Preparing for a calm and positive birth experience means you might want to add a few special tools to your hospital bag!
If you're not familiar with hypnobirthing, it is simply the use of hypnosis techniques during pregnancy. The Hypnobirthing Australia™ Positive Birth Program focuses on teaching pregnant women and their birth partners all the knowledge they need to ensure they have the most positive birth experience possible.
About Amy
Hi, I’m Amy! I’m a mother, teacher, and Certified Hypnobirthing Practitioner. I teach a range of hypnobirthing classes in Perth, including options for group classes, private classes, and online. I also teach the Positive Caesarean course for mums who know they will be having a c-section.
After experiencing two positive births using the tools I'd learnt in the Hypnobirthing Australia™ Positive Birth Program – one a waterbirth at the Birthing Centre in Subiaco and the other a straightforward midwife-led birth at King Edward Memorial Hospital – I couldn’t stop talking about hypnobirthing to anyone who’d listen! Now I use my personal birth experiences and my 16 years of teaching experience to help share my knowledge with expecting parents and spread the word about the wonders of hypnobirthing.
Women are amazing. Birth is a natural and amazing process and it should be free of fear. It can and should be a beautiful, empowering experience. While pregnancy and labour can take many twists and turns, the Hypnobirthing Australia™ Positive Birth Program gives birthing mothers the tools that will help them achieve their positive birth.
I am so grateful for having my two “hypnobubs” and being able to birth the way I wanted. I am passionate about helping other birthing women and their partners feel empowered and excited about their birthing day and beyond.
Amy Swann
Founder of Amazing Birthing
Hypnobirthing Practitioner Childbirth Educator (HPCE)
So while all you really need to give birth is your body, your baby, and whatever support you feel you need, there are some helpful items I would certainly recommend. Here are my top three products:
Affirmation cards
Affirmations are a very easy but very effective tool to help you achieve your goals. You may have come across affirmations before in the workplace, during meditation, or as part of a self-care routine.
In birth, the power of a positive mindset is crucial. And one easy way to create and maintain a positive mindset is to use affirmations that suit the kind of birth you wish to have.
It's important to see, hear, and speak these affirmations regularly. And it's important to select affirmations that resonate with you.
The Birth Store stocks a range of affirmations for birth so that you can find the one that's right for you and your birth space.
Clary sage
This essential oil can be such an effective way to help boost contractions that pregnant women are typically advised not to use it before 37 weeks!
It has been used for centuries to relieve menstrual pains, aid in sleep and relaxation, balance hormones and more.
In the Hypnobirthing Australia™ Positive Birth Program we talk a lot about the importance of hormones during pregnancy and birth, specifically the role of oxytocin to create contractions while also providing natural pain relief.
In labour, you can put a few drops of clary sage on a cloth and inhale it to increase your body's natural oxytocin levels and promote a smoother and easier labour.
You may also like to consider the use of other aromatherapy before, during and after birth to assist with feeling calm and relaxed. I distinctly remember the scent of the aromatherapy blend I used during my labours and still return to it when I need a pick me up! These Labour & Birth Roller Blends have everything you could possibly need.
TENS machine
When I was pregnant with my first and tried out a TENS machine for the first time, I thought “Okay cool, it feels like a little tingly pulse.” I'll admit I was a little sceptical about how much it could help during labour but I figured it couldn't hurt to try!
When I went into labour it was slow and steady, with my contractions gradually building over a 24-hour period. I remember reaching a time in the afternoon when I started to feel more uncomfortable and decided it was time to get the TENS machine on. It stayed on for the next 6 hours and I found it a helpful pain relief and something that definitely helped me stay more relaxed throughout my labour.
TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It works by passing mild electrical impulses through the skin, via electrode pads, into the nerve fibres which lie below. While this may sound a bit scary, most people described it as a tingling sensation. And the best thing about TENS machines is that you are in control of how strong or gentle you want the electrical stimulation to be. In my labour I started on the lowest setting but by the end, I had it turned all the way up to the highest level and could barely feel it!
In the Hypnobirthing Australia™ Positive Birth Program you will learn in more detail how things like a TENS machine affect your body and brain, and why it's so helpful to increase your endorphins during labour.
The Elle Labour TENS machine is specifically designed for labour. It has a “boost” function perfect for when contractions happen, and a handy contraction timing function so you can switch off your brain and really get into your deeply relaxed state for labour.
The Birth Store make it super easy to hire a TENS machine with all the bits you need and easy-to-follow instructions. They have plenty of options for how many weeks you'd like to hire the machine for. And my favourite part: it includes a pre-paid return satchel so when you're done and ready to return it, you just need someone to drop it in a post box for you!
You can find more information about their TENS machine hire in their FAQ section.
