Hi I'm Aisling Killoran, a certified hypnotherapist and psychotherapist. About twenty years ago, I decided to help women prepare for a birth that was calm and relaxing so that women could experience a Positive Birth Experience!
"A couple came to me who were struggling to conceive. I helped them to relax and hey presto! they became pregnant, and then my client asked me to help her prepare for the birth of her baby using hypnobirthing."
Aisling, who is based in Dublin, says hypnobirthing can help women get over fears they may have about pregnancy and giving birth.
Her Online classes are comprehensive from the Hypnobirthing starter, Premium and Hypnobirthing Ultimate! There is also as added bonus with the option in each plan to have additional one to one sessions!
Aisling says the technique is "not designed to mask pain" but can help reduce it, noting: "About 75% of the women I've helped didn't need pain intervention during labour. I've had women say to me, 'My husband is coming along with me and he's sceptical.' I say, 'Come along and be sceptical.' Scepticism is healthy, it keeps us grounded.
Aisling says this attitude was more common when she started teaching hypnotherapy and Hypnobirthing techniques over two decades ago, but people are "very seldom" sceptical now, given how mainstream the practice has become.The technique has been around for a long time, but has been gaining popularity in recent years.
"They have an open mind.
They mentally prepare as much as they can and if they end up needing pain relief or a C-section that's absolutely fine, they know they've done everything they can and shouldn't feel bad about that.
"Hypnobirthing is about helping mothers make an informed choice, they know medical intervention might be needed."
"I'm quite into alternative therapies anyway … I wanted to have a good birthing experiencing. I tried acupuncture too," Rachel explains.
She says, ahead of her labour, she was hoping she wouldn't have to get pain relief,.
"I went into labour at home at 1.50am. My support team was my mum and my sister. I thought, 'I'll ring them in a few hours, there's no point in us all getting no sleep.' "I managed it alone until around 6am when I rang my sister, who arrived at my home at around 7am. My mum arrived at 7.30am and we transferred to Holles Street by around 8.30am, Noah arrived within 32 minutes.
Claire Brett is a hypnobirthing teacher based in Cork, who has been training expectant parents, in-person and over Skype, for eight years.
"It's very much all about brain training and reconditioning the mind to see birth as a more positive experience, it's so often seen as a negative thing."
She says hypnobirthing techniques "very much embraces all kinds of births" and can also help women who have previously had a traumatic birth to have a more peaceful birth this time around.
"Some people in my class will know they are going to be induced, some people in my class know they are going to have a C-section. People are open to tools like epidurals too," she says.
Claire has an 18-month old daughter, Jessica.
"I was tested to the limit with my own daughter's birth, I was hoping to have a natural birth but my stubborn little lady was breech and I unexpectedly had to have a C-section.
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