Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog

Second Baby? E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Wednesday, 19 May 2010 19:19
There's so much happening at the moment. I often get calls and emails from parents who have done a Hypnobirthing class with me a year or so ago and who are now expecting their second baby.  Lots of them feel they would like to have a refresher session to remind them of everything they practised before to make their first birth successful. I've had so many of these requests that I'm setting up a class especially for parents who are expecting their second (or third, or fourth.....) baby and who feel that a reminder of the work we did before would help them on their way. Have a look at the website for dates and details. From my point of view it's great to meet up with people again who I taught a while back, and to hear about their first birth and how the little one is growing - my ever-growing Hypnobirthing 'family'.
 
A Wiltshire Hypnobirthing course in March E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Saturday, 13 February 2010 12:12
Just to let everyone know that we've announced an extra hypnobirthing course in March, to be held at katharine's home in Fosbury.  The village is midway between Andover and marlborough (more details on the main site), and the course will be over 4 evenings (Monday and Tuesday on successive weeks). These course are more intimate than the London ones, with katharine's house being quite small, so we only have a few couples at each one.  Please feel free to contact Katharine through the site for details.
 
Hypnobirthing This Weekend E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Monday, 04 January 2010 22:35
I taught a Hypnobirthing class near the Southbank to a delightful group this weekend.  There were lots of good questions and I was impressed by the mother who was expecting twins and had decided to have them at home attended by an independent midwife. One part of the course that I particularly enjoy is sharing lunch together on the second day.  It gives everyone a chance to get to know each other and maybe make friendships that will last after the babies are born which can be a great support in early motherhood.
 
Induction of Labour E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Friday, 01 January 2010 11:56
If your baby hasn't arrived on the 'due date', an induction is generally proposed quite soon afterwards.  Let's look at this for a moment. For nine months your baby has grown undisturbed inside you.  There have been checks to make sure all is well but, in general, everyone has trusted this miraculous process.  Suddenly this date arrives on which such store has been placed and everything changes.  Now the presumption is that the baby no longer knows best and that nature may have got it wrong. My personal observation is that we meddle at our peril.  Which of course is not to say that there are no circumstances where intervention is necessary and even beneficial.  To claim that would be stupid and dangerous and, as a hypnobirthing teacher, I cannot give medical advice, but I receive a great many birth reports from mothers and I hear what they have to say. Yes, there are risks in a pregnancy which goes beyond 42 weeks (the World Health Organization's definition of the natural length of pregnancy is 37 - 42 weeks), but this has to be offset against the risks of an induced labour which is frequently the beginning of a cascade of interventions possibly leading to an epidural, a vantouse delivery, forceps or even a caesarean section.  Accord to Ina May Gaskin the risks of a caesaran section are grossly under-reported, and it also needs to be taken into an account that, with an induced labour, you are confined to bed so cannot use a birthing pool, and in a position where the pelvic capacity is much less than in, for example, a squatting position. Many mothers also report that it is much less comfortable than being free to move around and assume whichever position seems right for them at the time - and no-one can tell them what this might be. It is a situation where you are wise to ask questions about all the alternatives available, about the pros and cons of them all, so that you can be part of the decision making process.  Remember that any intervention can only be done with informed consent.  Remember too that the medical profession faces dilemmas daily and are subject to pressures of their own.  If you want to be included in the decision making process you too are part of the dilemma. Remember too that it's your body and your baby.  Keep your focus on what you want to achieve, and listen to the advice you are given seriously and carefully.
 
HypnoBirthing Celebration E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Saturday, 24 May 2008 09:47
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
Fathers and HypnoBirthing E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Friday, 23 May 2008 21:35
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
HypnoBirthing Baby E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Thursday, 22 May 2008 05:49
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
Breech Baby E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Monday, 19 May 2008 14:08
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
HypnoBirthing Baby E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Thursday, 15 May 2008 11:49
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
HypnoBirthing Really Does Work E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Wednesday, 14 May 2008 21:37
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
HypnoBirthing for Birth Comfort E-mail
Katharine's Hypnobirthing Blog
Sunday, 11 May 2008 18:19
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.
Katharine Graves is the teacher at The HypnoBirthing Centre, where she runs HypnoBirthing Courses in London and Southern England for expectant couples.
 
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Cressida
Zeb was born on 13th October (3 days after his due date) at home. My surges started at 7pm on the 12th Oct and very quickly were lasting1 minute and were 5 minutes apart so we called the midwife at 10pm and she arrived by 11pm. I was 4 cm dilated when she arrived. I spent time listening to the birth affirmation CD and using all the breathing techniques and felt completely in control and calm without any pain using lot of different positions all round the house with the lighting low and everything was very relaxed.

The surges went on like this for several more hours but then about 4am in the morning things started to slow down and the surges became further apart and I began to feel very tired. I tried the different natural methods to try and speed up the surges and progress things but unfortunately they did not seem to work. At 7am the mid wife was due to go off duty and therefore called another one to come-when she arrived they checked me again and I was 6 cm dilated. The mid wives were fantsatic and so supportive of my birth plan. They also commented on how well I was coping with the surges and how calm i was.

I then asked them what they could do to possibly speed things up as I was just getting so tired having gone through the night and they said they could break my waters which I requested they did. Following this my surges became a lot more intense and I moved to the pool which was great. It was then I perhaps felt I wasn't coping as well but not through any pain as I kept thinking that each contraction was bringing me closer to my baby but just out of sheer exhaustion!Second stage labour lasted between 4-5 hours which we later found out was because Zeb had his hand over his head. I was unable to get him out in the pool so the midwives advised climbing the stairs to try and help after a few hours. It was great I was at home as I think if I had been in hospital they definitely wouldnt have let me go this long in second stage without intervening. The stairs did help and eventually Zeb was born at 1.43pm on our sofa! I was able to do the whole thing completely drug free and I really put this down to the hypnobirthing techniques I had learnt. I really felt I had to push as because of his position I dont think the birth breathing would have worked?

I felt in control of my birth and it was such a special experience to have him at home - a decision we only came to after attending your course, if you remember Piers didnt think it was a good idea before this! Unfortunately due to Zeb having his hand over his head I tore quite badly and had to go to hospital to be stitched. Originally they said they would have to give me an epidural and keep me in 2 days but after closer examination luckily I only had to have a local and was allowed home.Funnily enough when I was stitched this is the only time when I actually felt pain-apart from when I actually tore at the end. So that is it. Thanks again for all your help and your fantastic course, I will recommend it to anyone I know who is expecting!!

Best wishes,
Cressida