There are two sides of this question. Why did I decide to go for the course when I was pregnant? And why two years later I decided to become a HypnoBirthing Practitioner myself..
Let’s start with the first one.. When I got pregnant, I experienced a mixture of feelings. Extreme joy, as it’s been a while that we have been trying to make our little wonder. But also huge fear. Since as a little girl I found out how babies come to this world, I was terrified of labor. I knew I want to start a family one day, ideally with kids, but kids meant horror of delivery. At that time I decided not to worry too much about it, as I was little and by the time I grow up science would for sure come up with a way that guys can also deliver babies. You know what? It didn’t.
So here I was, happy and terrified and happy again, going basically nuts for I don’t know how long. I wanted a natural labor, but I was afraid I would panic, and it will end up worse than a planned c-section. So I started asking around. A friend of mine told me she did a HypnoBirthing course which could help me to get rid of my fears. It sounded a bit woo-doo, but hey – if there is a 1% chance it would help, I would go for it.
I will never forget our first session with Inbal. She asked all couples why HypnoBirthing. A couple next to us was telling a beautiful story, of how much more engaged they both want to be with their pregnancy. Especially coming from a guy, who already had two kids, and with this one he wanted to become less of an onlooker, but more a participant in the whole journey. It was beautiful. And then it was our turn. I gave a story above, about a little girl that was very hopeful towards medicine world, and Robin simply said ‘she made me come here’. I did indeed, so can’t blame him.
We followed the full course, and we loved it! I picked practices that I liked from the course and integrated it in my daily routine. Some went into my daily yoga practice, some I did during a break at work, and some before going sleep. Some I also never tried on my own, as they were simply not for me. And that was ok. HypnoBirthing is like a tool box, showing you all sorts of possibilities. Same as in anything in life, people, jobs, shades of blue or grey – you won’t love it all. But that few you do like is enough. It was enough for me at least.
I experienced a very joyful pregnancy. Once I wasn’t scared of labor I started enjoying being pregnant, having a little someone always with me was pretty cool. It all felt normal, natural and as it should be. I was getting to know my body better, started trusting myself, in what I felt and how I felt – not in what someone else would tell me how I should be feeling. It was quite a shocker, especially when you come from a country when being pregnant means going on sick leave the moment you can say you are pregnant, and everybody else knows exactly what you should or should not do. Instead of getting all stressed out, worried, or anxious, I was riding my bike, joined some yoga workshops, continued my daily ashtanga practice including all that felt ok to me, and simply had fun, becoming more and more curious about our new baby girl with every day of pregnancy.
And why did I decide to become a HypnoBirthing practitioner myself? Because of the story above. And because I wanted to share it further. HypnoBirthing works. It’s so simple, that it has to work. You may not experience an orgasmic birth, or pain free delivery. But you will gain trust in yourself, you will become in charge rather than following what you are being told. And you became easier with accepting what comes your way.