HypnoBirthing Blog

HypnoBirthing 'Side Effects'

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:53:00 -0700

I was teaching a HypnoBirthing course at the Union Jack Club on the Southbank yesterday. An extra bonus, apart from the radiant faces of the couples as they left, was that I was conveniently in London to go to a concert in the evening. It was inspiring music, played on the piano, flute and cello; the music of Gurdjieff which is not often heard. It was a great privilege to be there.

Private HypnoBirthing Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:49:00 -0700

I'm off to do a private HypnoBirthing class tomorrow. This is for a mother who is having her second baby. Having found out the hard way what birth is like without HypnoBirthing first time round, this time she's decided to do the course. Second time mothers come to me with the phrase, 'If only.....' on their lips. 'If only someone had told me.' 'If only I'd known.' HypnoBirthing helps to remove the 'if onlys' before they happen.

With this mother I shall be doing a private class in one day instead of two, because second time mothers know a lot about birth already, so I don't need to talk about that side of it. They're amazed at the difference HypnoBirthing makes, because they have something to compare it with.

HypnoBirthing Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:52:00 -0700

A lovely weekend with two great HypnoBirthing groups. It's quite interesting the looks you get when you go out to lunch with seven pregnant women!

I always learn when I teach a HypnoBirthing class, because people ask such interesting questions. It's fascinating to find out that there is always a new way of looking at the work.

The Business of Being Born

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:48:00 -0700

Went to see the film, The Business of Being Born last night and, though very interesting, you felt it was to some extent more relevant to America than to this country. The main reservation I had was the emphasis on pain and, as a HypnoBirthing teacher, I know that birth can be gentle and comfortable. I have many, many birth reports telling me so from the mothers I have taught. If some women can do it, plainly it's possible for a woman's body to do it, and therefore it's possible for any woman to do it. HypnoBirthing shows you how, and, though all birth professionals support a natural and gentle birth, HypnoBirthing is the only way I have found of making it really happen.

Midwives Training Day

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:12:00 -0700

I had a great day yesterday. I had been asked to speak about HypnoBirthing at the student midwives' theme day at Bournemouth University. I was warmly welcomed, and the organisation was excellent. There were so many good speakers to listen to, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet Mary Cronk, although sadly I had to leave before her talk. There was a huge emphasis on natural birth, although very few actual suggestions of ways to achieve it, so HypnoBirthing was unique in that it gives a mother the tools so she can actual have, for herself and for her baby, what so many mothers would like to have - a gentle, calm birth.

HypnoBirthing on Channel 4

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:29:00 -0700

Yesterday it was The Mail on Sunday. Today it's Channel 4. Had a long and interesting conversation about a documentary on preparation for birth that will include hypnobirthing. There's so much interest in hypnobirthing, and it's growing so fast which is really encouraging. Word of mouth really is the best advertising.

HypnoBirthing in The Mail on Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:54:00 -0700

Yesterday I was contacted by a journalist who is doing a feature on preparation for birth in The Mail on Sunday. He wanted to know more about HypnoBirthing, because everyone is talking about it, so we spend quite a long time talking about it, and I explained to him how significant it is

In terms of a gentle, comfortable birth for the mother

In terms of a gentle, calm entry into the world for the baby, and birth is the most formative experience of your life.

HypnoBirthing Training

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 01:41:00 -0700

I'm spending today preparing a talk for student midwives at Bournemouth University. On Wednesday I shall be talking to 200 student midwives about hypnobirthing which is a really great opportunity and I'm delighted to have been asked to do it. The only problem is that there's so much I would like to say that I'm not sure how to condense it into the time available. This year I'm having twice the enquiries for hypnobirthing that I had last year. Most of them come form personal recommendations of people who have done hypnobirthing themselves and know how it work. But more and more recommendations are coming from midwives and also doctors who have attended hypnobirthing births and are amazed at the difference it makes.

As well as welcoming the opportunity to tell the student midwives about hypnobirthing, it will also be a great opportunity for me to learn from the other speakers.

More HypnoBirthing

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sun, 8 Jun 2008 14:21:00 -0700

It's been a busy HypnoBirthing weekend with two lovely groups starting the course. One was at Triyoga in northwest London - the venue with the yummy smoothies. The other was at the Union Jack Club near the southbank where you can wander along the Thames in the lunch break. We'll finish both courses next week, and have some more wonderful birth reports soon.

Teddington HypnoBirthing

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sun, 1 Jun 2008 13:23:00 -0700

A great course this weekend! Quite a small group but really dynamic, and in the lovely venue that overlooks the Thames we had a great time. I'm never quite sure how much the class is watching the boats, and how much they're listening to me.

Natural Birth

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Fri, 30 May 2008 04:34:00 -0700

I had a rather puzzling birth report from a mother who did my HypnoBirthing course recently. She had a wonderful and inspiring birth, calm, gentle and drug free - except for the fact that she took two paracetamol. Now I've never heard of anyone taking paracetamol in labour before and I was utterly puzzled. Maybe she had a headache at the time?

HypnoBirthing bookings

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:11:00 -0700

I'm busy preparing for the HypnoBirthing course in Teddington today, made slightly more complicated by the new on-line booking system. It's working very well now, and it means that people can register for a course on line and pay by credit card, BUT there's one small hiccup. At the moment the system tells me who has booked, but not which course they've booked for, so I have to email back manually to find out.

Of course, this will be sorted out very soon but, in the meantime, if this has happened to you, I apologise. Automated are wonderful when they work properly - and it will soon.

HypnoBirthing Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:47:00 -0700

This weekend I'm not teaching HypnoBirthing - yes, really! Today's a very important day. It's a celebration of the arrival of my hypnobirthing grandson last October. Family and friends are gathering for a picnic. The sun's shining, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful day. He's a true hypnobirthing baby. His mother was fully dilated when she arrived at hospital and he was born half an hour later. Since then he has been very calm and cheerful, as are so many hypnobirthing babies.

Fathers and HypnoBirthing

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:35:00 -0700

I was reminded today how much HypnoBirthing (quite rightly) is about mothers and the needs of fathers can be overlooked. Of course fathers have an important role in the HypnoBirthing method, but what about their needs? It was brought home to me a little while back when I was talking to a father who had ME and who was deeply distressed that he was unable to provide for his wife and new baby.

A father's natural instinct to provide and protect is often overlooked, but it is a very deep instinct. In my HypnoBirthing classes I am often touched by the care with which the fathers treat their pregnant wives / partners, and maybe the fathers need a little more acknowledgement for this.

HypnoBirthing Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Wed, 21 May 2008 21:49:00 -0700

HypnoBirthing is wonderful, and it is enormously satisfying to see the difference it makes to mothers, but last weekend I had a different sort of satisfaction. I took a weekend off to be with my family and played with my hypnobirthing granddaughter as well as my three year old grandson (born in New Zealand so I wasn't able to teach his mother hypnobirthing). There's a lot to be said for playing on a sandy beach with small children.

Breech Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:08:00 -0700

A little while ago I worked with a mother to turn her breech baby, and the baby duly turned, as it does in 80% of the cases when you use hypnotherapy to turn a breech baby. Last week I heard that the baby had been born by c-section because the baby's heartbeat had slowed in labour due to the cord being round its neck. This set me thinking again about interventions in labour. Was the baby breech originally because a combination of baby's and mother's instinct knew that, in this case, it was safer to be born this way round. After all, the baby is the only person who knows where the cord is and the exact position of the placenta, and it's extremely presumptuous of us to think we know better, because we don't.

In the modern world, a breech baby is almost automatically delivered by c-secion, but I know hypnobirthing mothers who have easily delivered a breech baby with no drugs, no pain and with a gentle and easy labour.

The modern assumption that having a baby is a medical emergency and that we know better than the baby what should be done is dangerous and arrogant. A healthier assumption could be that all is well unless proved to the contrary, rather than that we should intervene unless it's proved to be unnecessary.

A mother will always do the best she can for her child. Maybe that's why we use the phrase, 'Mother' Nature.

HypnoBirthing Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:49:00 -0700

I spent a couple of days with a HypnoBirthing baby earlier this week; my grandson. Everyone tells you that HypnoBirthing babies are calm, develop quickly and thrive. I know he's my grandson, so I'm biased, but it is still remarkable to see the subtle differences in a HypnoBirthing baby. Midwives have been know to remark: "I've never seen such a chilled out baby." It's difficult to define the differences, but it has to do with being more alert, sleeping better, feeding better, and generally being ready to move forward after birth because there are no drugs and no trauma to recover from.

HypnoBirthing Really Does Work

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:37:00 -0700

Yesterday a mother who has just booked up to the HypnoBirthing class in July emailed me to say she was feeling nervous about the birth and asking me if I would send the course CD to her so she could listen to it in advance and relax. By chance (?), it just so happened that she lived in the same street as my son, daughter-in-law, and their HypnoBirthing son who I was visiting at the time. It also just so happened that I had the CD she wanted with me. Within 10 minutes of receiving her email, I had walked down the road, and dropped the CD in to her. HypnoBirthing really does work!

The only thing is, the CD has relaxed her so well that she's never heard the end of it.

HypnoBirthing for Birth Comfort

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:19:00 -0700

I read a really funny article just now about HypnoBirthing. It said:
HypnoBirthing - for decreasing birth disomfort.
Why not be positive and put: HypnoBirthing - for increasing birth comfort.
Or, better still: HypnoBirthing - for allowing birth to be comfortable as nature intended.

Record Number of Doctors Learn HypnoBirthing

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:51:00 -0700

The HypnoBirthing course which started at Triyoga in Primrose Hill yesterday holds a record. Five doctors attended the class, so news of the effectiveness of HypnoBirthing has definitely penetrated to the medical profession, showing a truly open-minded approach. It was a great class, held on a beautifully sunny day.

Next week we plan to have a picnic on Primrose Hill.

The Night Before

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Fri, 9 May 2008 14:37:00 -0700

I love teaching HypnoBirthing. That's why I spend so much of my life doing it. I love knowing what a difference it has made to people's lives.

However, I don't love the night before a course. The floor is covered with folders being made up. The photocopier is red hot with duplicating handouts. I've loaded the car with folding chairs, TV, cushions and boxes of books. And usually there's a lot of midnight oil being burnt.

But it's all worth it on the day.

Summer HypnoBirthing

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Wed, 7 May 2008 12:27:00 -0700

Today's HypnoBirthing class had an added bonus. It was a private class for a mother whose baby is due in two weeks' time, and it was the most beautiful sunny day, so at lunch time we took a break and sat outside at a pavement cafe in Primrose Hill enjoying the sunshine.

I've had two more lovely HypnoBirthing birth reports in the last couple of days, so I'll either add them to the website or post them on the blog (or both) in the next few days. It gives me such delight to hear the birth reports from mothers I've taught, and I know couples who are thinking of doing the course enjoy reading them.

Different View of Health

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Tue, 6 May 2008 03:03:00 -0700

Most of my life is spent looking at what makes a healthy and gentle birth through HypnoBirthing. On Friday I spent the day taking a slightly different view of health by attending the 'Energy 4 Exmoor' symposium run by the Exmoor Trust at Ralegh's Cross. It was a fascinating day, with lots of useful information on the viability of various forms of generating energy. There was an excellent presentation by Mukti Mitchell on reducing your carbon footprint while still maintaining your lifestyle, and a fascinating talk by Prof Sir Ghillian Prance, former director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, on conservation.

It really struck me how the principles from which I work in HypnoBirthing, apply in these other areas as well. Altogether a refreshing and inspiring day.

Learning from Lambs

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Sun, 4 May 2008 09:47:00 -0700

At the beginning of April the field behind my cottage was full of ewes in lamb. They were about to be moved to another field as the grass was getting very low, when one night the first one lambed. It was a freezing cold night, and when I awoke in the morning the flock was at the far end of the field where the farmer fed them every morning, and the one ewe that had lambed was at the end near my cottage right up by the hedge, far away from the rest of the flock, with little twin lambs huddled underneath her to keep warm. She had quietly separated herself from the flock during the night, and given birth at a time when sheep, being diurnal animals, are not normally active. All mammals will naturally give birth at a time when they can be alone, unobserved, and away from their peers. It was a time and place that she felt safe. We could learn a lesson from that ewe. How many mothers travel across town in labour, to go to a strange place where they feel nervous and where they are observed by many strangers? A recipe for a difficult labour.

And there she stayed. She moved very little for several days. She didn't go to feed with the rest of the flock. She simply stayed quietly in her own little enclave, sheltering and feeding her lambs.

The farmer also knew from experience what works best. He moved the rest of the flock to a different field where he had intended the lambing to take place, but he left the one ewe and the newborn lambs undisturbed. He knew that, if he interfered, he would disturb establishing feeding, and the ewe's supply of milk, and the ewe might reject her lambs.

As far as giving birth is concerned, we are simply another mammal. What works for other animals works for us too, and we would do well to remember this.

Last Minute Arrival

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Graves) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:05:00 -0700

No, it wasn't a baby. It was my arrival at this evening's HypnoBirthing class in Wiltshire. Having worked in London in the afternoon it seemed that a 4pm departure from London would give me plenty of time to reach the Wiltshire class this evening. But an accident on the M4 involved a detour around Wokingham which added an extra hour to the journey and I arrived at the class with timing that would have done justice to Phineas Fogg, at exactly 7pm.