth that was right for you as an individual.   If you are pregnant and scared, please contact me.   You can move from fear to feeling confident and calm about giving birth with the right support and advice.   Additionally, Natal Hypnotherapy^TM , the UK's leading provider of self-hypnosis CD's and courses for pregnancy, birth and beyond, is also determined to help women “fight the fear” and have launched a campaign for confidence in childbirth. Their own research has demonstrated that 80% of Natal Hypnotherapy^TM Mums felt they overcame fear and anxiety leading up to the birth, and 88% went into the birth with a strong belief in their ability to give birth.   Read Jane and Chris Stock's birth story on this website and find out just how effective it can be at transforming negative emotions into positive feelings and results!