Bringing a new life into the world is an intense and powerful experience for both the mother – and the father.
A lot of prenatal preparation is focused on the mother – she will of course be doing most of the work. But her body knows how to do it. She will have the added bonus of her brain and hormones to help and guide her along.
A birth partner’s job to offer support, physically and emotionally; to be calm and grounded so the birthing woman can also be calm and grounded. This support is crucial and labour can last for hours, sometimes days.
What if Dads knew which positions were comfortable for her to help her dilate?
Some women rely heavily on the close participation of their partner, while others need more solitude. It’s important that partners realise that being available and fully attentive, without necessarily ‘doing’ anything is also very helpful. It’s hard to quantify the comfort gained from the presence of a partner, but this has been shown by research to make women feel safer and to reduce the need for pain relief.
What if Dads knew what to expect and had strategies for both of them to get through the birth itself?
– like how to develop a birth plan, and knowing their rights and what to ask for and refuse in the public or private hospital system.
What if Dads were taught the mechanics of birth?
– the anatomy and each stage and why things happen the way they do, and what to do at every stage?
What if Dads learnt a toolbox of powerful techniques?
– from breathing, meditation, creating the right sensory environment, to state of mind training and many ways to keep their partner in ‘the birth zone’ throughout the entire birth.
One of my recent students, Jared, was keen to play an important role in the birth of his first child, and was curious about HypnoBirthing so came along to support his partner Rachel, and completed the 5 week course.
HypnoBirthing has no set format, each body, each birth is different.
Rachel was very much against induction, concerned with the prospect of cascading interventions, however for the health of their baby, it was agreed that at 42 weeks + 1 day, medical induction was required due to Rachel’s ongoing high blood pressure.
Jared assisted with massaging acupressure points, walking up and down stairs with her, watching comedy movies to get the feel good hormones going, continually offered words of encouragement, using all of the support techniques that he had learnt in class and had practised at home – and constantly reminded her to BREATHE.
Even though he found labour really intense, he felt very calm during the whole day and was able to support her throughout, saying “there were no moments that she could not handle.”
Visit our New Dad’s Page to find out more about HypnoBirthing and how we can support you to be an awesome birth partner and dad!
Written by Carrie Jeff from Joymamma
