Explore Hypnobirthing with Elms Wellbeing

Preparing for birth and giving birth can be the most beautiful experiences a person can have. However, these times can also be filled with anxiety and uncertainty, overwhelm and doubt. This is where Hypnobirthing comes in. It is the complete antenatal package and can transform your pregnancy and birth journey.

In a nutshell, Hypnobirthing is evidence-based mindfulness, relaxation and holistic wellbeing that supports you in pregnancy, birth and life, that also encompasses a complete practical antenatal education. It is for all births and all bodies and is grounded in science.

Lets explore the benefits of hypnobirthing, what it is, how it works and why you should book a course that suits you to prepare and support your pregnancy and parenting journey.

What is Hypnobirthing?

Hypnobirthing is antenatal education that prepares both the body and the mind for birth, and is for birth partners as much as the mother.

• Hypnobirthing focuses on reframing negative expectations and fears around pregnancy and birth to cut through the fear-tension-pain cycle.

  
  

• It helps you develop your own set of coping and calming strategies, with lots of little techniques that come together to create a big positive impact on your pregnancy & birth experience.

  
  

• It is a practice that promotes calm, reduces stress, relieves anxiety and switches on the relaxation response  - the ideal state for birth.

  
  

• It guides you to understand and listen to your body, and tune into your own instincts and intuition.

  
  

• Its about building confidence through self-knowledge of what you need to feel safe and comfortable to birth freely in your own way.

  
  

• It teaches you what to expect, informs you of your birth rights and choices, laying out all of your options clearly.

Hypnobirthing shows you how to use relaxation techniques to manage pain and anxiety during labour and gives you confidence to trust your inner wisdom and guidance in knowing what is right for you when presented with your birth options.

It combines breathing exercises, affirmations work, journalling prompts and visualisation to create a calm and positive birthing experience, along with gentle practical movements for a more efficient and comfortable birth.

It also demystifies birth, shows you all of your options with evidence-based information to enable you to make the right decisions for your birth, and helps you understand birth as a physiological process and know what your body needs to birth with efficiency and ease.

It also helps you to tune into what you really need to feel safe and comfortable to birth your way.

The Key Methods of Hypnobirthing

1. Relaxation: The core of hypnobirthing is relaxation. You will learn how to enter a state of deep relaxation on cue, which can help reduce stress and tension during labour, and is a life skill that will serve you in so many situations and experinces throughout your life.

   
   

2. Breathing Techniques: Controlled breathing is a key component of hypnobirthing. You will learn specific breathing techniques that can help you work with your surges, promote relaxation, reduce stress and tension and push other sensations to the side. These breaths are your super power and will be there for you in postpartum and matresence too to bring you moments of peace, calm, perspective and energy when you need it most.

   
   

3. Positive Affirmations: Hypnobirthing promotes the use of positive affirmations to retrain the brain and rewire the mind away from fear, doubt and social and cultural conditioning that may lead us to view birth a certain way. Affirmations are phrases, or mantras, that help reinforce a positive mindset about your birth and birth in general. They can help build confidence, reduce fear and boost excitement and joy around birth.

   
   

4. Visualisation: This is a powerful technique using mental imagery that can be guided or prompted and helps to build neural pathways and learned behaviours that reduce fear and anxiety, and promote feelings of safety, comfort and confidence.

   
   

5. Anchors: These are objects or methods that you practice with that will anchor you to feelings of calm, relaxation and safety. Linking them to your 5 senses can make them even more potent and easier to access to bring you back to a relaxed state. The ideal state for birth.

   
   

6. Understanding basic birth principles to work with your body and enter the ideal state for birth: a parasympathetic nervous state of relaxation. You will learn about the key players in the birthing body and the role they play including what helps and hinder them to do their jobs: get familiar with the uterus, cervix, pelvis, psoas muscle and the cocktail of hormones at play. You will learn about the fear-tension-pain cycle that can interrupt the flow of birth and use your Hypnobirthing toolkit to cut through this cycle and return to the altered state of your relaxation response where birthing hormones flow freely.

   
   

Benefits of Hypnobirthing

• Confidence in pregnancy and the birth process

  
  

• Reduced Anxiety and Fear

  
  

• Less Pain or perception of pain

  
  

• Shorter Labour times and smoother Postnatal Recovery

  
  

• Parents who feel educated, in control and confident about their births

  
  

• Understanding and trust in the body, mind and in birth itself

  
  

• Informed decision-making and knowledge of birth rights is empowering

  
  

• Calming and relaxation skills for life

  
  

• Better Experience in Pregnancy, Birth and Postnatally for both mothers and birth partners

How Does Hypnobirthing Work?

Its about shifting your mindset and equipping you with skills to activate your relaxation response and tap into your parasympathetic nervous system on cue.

Fear, tension and pain activate the sympathetic nervous system which has adverse effects on the balance of hormones & the physiology of birth, redirecting oxygen away from the birthing muscles and producing adrenalin and cortisol (the stress hormone).  

This diminishes the production of the key birth hormones, oxytocin and endorphins. 

Less oxygen and less helpful hormones make birth less efficient and this turns on  the body's fight-flight-or-freeze response which can stall or stop labour.

Understanding the balance of hormones & being able to use simple, portable anchors to ground and relax you and alter your nervous state boosts birth hormones, helps the body be open and free, facilitates birth and improves the overall birth experience.

Who is Hypnobirthing for?

Hypnobirhting is for every birth and every body.

It's great if you are feeling anxious or uncertain, if you have any fears or negative expectations, if you feel confused or if you feel unprepared and overwhelmed. It helps with past birth trauma too. 

It's fits alongside pregnancy yoga, other antenatal education and is just as worthwhile done as a refresher course, as it is for a first time mum. Each pregnancy and birth is different, and Hypnobirthing will unlock what you need to step into your power for every birth you use it for.

It is for anyone who wants to feel confident, informed, supported, knowledgeable and prepared about pregnancy, birth & beyond.

It is for birthers and birth partners.

The techniques can be used in parenthood and are coping and calming skills for life so they stay with you and will continue to help you to find calm, promote relaxation and cope with daily stresses.

How to Start your Hypnobirthing Journey

If you are interested in hypnobirthing, here are some top tips to get started:

1. Find a Class that fits you. Hypnobirthing should be taught by a certified practitioner with lots of experience. I have over 8 years experience guiding parents through relaxation techniques for pregnancy and birth, hypnobirthing principles and active antenatal education. I have 2 beautiful children with 2 very different birth experiences, so I can speak firsthand about how Hypnobirthing practically supported both of their births. You are in safe hands here at Elms Wellbeing. My Hypnobirthing course is a gentle, mother-led approach where we explore birth, how it makes us feel, and how we want to feel about our birth. You will be guided through a range of technquies and encouraged to personalise your 'toolkit' along the way, taking what works for you. You will be supported in class, with a free journal and weekly prompts and further resources to help make your practice a habit.

   
   

2. Hypnobirthing is a Practice: Regular practice is key. Set aside time each day if you can or at least each week to practice the relaxation and breathing techniques, and to personalise your Hypnobirthing toolkit to suit you. Practice is where the magic happens and how you will be able to access the anchors on cue, when you need them most.

   
   

3. Create a Birth Plan: It is never too early to start thinking about what you want and need. Ask questions, do your research, inform your options with evidence-based information, and trust your instincts. Tune into what you really need to feel safe and comfortable enough to birth your way. A birth plan is not a requirement, but it certainly helps ensure everyone is on the same page and is a must have for birth partners to be able to advocate for your needs so you can birth freely and with confidence knowing they are on your side and by your side.

Embrace the journey ahead with confidence and connection with Elms Wellbeing Hypnobirthing and Pregnancy Circles, and Active Antenatal Workshops for Birth Partners to prepare too .

Coming Soon in 2026 - classes in Brecon, Hay and Glangrwyney/Crickhowell!