My name is Fiona Horsburgh, I qualified as a midwife in October 2004 and work locally.
I am married and have two lovely children, I only wish I had known about HypnoBirthing
® when I was pregnant with my own children.
photography by Peter Trenchard.
HypnoBirthing
® was first brought to my attention by my best friend (Layna), who through her husband's job, moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands where HypnoBirthing
® is very popular.
I hadn't thought too much about it until I hurt my back and had to have an operation in 2008. The thought of never caring for pregnant women and their families again despaired me! It was then HypnoBirthing
® was brought back to me via Layna, who was now pregnant with her adorable son Euan (a HypnoBirthing
® baby). I had done some research, but still wasn't too sure, so put myself on the waiting list to become a HypnoBirthing
® practitioner. Out of the blue, an extra date was added for a course in Brighton. I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.
In doing the course, I was astounded at how much sense it made! Having practiced midwifery for four years, I couldnt believe something so simple was not common knowledge, I was invigoured and excited with a new found respect for the birthing body and belief that it can do just as its designed to do.
The really great thing about HypnoBirthing
® is that it does not require any particular belief system, or prior experience. Some of the mums (and especially, their husbands!) have been very sceptical at first, that is until they experience it for themselves.
photography by Peter Trenchard.
The origins of HypnoBirthing
® are based on the work of Dr Grantly Dick-Read, an English Obstetrician, whose principles are also the foundation for the National Childbirth Trust (NCT).
In his book "Childbirth Without Fear", originally published in 1933 he states that:
"There is no physiological function in the body that gives rise to pain in the normal course of health. In no other animal species is the process of birth apparently associated with any suffering, pain or agony, except where pathology exists or in an unnatural state, such as captivity".
He explains that when we are afraid, the body diverts blood and oxygen from the non essential defence organs to the large muscle groups in our extremities - the fight or flight response in the body. Therefore the fear felt by women during childbirth causes the same reaction, diverting the blood and oxygen away from the uterus leaving it unable to function efficiently without pain.
This led to his theory that fear and tension cause labour pain in approximately 95% of birthing women. Termed "the fear-tension-pain syndrome of childbirth" he believed that by eliminating the fear, women could return the uterus to its normal function, thereby eliminating the pain.
HypnoBirthing
® was originally established in the U.S. by Marie Mongan, (a.k.a. Mickey) who is the founder of the HypnoBirthing
® institute.
Mickey developed the programme for her daughter and two friends using her own birthing experience, having used the theories of Dr. Grantly Dick-Read during the births of her own children.
With her counselling background and skills as a Master Hypnotherapist, she developed the HypnoBirthing
® programme.
HypnoBirthing
® is now taught in 22 countries, it has featured on television and in magazine and newspaper publications and was recently the main article and cover story in the Royal College of Midwives Journal.
photography by Peter Trenchard.
I would like to take this oppertunity to thank Layna for introducing me to HypnoBirthing
®, she also appears in some of the website photos with her husband & son, also to my friend and co-practitioner Eloise Durrant for her invaluable help with my website.
I would also like to thank Peter Trenchard who allowed me to use the beautiful images of Layna and her family.
As a HypnoBirthing
® practitioner, I practice independently of midwifery. HypnoBirthing
® is not a franchise that is bought into, but is something that I feel passionatly enough about to have gone an learned about with the aim to help women and thier families have a better birth experience.
affiliated with the HypnoBirthing
® institute
