Now that you’ve learned how to self-hypnotise, we have some advice on supporting your new skills.

Why is time distortion useful for labour?

We all know the expressions “time flies when you’re having fun” and “a watched pot never boils,” and they’re useful reminders that our perception of time is influenced by our goals and psychological state. If you focus on nothing but dreading every surge, they will feel like they’re coming quicker. If all your attention is on them when they happen, they will feel longer. However, if you stay deeply relaxed and chill out in that relaxing place in your mind, you won’t be so aware of the passage of time. Surges will naturally pass more quickly when you breathe through them with a few Waves of Relaxation during each one. Anchoring can help.

What is anchoring?

In hypnobirthing, anchoring refers to taking shortcuts to or triggers for relaxation. An anchor is something that you strongly associate with a happy memory. It can be a smell or a sound, a visual, a taste, or a familiar touch. It might help you to remember that perfume you wore when you and your baby’s father were first dating or light the candle you associate with Friday nights at home. How do they make you feel? Anchoring can support the release of oxytocin and endorphins and faster relaxation, a descent into deeper relaxation, or a return to a relaxed state when you’ve been disturbed.

For labour, please create:

An anchor for you to trigger yourself
An anchor to your birth partner’s touch (so he or she can support you). They can stroke your arm while reading their birth partner's script.
An anchor to your birth partner’s voice (to enhance the relaxation prompts they’ll give you)

Can my partner’s stroking really be an anchor?

In a word, yes. Having a partner stroke your arm or back will not jolt or distract you from your hypnotised state. Your subconscious will understand it as loving, reassuring, and safe. A squeeze of the hand combined with an anchoring word or phrase can take you into a more deeply relaxed state or return you to it if you have to come out of relaxation to get a drink, change position, etc.

Why should I use scents as anchors when practicing hypnobirthing?

We read our environment through our five senses, even when in a hypnotised state, and these are often heightened during labour and childbirth. While you are off in your place of relaxation, a scent you’ve come to associate with your hypnobirthing techniques can be powerfully supportive. The limbic system, a set of brain structures involved in emotion, motivation, and memory, is triggered by our sense of smell. Lavender is popular for relaxation, but any scent you love and have spritzed before practising your hypnobirthing techniques will help you during labour and birth.

Adding soft lighting to your birthing environment as you would when practicing hypnobirthing (with electrical tea lights or fairy lights, for example) can also help. Many hospitals now have dimmer switches that support a calm birthing environment, and it’s worth checking out if this is the case in your chosen birthing environment. Bright lighting can interfere with your oxytocin production. You may even anchor feelings to a favourite (loose!) dress, especially as a hospital gown is something you likely associate with being ill. You do you. Finally, while you are unlikely to be able to drown out every sound (nor would you want to; there will be some things you need), you may like to have a music playlist prepared for your special day.

How can your birth partner support you?

Beyond practicing the Birth Partner’s Script available on this course, it’s quite important to release any fears or anxieties you may have about pregnancy and birth yourself so you can stay calm and in control when you are needed. Part of being a confident, well-informed birth partner is having the personal resources to cope. It is important to practise all the techniques you will be learning.

As the birth partner, you have a very important role to play, which also requires preparation. Are you confident that you understand how these techniques will support your partner on the day, especially if a curve ball is thrown into the mix? As you are taking an interest in hypnobirthing, your birth plan could instruct that team to avoid offering pain relief unless asked, but do you know about the options available (natural vs pharmacological) if you need to ask?

A useful practice while writing your birth plan with the mum-to-be is to ask plenty of questions along the way. If her first choice becomes unavailable, you can work out the best possible alternative for her in advance. One example might be requesting access to a bath or shower in labour if a room with a birthing pool is no longer an option.

Remember, a calm birth environment is not only key to successfully remaining calm and relaxed but also a place that you can make your own. Have you considered the photos you can pack for the birthing room? How about snacks? If you plan to use a TENS Machine, have you read the instructions?

Finally, many midwives recommend speaking lovingly to one to keep the cocktail of happy birth hormones flowing, and this needn’t stop while she’s in a trance. Remember any words that you have been practicing that could enhance relaxation even more.

How can I support my hypnobirthing techniques?

Time distortion, anchoring, a calm environment and support from your partner.