Hypno-WHAT?! Modern Hypnobirthing with Claire. (Claire Smith - Doula & Hypnobirthing Teacher)

The Estimated Due Date... that magical day your hit 40 weeks and fully expect your baby to arrive then or shortly after. As does everyone you shared the date with. The texts flood in - Have you had the baby yet? How long are they going to let you go? Get a sweep. Eat 14 pineapples.

None of it is ill intended but it can sow the seeds of doubt and have you questioning your body - why hasn't it gone in to labour by now?

Well today I'm going to talk you through the due date and why you should pay it as little attention as possible. We're going to talk about focussing on The Due Period rather than a single day, on which less than 5% of babies are born.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

References:

Bull, J.R., Rowland, S.P., Scherwitzl, E.B. et al. Real-world menstrual cycle characteristics of more than 600,000 menstrual cycles. npj Digit. Med. 2, 83 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0152-7

A.M. Jukic, D.D. Baird, C.R. Weinberg, D.R. McConnaughey, A.J. Wilcox, Length of human pregnancy and contributors to its natural variation, Human Reproduction, Volume 28, Issue 10, October 2013, Pages 2848–2855, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/det297

Your first bonus track of Series 2! This 10 minute body scan is designed to help you find softness and stillness whenever you need to.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

This episode I’m answering some questions from the listeners. The topics we cover today are:

• My experience of hypnobirthing
• What to do with your placenta
• When to book your birth prep courses
• How to know when to go to hospital
• Is it really bad to birth on your back

I’ll be doing regular Q&As so if you want to make sure your question makes it on to the next one then please fire me an email at claire@birthingparentsclub.com or drop me a line on instagram.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Placenta Encapsulation - Evidence Based Birth

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-placenta-encapsulation/

Tori - This Is Kinship

Hypnobirthing & Mothers Circles, Essex

www.instagram.com/thisiskinship

www.thisiskinship.com

Welcome to Summer School! Summer holidays can be hectic; kids off school and generally life is just busier with holidays, weddings etc. But you still want to try and squeeze in some birth prep?! I hear you! My summer school episodes will be a maximum of 15 minutes long, hopefully meaning you can cram them at some point.

Episode 6 in the series explores three different distractions for labour: TENS machines, cold flannels & physical touch.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

Check out my website to download my guided relaxation tracks, all priced at £4, or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

In this episode we'll be looking at the concept of the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle and exploring the impact being afraid can have on birth. I'll also be talking you through my thoughts on the language we use to describe the sensations of labour.

To accompany this episode I have released a wee bonus for you: a guided relaxation focussing on releasing fear & anxiety. It's nice & short; a perfect listen for winding down before bed. We round off this episode by going through 5 different tools you can use to start working on building a positive mindset around birth.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Hormones are your body's toolkit for birth - interacting with one another to prepare your body for labour; coordinate effective contractions; and ensure the sensations of labour are manageable for your body.

In this episode we'll be going through 5 of the main hormones involved in birth: oxytocin, endorphins, adrenaline, melatonin & prostaglandins. There are many more but I had to draw the line somewhere... definitely something we'll be revisiting in another episode!

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

References:

Membrane Sweeping for Induction of Labour, 27.02.2020

https://www.cochrane.org/CD000451/PREG_membrane-sweeping-induction-labour

Today we’re on episode 10 and we are talking all about how to tailor your environment for birth. In the previous episode of the show we looked at choosing where to give birth, now we’re thinking about the considerations for how to make that environment supportive of birth.

We talk about the importance of remembering that the majority of birth begins at home - unless you are having a caesarean or induction then you will be labouring at home, so what can you do to support yourself there?

I also talk a little about how all of this still applies and is just as important if you are having an induction of labour.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

References:

The aesthetic nature of the birthing room environment may alter the need for obstetrical interventions; 2019

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-36416-x

Space, place and the midwife: exploring the relationship between the birth environment, neurobiology and midwifery practice; 2013

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24139678/

Birth, Bath, and Beyond: The Science and Safety of Water Immersion During Labor and Birth; 2014

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4210671/

Creating the perfect practice and fitting it in to already busy lives is something that can put a lot of people off exploring hypnobirthing. Today I want to give you a few tips on how to go about getting your Hypnobirthing practice in without having to carve out hours every night creating the perfect place for it.

We also explore the idea of anchoring - tools that you can use to help your brain & body relax with more ease. These will form the basis for creating your birth environment when the time comes for your baby to make their way in to the world!

I hope today’s episode helps you to see that little & often can be just as powerful a practice as long & luxurious relaxation rituals. Please do not be disheartened if the only time you have to focus on your birth is your 5 minute shower in the morning - use that time to focus on your breathing and give yourself a bit of peace… and if you can throw a few drops of essential oil in to the mix all the better!

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

References

El Alaoui C, Chemin J, Fechtali T, Lory P. (2017 Oct 26)

Modulation of T-type Ca2+ channels by Lavender and Rosemary extracts.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5658086/

In this episode I take you through the science behind hypnobirthing, exploring how our nervous system works to try and keep us safe and the impact that can have on birth.

I also share my favourite every-day breathing technique to help with regulating the nervous system.

This episode is relevant for everyone, pregnant or not. We all have an autonomic nervous system and I really believe that appreciating why it gets triggered, as well as the signs that it has been, is important for everyone.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Welcome to the very first episode of Hypno-WHAT!

Hypnobirthing is hippy-dippy nonsense; it's JUST breathing; it's only for homebirth/water birth/natural birth - we've all heard them before. People have a lot of preconceptions about hypnobirthing.

Let me tell you what hypnobirthing is with Birthing Parents Club! I'll be debunking these myths along with giving you a bit of an introduction in to what hypnobirthing actually is.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

This week we are talking about breathing and why it’s one of the most well-known hypnobirthing tools. Our breathing can help us to take control of how our body is reacting to a situation and how you breathe really does impact on the chemistry of your body.

We briefly look at different techniques to use in labour & birth and alongside this episode there is a bonus episode with a guided breathwork to help you practice.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy, you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Warning - this episode contains a bit of swearing, so if that's not your vibe maybe give this episode a miss.

The very first guests on The Hypno-WHAT Podcast are my brilliant pals Jade & Alix who run The Birth Uprising, who I trained with back in 2021. The TBU approach is 'no fluff, no bull'; Jade & Alix tell it like it is, there's no pretension with this pair at all, and they are fiercely passionate about making hypnobirthing accessible to all. TBU content is always inclusive, striving to include support for everyone and every kind of birth - which is exactly why I wanted to train with these wonderful women!

In this episode we each discuss a myth about hypnobirthing and why it drives us up the wall, and then we'll completely dispel it for you. We touch on:

• Why Hypnobirthing is soooo much more than just breathing
• Hypnobirthing is NOT just for natural births, nor can it guarantee one
• How Hypnobirthing can help you navigate an elective or unplanned caesarean.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

In today’s episode I take you through a bit of the process of choosing where to birth your baby and explore your options for midwife led units, labour ward, theatre & home birth. There's quite a bit to get through, and it's a bit juicy! Hence why I'm chatting for a bit longer than usual this week.

We also touch on your right to choose where you give birth, and this right is protected by law. The organisations mentioned are AIMS UK and Birth Rights who provide an incredible free resource to families who need support with their care during pregenancy, birth & post natally.

The studies mentioned in todays episode with regards to risks & outcomes in each setting come from The Birth Place Study, 2010 and the home birth review published in The Lancet. Both are linked below. You can also check out my website for a table of outcomes which should make it easy for you to compare the rates of different interventions across different intended birth places.

The Birthplace Study - https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace#the-birthplace-cohort-study

The Lancet Review: Maternal outcomes and birth interventions among women who begin labour intending to give birth at home compared to women of low obstetrical risk who intend to give birth in hospital - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30063-8/fulltext

Birthing Parents Club - Choosing Where To Birth Your Baby - www.birthingparentsclub.com/birthplace

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Never tried a guided relaxation before? This short track is a great place to start. It's designed to be used in the evenings as you're getting yourself settled down, ready for bed. Don't worry if you fall asleep. Your brain is still listening and relaxation is what we're after, and asleep usually means relaxed, so the track is doing it's job!

The intention of this practice is for you to connect with your body & baby, recognising any worries that may be cropping up for you and to begin to work on letting them go.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

*Do Not Listen To Guided Relaxations While Driving or Operating Machinery*

Never tried a guided relaxation before? The short tracks on this podcast are a great place to start. This affirmation track is designed to be used in the evenings as you're getting yourself settled down, ready for bed. Don't worry if you fall asleep. Your brain is still listening and relaxation is what we're after, and asleep usually means relaxed, so the track is doing it's job!

The intention of this practice is for you to connect with your body & baby, recognising any worries that may be cropping up for you and to begin to work on letting them go. Most of the affirmations are themed around building trust in yourself and your decisions. This track is appropriate for all pregnancies and birth plans - whether you are considering a home or hospital birth, vaginal or caesarean birth.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

*Do Not Listen To Guided Relaxations While Driving or Operating Machinery*

In this episode I’ll be discussing using water during your labour - and that doesn’t necessarily mean you plan to birth your baby in the pool. Birth pools & showers can be brilliant tools for relief during labour, even if you want to birth your baby out of the water.

There are lots of big claims about birth pools - they make labour less painful and can reduce your risk of intervention... but what does the evidence actually say? Let me break it down for you in today's episode.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

References

Burns E, Feeley C, Hall PJ, et al Systematic review and meta-analysis to examine intrapartum interventions, and maternal and neonatal outcomes following immersion in water during labour and waterbirth

Ali Akhlaghi, MD et al, Comparison of waterbirth with conventional vaginal delivery: A non-randomized controlled trial from Iran

Today's episode is going to be focusing on contractions - what are they? And how does our uterus actually work?

Most people in the beginning know very little about what contractions are. They just think 'Right I’m going to have contractions, whatever they are, and they will get bigger and harder until my baby is born' ...and that’s just not true for everyone. Not all contractions are made equal; we have different kinds of contractions which do completely different jobs, at different stages in our labour.

I really hope this episode helps to breakdown a little of the physiology of birth for you, and goes a little way to building your confidence in your amazing body and it's incredible capabilities.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Welcome to Summer School! Summer holidays can be hectic; kids off school and generally life is just busier with holidays, weddings etc. But you still want to try and squeeze in some birth prep?! I hear you! My summer school episodes will be a maximum of 15 minutes long, hopefully meaning you can cram them at some point.

Episode 3 in the series explores the importance of the birth environment, creating familiarity in a maternity unit & why you should to prepare to labour at home.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

Check out my website to download my guided relaxation tracks, all priced at £4, or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Never tried a guided relaxation before? The short tracks on this podcast are a great place to start. This track is just over 6 minutes long and designed to be used wherever & whenever you need a quick reset and to check in with yourself & baby.

The intention of this practice is for you to connect with your body & baby, recognising where you are at the present moment, acknowledging that & accepting it. I encourage you to notice not only the negatives, as our brains are so inclined to do, but also the positives.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

*Do Not Listen To Guided Relaxations While Driving or Operating Machinery*

This episode will be discussing how to prepare for chest or breastfeeding your baby and we are going to be mostly discussing what normal newborn behaviour looks like for babies who are not bottle fed. This is something I think is super important to understand before baby arrives, because with the UK’s breastfeeding rates being amongst the lowest in the world, very few of us actually know what that looks like or what to expect - and that also goes for our support network.

Human milk is designed to be very easily digested - this makes it easy on our tiny baby’s tummies, but it also means that they need feeding frequently. We’re designed this way for a reason though, it’s not a flaw. Hopefully today I can help to build your confidence in your body & your baby working together to establish feeding

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The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Welcome to Summer School! Summer holidays can be hectic; kids off school and generally life is just busier with holidays, weddings etc. But you still want to try and squeeze in some birth prep?! I hear you! My summer school episodes will be a maximum of 15 minutes long, hopefully meaning you can cram them at some point.

Episode 4 in the series explores why being calm matters for birth - one of the fundamental theories of hypnobirthing.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

Check out my website to download my guided relaxation tracks, all priced at £4, or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

It’s all very well to be told about the importance of building a positive mindset for birth, but how do you actually get to a place where that feels realistic?

For some people, they hit pregnancy feeling pretty neutral about birth, others even feel good and excited about the experience of giving birth, however, there are a great many people who don’t fall in to either of those camps. If that is you, you are not alone. In fact, I’d say you’re maybe in the majority group!

If you are currently in a place where the idea of birth being a positive experience feels pretty far fetched and your wracked with fear & anxiety then this episode is for you. I’m not here to tell you not to be scared, I think it’s really important to recognise our feelings, not just try to cover them up.

Let me take you through some of the first steps I use with my clients to try and help them to dial down a bit of that belief that birth is an inherently negative experience.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

References

Birth Trauma Association Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheBTA/

Welcome to Summer School! Summer holidays can be hectic; kids off school and generally life is just busier with holidays, weddings etc. But you still want to try and squeeze in some birth prep?! I hear you! My summer school episodes will be a maximum of 15 minutes long, hopefully meaning you can cram them at some point.

Episode 5 in the series looks at the different ways your labour might begin.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

Check out my website to download my guided relaxation tracks, all priced at £4, or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Today we're exploring the idea of 'having a hypnobirth'; what the stereotypical idea of a hypnobirth is and how useful I think that is! Spoiler - I don't think a hypnobirth is a thing.

If you have found listening to The Hypno-WHAT Podcast helpful, I would really appreciate it if you could take a couple of minutes to rate & review the show. It tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show and helps it reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide!

If you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy, you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here!

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

This bonus episode is a guided breathwork practice and accompanies episode 4 of The Hypno-WHAT Podcast, where I teach you about the ways in which your breathing affects the functioning of your body.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy, you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

No one wants to be a crap birth partner do they? Today I discuss with you why your birth partner is important, as well as how to get them on board. I also introduce the idea of doulas and what they can bring to the party.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast with Illy Morrison

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/illy-morrison/id1277078956?i=1000486346082

Mixing Up Motherhood

www.instagram.com/mixing.up.motherhood

Today’s episode I’m introducing you to one of my favourite aspects of birth preparation - and what I also think is the most important thing to make sure you do - and that’s get yourself some birth plans sorted out! Yes plural!!!

There is definitely an element of being able to ‘go with the flow’ when it comes to your experience of birth, but the process of writing and researching your birth plans is not something you want to overlook. It’s a really powerful way to become familiar with birth, how it works and what your options are.

Resources & References

The Birthing Parents Club Birth Plan Template - https://birthingparentsclub.com/birthplan

Check out my friend Anna’s incredible induction series on instagram: - www.instagram.com/hackneyhypnobirthing

For positive induction birth stories, you can read all about my clients Ildi and Emma, who chose to have their labours induced at 39 and 40 weeks, respectively - https://birthingparentsclub.com/blog/category/Induction+of+Labour

Evaluation of the effects of a birth plan on Taiwanese women's childbirth experiences, control and expectations fulfilment: a randomised controlled trial - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20036361/

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Welcome to Summer School! Summer holidays can be hectic; kids off school and generally life is just busier with holidays, weddings etc. But you still want to try and squeeze in some birth prep?! I hear you! My summer school episodes will be a maximum of 15 minutes long, hopefully meaning you can cram them at some point.

Episode 1 in the series explores a very brief outline of how birth works, looking first at what contractions are and then finishing by looking at birth hormones.

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

Check out my website to download my guided relaxation tracks, all priced at £4, or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

When we believe that we are safe, we are far more likely to enter birth feeling calm & in control as well as being far more likely to feel positively about the experience afterwards.

Hypnobirthing tools, such as the 3 we will go through in this episode, can be an incredibly powerful way of reframing birth for your brain, creating a positive belief system and kicking out bad vibes.

The birth photography accounts I mentioned you can find on instagram at:

@leepettigrewphotography

@amandasmithbirth

@evarosebirth

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

If instagrams not your thing you can also get in touch via email, my address is claire@birthingparentsclub.com. I really do love hearing from you, so whether it’s podcast feedback, episode ideas or your birth story please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

I hope you are enjoying the soothing sound of Scotland in your ears as your relax during pregnancy; you can now buy more of my hypnobirthing mp3s on my online shop. They are a bargain £4 each and cover topics such as anxiety, confidence building, fear release & preparing to breastfeed. Check it out here! Or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.

Your feedback is super important to me - it not only tells the podcast gods & goddesses that you are enjoying the show but it helps me to reach more people, spreading the good word of birth far & wide! If you have a couple minutes to drop me a rating & a few words for a review, I would be so grateful - thank you!

Welcome to Summer School! Summer holidays can be hectic; kids off school and generally life is just busier with holidays, weddings etc. But you still want to try and squeeze in some birth prep?! I hear you! My summer school episodes will be a maximum of 15 minutes long, hopefully meaning you can cram them at some point.

Episode 1 in the series discusses why you should bother preparing for birth in the first place.

Some of my favourite birthworkers mentioned in the episode:

Anna | Hackney Hypnobirthing | @hackneyhypnobirthing

www.hackneyhypnobirthing.com

Katy | Born Ready Baby | @born.ready.baby

www.bornreadybaby.co.uk

Julia | The Nest | @doulajuliaiddir

https://www.juliaiddir.co.uk | https://www.thenestmidlothian.co.uk

Jade & Alix | The Birth Uprising | @thebirthuprising

https://thebirthuprising.com/the-digital-hypnobirthing-package/

The Hypno-WHAT Podcast now has it's own instagram page! Give it a follow here to keep track of new episodes as they come out! And if you want to have a nosy at what Claire is up to you can find me here.

Check out my website to download my guided relaxation tracks, all priced at £4, or to get yourself booked in for private birth prep with me - available online or face to face in Edinburgh & the surrounding.