Calming down the process of birth, in Nelson
Birth-skills specialist Anna Wilde is a HypnoBirthing teacher and EFT practitioner in
Nelson. She used these techniques during the births of her two babies.
By Anna Wilde
Pregnant women in Nelson are learning new relaxation skills that help them to resolve anxiety and stay calm during labour. By working with Birth-skills specialist Anna Wilde, couples find they can easily build confidence and resolve fears, and as a result have a more positive birth experience.
Women often feel anxious about giving birth. It may even seem natural to feel worried. Giving birth is a painful, potentially dangerous ordeal right?
Unfortunately being scared of birth doesn’t help the process. In fact it can get in the way of normal birth. Recent obstetric research shows that fear of childbirth increases the likelihood of c-section and induction.
As Nelson Midwife Andrea Vincent remarks, “Head stuff is getting in the way of birth. In at least 10-15% of my caseload, fear in birth puts women directly on the road to increased intervention”.
Why is fear seen as a problem by many birth professionals? Fear sends a message to the brain to release stress hormones. These are the hormones
associated with the fight/flight/freeze response. In turn this generates a reduction in blood flow and oxygen to the uterus. Pelvic and uterine tissues
tighten. This is counterproductive to the elasticity and flexibility required for normal birth. In short, contractions hurt more and may be less effective. In this downward spiral known as the fear-tension-pain cycle, pain plus fear equals even more pain. Additionally, less blood flow to the uterus means less
oxygen for the baby, which may cause foetal distress. Medical assistance then becomes essential.
Anna Wilde says when women contact her they may feel anything from mildly stressed about labour to absolutely terrified. First time mothers may have heard nightmare stories from their friends and family or watched some tense reality TV births. Mothers pregnant with number two or three baby may be dealing with trauma from having had a stillbirth, miscarriage or simply a ‘bad’ birth. Women can be anxious about aspects of birth such as pain, medical intervention, potential birth defects, or the impact of motherhood on their health, body, finances, career or relationship.
Anna has noticed that although many women in the Nelson region feel concerned about labour, they are also looking for skills to feel calmer, confident and ideally experience less pain. The two techniques Anna uses to help women and couples feel better prepared for birth are HypnoBirthing and
EFT.
HypnoBirthing is an antenatal class for couples that teaches deep relaxation skills. The ‘hypno’ part of the name can be off-putting, and it’s not uncommon for people to arrive in the class feeling nervous about what they are getting into. It soon becomes clear however, that HypnoBirthing is a no-nonsense practical approach that reduces or eliminates the fear-tension-pain cycle during birthing. This doesn’t mean every birth is pain free… women report it can still get intense, but they manage well, feel in control and can ‘let go’ at the same time. Partners say they appreciated the tools they learnt to keep mother relaxed during birth. Ultimately HypnoBirthing classes tend to bring a couple together as a birthing team.
Some midwives say that when women have used HypnoBirthing to prepare for their births it makes their job easier. Motueka based midwife Clare Spratt
used HypnoBirthing to give birth to her third child and encourages her mothers to embrace the practise. “I’ve just had a huge run of births of which
most used some Hypnobirthing techniques and had amazing births. These techniques have changed my practice and I’m raving about it!”.
Unlike the group format of HypnoBirthing, EFT, (or Emotional Freedom Techniques), is a private one-on-one natural therapy. It involves tapping on
acupuncture points to relieve stress, trauma and anxiety. Multiple randomized controlled trials have shown EFT is helpful in reducing cortisol levels, as well as resolving phobias and post-traumatic stress.
Jody had two previous traumatic birth experiences. She says, “My first two births were out of control. Both ended in manual extraction. The pain was
terrible and I thought my baby would die. I hated being poked, prodded and all the beeping. One of my baby’s needed to be resuscitated. That was
traumatic. I felt so disappointed in myself, like it was all my fault.”
Jody had two EFT sessions when pregnant with her third child to clear the negative emotion associated with the past births. Afterwards she felt relaxed
and ready to give birth. The birth was, in her words, “an absolutely beautiful labour. I was in control! I was calm and focused. I was empowered. I felt I
was powerful and working with my body instead of against, it like in previous births. Everything we did in preparation, including EFT, was absolutely
necessary for this mental and physical journey. After my two previous births this is an incredible uplifting and life changing moment for both my husband and I.”
EFT can be useful when a medical birth is necessary. Hera was pregnant with twins and terrified of hospital. She had originally wanted a homebirth, but a caesarian at Nelson hospital was her only option. “EFT allowed me to fully explore my blocked emotions regarding the birthing. The EFT work gently unearthed the deep-rooted attachment to having an ideal natural birth and helped me to release my resistance to medical intervention. I felt a deep release. It was a lot due to the two EFT sessions that I was able to enter the theatre in such a good, calm, trusting place and consequently that the birthing was such an amazing experience for us.”
Whether a birth is normal or medical, having a calm state of mind during the event is clearly beneficial for any woman. Emerging from birth feeling positive supports bonding and may reduce the chances of post-natal depression.
In regard to post-birth psychological wellbeing, studies suggest that a woman’s perception of their birth experience is more significant than the actual flow of events. EFT and HypnoBirthing both contain tools that alter a woman’s perception of birth, whether in the past or future, enabling a woman
to regain control and create a psychological ‘safe space’ for their birth. Just like a cat needs to feel like she is in a quiet, peaceful place to birth, so does a
woman.
All mammals need to feel relaxed to give birth as normally as possible. When an animal, including a human animal, feels relaxed about giving birth, their brain responds accordingly, activating hormones most conducive to giving birth. These essential birthing hormones stimulate contractions, help pelvic tissues to relax and reduce pain. For example endorphins are a natural opiod that is stronger than morphine, and act to minimize pain during labour.
Oxytocin stimulates contractions but also increases feelings of connection and love. The key to letting these hormones do their good work is feeling relatively at ease about and during birth.
Anna has seen that part of the problem is women preferring not to think about giving birth, like it’s a hump to get over but best not to contemplate. Women say, ‘Oh I am trying not to think about ‘that’ day’, or ‘I think I am avoiding thinking about the birth’. Anna thinks statements like this are red flags. “Not acknowledging fears about birth is risky business. When labour happens, these thoughts have the power erode our confidence, inhibit our ability to relax and cause an emergency response in the brain and body.”
Anna encourages all pregnant women to check in with themselves and notice if they do feel anxious about birth. “We have to personally examine
our attitude to birth. Anxious thoughts have a uncomfortable ‘scratchy’ quality to them that tends to itch, niggle and keep on popping up. For example: ‘I’m scared of tearing’, ‘I feel ashamed of being naked in front of others’, ‘It was so horrible last time’, ‘Birth will always be a nightmare for me to endure’, ‘I’m scared of hospital and medical procedures’, ‘What if my baby dies or is deformed’. It’s not the subject of the fear that is an issue, the problem is
brushing it under the carpet and doing nothing about it.
If you’re pregnant, don’t just cross your fingers and hope for the best: prepare well for birth. Anna is insistent: “Preparation is vital. There seems to be a
widespread attitude that birth either just happens normally or doesn’t, that it comes down to luck and there isn’t much you can do about whether birth goes well for a mother or not. Of course you don’t know what will actually happen.
But you can prepare the mind to have a positive response to birth. Otherwise you get to the big day, and it hurts, and all the nightmare stories, movies or ideas you’ve heard or seen about birth will undermine your capacity to relax. Just like doing well in sport, great athletes prepare their minds to reduce fear and stay calm and relaxed, and this improves their performance. Birth is no different.”4
Anna Wilde
EFT, HypnoBirthing and nourishing recipes
03-5456167
Sessions at 243 Trafalgar Street, (upstairs), Nelson
or on Skype: annawildeeft
Facebook: Anna Wilde
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Tags: birth, well being
I loved reading this….! I remember with my first pregnancy, the facilitator at my ante-natal class said something like “Be prepared – childbirth WILL be the MOST painful experience you’ve ever had.” I was totally shocked that by stating this as fact, she was setting up every single mother she taught, with the expectation of a terrible experience!!! I am just super thankful that prior to her saying this I had been lucky enough to have heard positive birth stories from women in my life, so that I knew what she was saying wasn’t necessarily true. And thanks to this (and in part to the breathing exercises off The Pink Kit) I was able to have a super positive birthing experience myself
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