The Mind & Body connection

Why it matters in pregnancy and labour

Our mind is powerful. Our unconscious controls how our body responds during labour. Have you ever thought of your favourite meal when you were hungry and your body responded with a rumbling tummy or your mouth salivating, this is one of many examples of the mind and body connection. When we are giving birth, our body responds to our unconscious mind. If a positive association to birth is stored in our unconscious, we are more likely to experience labour more positively. There are various powerful techniques to work on our associations with birth and to improve how our bodies respond during labour.

The unconscious mind LOVES repetition. That’s why I will encourage you to practice your hypnobirthing tools regularly in order for them to have a positive impact.

Nature smartly designed our mind to protect us from harm. Anything perceived as a threat can trigger our bodies into a fight or flight response. This may have been useful for us many many years ago, to keep us alive. However, as we evolved we have been fed new information and been conditioned to fear birth, even though it is a natural process our bodies are designed for.

What causes our negative associations with birth today? For example, seeing a labouring woman on TV. She often is shown screaming in a brightly lit room, lying on her back in a hospital bed, seemingly in a lot of pain.

Or we might be negatively influenced by listening to those horror birth stories from our friends or family …

During your pregnancy it is useful to focus on positive birth stories and avoid the negative ones where possible. If our unconscious mind believes birth is something painful or to be fearful of, our body will respond accordingly, in an attempt to protect us. We may tense up and create a more uncomfortable experience, as our beliefs shape our physical response. In order for us to release the powerful birthing hormones, which aid labour progression, we have to feel safe and avoid fear. The more our muscles are relaxed, the better they can work during labour. Affirmations can be a great daily tool to shift our unconscious beliefs. They can be listened to as MP3 Audios while commuting to work, shopping or even sleeping, they’ll reach our unconscious even if we are not aware of it. It also is great to hang affirmation cards somewhere in the home, where they are seen every day, like the bathroom mirror or in the bedroom. Both places where we are at least twice a day.

If we don’t address our unconscious beliefs, we have no control how the body will respond in the moment we are labouring our baby. Unless we take control and practice relaxation, gain birthing knowledge and work on our unconscious.

Here at Birthing Flow I will provide you with tools to work on those limiting beliefs and turn them into positive ones. Of course, there are a lot of different factors influencing how labour is experienced. However, the way we prepare can make or break our birthing experience. If you use the right tools to stay in the birthing flow and to stay relaxed you increase your chances of a more positive birth experience.