Hypnobirthing changed me!

Ok, so granted, this is a tenuous link, but bear with me... At the time of writing, my heavily pregnant wife and I had been on somewhat of an adventure for the last 9+ months since we learned she was pregnant (as luck would have it, through our very first experience of IVF). It’s been an insane journey of discovery, wonderment (and sheer disbelief in some cases), as we’ve got to grips with the multitude of the varying twists and turns of pregnancy. (I'm delighted to say that a few weeks ago, our little bundle of joy Rafferty, entered our lives to much excitement - so posting this slightly later than planned, due to paternity leave!).

We were at what football management supremo Sir Alex Fergusson would call the business end of the season, or what Steve Bruce (much less of an impressive football manager) would call “squeaky bum time”. As we neared the due date, we’d been educating ourselves on what happens (and when), what every scenario could mean, but also what the surroundings will look like when the time came. I think I’d calculated that depending on what the baby wants to do, we’ve got around 10+ ways for the baby to arrive – which is nuts, when you’d think (on an admittedly very basic level) that there’s just one or two routes of entering our world.

Anyway, part of this journey of discovery that many parents/partners/significant others will know about, is hypnobirthing. What I can tell you, is that it’s not as nearly aligned to the hippie, airy-fairy, weed-smoking folk you might think it is. It’s origin’s lie within the pages of a book first published back in 1989, written by Marie Mognan titled “HypnoBirthing: A Celebration of Life”. The ideas behind this method of childbirth education, started with Mongan's own childbirth experiences and quickly became established as “the belief that every woman has within her, the power to call upon her natural maternal instinct to birth her babies in joy (and comfort) in a manner that most mirrors nature”. Powerful stuff, indeed.

You’re probably already saying to yourself, “why on earth is a Head of People banging on about hypnobirthing”?! But here’s the lovely thing about hypnobirthing... you can apply it to literally everything. A lot of the theory here, lies in how things are framed in your minds-eye ahead of the actual event itself. For example, a wedding, a pitch, a difficult meeting, your driving test...anything. By dreading something that in real life hasn’t happened yet, you’re literally setting yourself up to fail. You’ve trained your mind to think the worst, not the best outcome. Where the magic lies, is in how you set yourself, and others around you, into preparing for something. If you’ve already catastrophised something in your head, the reality is, there’s a far higher chance of that bad outcome swiftly arriving. If you think something is going to go bad, you’re more likely to allow it to happen. Another sporting quip for you: “Losers let it happen, winners make it happen”. It’s a fact.

Coming full circle and back to pregnancy, is that with HypnoBirthing, preparation aims to have expectant mothers view birth in a positive manner, with the belief that childbirth does not have to be painful. It focuses on teaching the skills of deep relaxation, visualisation, and self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is used to release fears that can convince the mind that labour is painful. The stark reality is, though – this application can absolutely be transferable to everyday life. Breathing techniques, mindfulness, visualisation and scenario-planning are all measures that can collectively contribute to forms of optimism and control. Another niche reference here is the reverse of that, which for those of you who watch “This is Us” on Amazon Prime will know well, catastrophising something can actually mean you view the current problem/scenario, with a different lens altogether. In This is Us, two of the main characters take it in turns to play a version of ‘worst case scenario’, where catastrophised scenario’s (often very much in the realms of the ridiculous) bounce back and forth, until calmness and laughter ensues. It’s all about framing here, too.

Reaffirming teamwork in the face of adversity is what drives the most successful of teams, and this can absolutely be applied in the workforce. Again, as an example, apply this methodology to pitching, and I’d put my bottom dollar (pound) on the fact that the results would change more often than not. Of course, it’s not a guarantee, but it does stand a greater opportunity to go well, if those involved are of the belief (prior to pitch) that what everyone has been working on for the last month or so can truly be believed in. They’ll react quicker in-meeting, they’ll back eachother with belief and what you can’t quantify - but I’d imagine you’d see it in action - is their chemistry and camaraderie. Something so tangible that will only ever help present the united front.?

Hypnobirthing was designed to reduce stress at a point when the body is going through very real, major trauma. The more relaxed you are, the more able you’ll be to focus on finding a zen-state, means the higher the percentage of things going more smoothly. This is backed up with stacks of evidence, too. Hypnobirthing has also been shown to reduce the risk of emergency c-sections, with only 4% of hypnobirthing births ending with an emergency C-section. This compared with 15% for the general population - according to a study by The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust.

So there you have it. In pregnancy at least, you’re more likely to have the birth you want if you practice hypnobirthing. Whilst our baby is yet to arrive, what I can guarantee you, is that I’ll be doing all I can to practice Marie’s hypnobirthing techniques.

?Perhaps try some of these techniques next time you’ve got a big meeting coming up. You might surprise yourself with the outcome...

Matt Jordan | Head of HR, UK Group @ OLIVER/IIG