New Offerings for 2010

There are lots of exciting things planned for 2010! Here is a sneak preview:

Newly Born & Nearly Born Gatherings

Crossfit Mamas Bootcamp

Yahoo Group: Austin HypnoMamas

Doula services

HypnoBirthing Classes

What are your goals for the New Year?

To get back in shape?

Connect with other Moms?

Carve out some ME time?

It's true....

"If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"

Give yourself the gift of self-care.

You deserve it!

Contact me today: Kat@AustinHypnobirthing.com

New Class Added!

I am happy to announce a new class has been added!

Sunday evenings Dec. 6- Jan.10 (skipping Dec.27)

5:00- 7:30pm

South Central Austin/Barton Hills area

Classes have been selling out very quickly. Reserve your spot soon!!

Meet the Babies!

Fall is upon us. The kids go back to school this week, the weather here in Austin is even a little cooler!

Yesterday I hosted a "Meet the Babies" party for my Mamas who have had babies over the past few months. It was so much fun to see and hold all the beautiful babies and see moms and dads as parents. I'm grateful to be a part of this special time in families' lives, and I look forward to many more parties!

My September class is now full, but there is still room in the November class.

Sunday evenings from Nov.1- Nov.29 5:00-7:30pm.

I'd love to have you there :)

A Beautiful Birth Story

The birth of our second child, our daughter Sophie, was a wonderful yet crazy experience. I call it crazy because Sophie was very close to being born in our car. On her birthday I awoke around 5 am in the morning feeling the first surges that came at long regular intervals. I stayed in bed for some time before getting up for a brief morning meditation. When my husband woke up I told him the good news that he didn't have to go to the office that day. Together with our little son Gabriel we had breakfast, and it was around that time that I gave Lauren, my doula, the first call. The surges, at that time, were about 5-6 minutes apart and lasted for approx. 45 seconds. I breathed through them easily. After breakfast I lay down to listen to the birth affirmations and relaxation exercise from the HypnoBirthing classes that I had taken during my first pregnancy. During both pregnancies I had prepared myself with the breathing, relaxation and visualisation exercises that HypnoBirthing offers. While I was relaxing in bed the surges became longer, reaching 60 seconds, and they came about 10 minutes apart. I informed Lauren that we would soon leave for the hospital and, planning to leave home around 10 am, told my husband to get things ready. Just when we were ready to leave, I entered transition phase with the cervix opening to its full extent. I experienced a few very powerful surges. During the last of these surges my membranes released and I knew that now was the time to either change to the hospital or stay at home for the birth. I briefly considered the second option, but we were not prepared for a home birth, and I remembered that with my first birth it took the baby a couple hours from the time he passed the cervix and entered the birth path until he was born. I didn't know that I was only four surges away from giving birth. At half past 10 am I had managed to get into the car and my husband gave his best as a driver. I experienced two surges on the way to the hospital, each time hoping the baby would not choose this car for making her entrance into this world. When we reached the hospital after 15 minutes, I was wheeled into the delivery suite and while climbing onto the bed asked for the birthing stool to be brought in. The nurses told me they first wanted to see how far I had progressed and got ready for an "initial examination" . Obviously they had no idea how far I actually was. Since we had reached the hospital I was relaxed again, breathing normally and even talking to the nurses in a normal voice, though somewhat brief manner. When one of the nurses wanted to take a closer look, I told her to wait, and with the next surge the head of the baby emerged and was expelled with absolutely no effort on my side. I just lay on the bed watching my body in awe. One of the nurses hurried out of the room to call my doctor. The nurses were not comfortable with the baby arriving without him being there, but my husband told them to let the baby come out. When they asked me to push the baby out fully, Lauren reminded me to just follow my body's lead. I did exactly that, and with a final surge my body birthed the baby's torso as effortlessly as it had birthed her head. My husband made sure the baby was placed onto my tummy for immediate bonding. The nurses had intended to carry out suctioning. Sophie, however, breathed normally when she lay on my tummy. And then we just enjoyed holding her and watching her first moves.

Using Hypnosis for Birth

What exactly is Hypnobirthing?!

People ask me this a lot. Understandable. The name kinda throws you off- the "Hypno" part especially. 
"Will I be in a trance?"
"Will I be out of it?"
"Will I cluck like a chicken?"

No. No. and No (well, maybe if you want).

The best and most concise definition I can give is this:

HypnoBirthing is a childbirth education program (like Lamaze or Bradley) that empowers moms (and dads) so that they can make informed decisions for themselves in their birthing situation. Unfortunately birth has become more of a "medical procedure" than a normal human experience. Traditional-minded nursing/OB staff want to fit moms into a 'one-size-fits-all' labor and delivery experience. Guess what? It just doesn't work like that!

We (collectively speaking) have also been inundated with horror stories surrounding birth- whether it is through the media (stop watching TLC!), friends, parents, and even strangers. They all want to tell pregnant moms how horribly painful labor is. That in itself is a form of hypnosis. Your subconscious has been absorbing all of this so that, on a subconscious level (and a conscious level as well) moms end up being terrified of giving birth, and the thought of doing it without drugs seems like some kind of masochistic nightmare.

That's where the "Hypno" comes in. (My next post will go into hypnosis in much more detail) Part of your daily practice is to listen to a self-hypnosis CD that is very relaxing and calming. There are also affirmations to listen to that will, in fact, re-train your brain into believing in your body's ability to birth naturally and peacefully. The more your subconscious hears a suggestion, the more it begins to believe that suggestion as reality. So pretty soon, you start to feel a bit lighter, a bit more confident. And you aren't really sure why, but you start to believe you really can do this. Pretty cool, huh?!

Another big part of the course is ways to get into deep relaxation quickly and easily. One major reason for the pain associated with labor has to do with tension. It is a cycle of FEAR-TENSION-PAIN. So if you can learn to release that fear, the tension will be released, thus the pain.....sounds easy enough, right? I can't give away ALL my secrets- you'll have to take the class :)

One of the best parts of this program is the emphasis on the birthing partner. There are definite things they can say and do to be an integral part of the birthing experience. And as the course unfolds, the birthing partners tend to ease up a bit and gain a lot more confidence as well! I think lots of partners are deathly afraid of seeing their loved one in major pain and don't know what they would possibly do to help. HB teaches the birth partners how to facilitate relaxation and even some hypnosis techniques. After all, this birth is about families, not just the mom - makes so much sense...

Lastly we talk a lot about how to have a productive and communicative relationship with your care provider/nursing staff. Questions to ask, tests and procedures that you will be faced with, etc. I like for moms to feel like they are part of the experience, not just a patient lying in a bed. It's one thing if you are part of the decision-making process, but a whole other thing if everything is done to you (see Monty Python hospital scene). And I must add the disclaimer that I have nothing against epidurals if you've had one or OBs or anything like that. I think everyone has to do what is right for THEM and everyone is entitled to their own birth experience. I"m not one of those natural birth snobs....

One last note:

I believe in the power of the human body. I believe in the power of the mind. Can a person move mountains with their mind? Maybe not. Can a woman have a calm, peaceful, comfortable, and beautiful birth experience by re-training her mind? Absolutely. I am a testament to that. But that will have to wait for another post and another latte....