Time flies and I am writing this in my 36 weeks of pregnancy now. So far everything has been alright – there are good days and bad days but I take them as I go. I am no longer treating patients and can’t wait to be back!
I did have a “honeymoon” period after 18 weeks, whereby the only downside of my pregnancy was being constantly tired and having to sleep more than usual. Other than that, I could do most daily activities without much restriction. Until about 30 weeks, when treating just two patients a day would give me backaches that would affect my sleep. Frequent night urination aside, I also started getting bad heartburn around week 32. Since then, I no longer sleep through the night. “They” said this is to prepare me into motherhood, so I guess it is the only positive thinking that makes things better.
What is HypnoBirthing?
HypnoBirthing is a technique and a philosophy that guides and allows women to be mindful of their birthing process. It focuses on gentle, calm, and natural childbirth. So, if this is what you are looking for, you should get to know more about it! For more info, you can visit their official website (https://hypnobirthing.com/about/).
How long does it take?
It will be 5 sessions of classes, each for about 2-2.5 hours.
When can you start going for it?
It is recommended to start attending when you are 24 weeks into your pregnancy. The course takes over 5 weeks to complete, so it allows you ample time to practice before the little one arrives.
Despite that, you are still welcome to join even if you are slightly past 24 weeks. For instance, I only started attending when I was in week 32!
What does it cover?
Who should consider attending the HypnoBirthing course?
If you are fearful of birth for whatever reason (e.g. people around telling you about how painful birth is, social media or movies depicting birth as traumatic, little to no confidence in yourself being able to do it the natural way without epidural, etc.), then you should definitely consider attending this course.
“Through self-hypnosis and special breathing visualization techniques, HypnoBirthing teaches you to release fear and to trust your body’s ability to birth instinctively.”
The Mongan Method (HypnoBirthing)
What did I personally get out of this course?
I went into the course with high hopes of getting more informed and prepared as a first-time mom, only to find out that I may not have been part of the expected “target group”. Through the classes, when addressing on birth expectations and fear, I realised that I have very few to none. Which then meant certain parts of the course seemed irrelevant to me.
However it did help me set certain and specific birth goals with myself and my birth provider. I am all-in and ready for when the time is right for both baby and me to go through a normal delivery without epidural, with hopes of no episiotomy needed and minimum to no natural tearing.
What I learned in addition to what I already know are:
- Childbirth may not be as painful as it seemed.
- “Surges” (in more layman terms, “contractions”) happen naturally by the uterus muscles in labour.
- You can consider different labour positions.
- Waterbirth is being brought back in Malaysia.
- The importance of skin-to-skin contact after the baby is born.
- The option of delayed cord clamping.
Overall I find that it has helped to improve my awareness of my available choices. There isn’t any absolute right or wrong when it comes to my birth plan or birth story and ultimately, I feel able to better embrace the process of labour.
T – 4 weeks.