Very factual, evidence-based, none of the patronising stuff a lot of pregnancy books have, and pretty balanced views on things too. Hypnobirthing teacher and Founder of The Positive Birth Company, Siobhan Miller’s name pops up again and again on our Mumsnet forums. You can binge watch the videos, or watch just one an evening if you prefer a bitesize approach to learning. Using the sights, sounds and smells from a hospital the audio puts in place triggers so your mind knows what to do when you go into labour. Another thing that bothered me about the book was the tone it took implying that if a woman was experiencing pain during labor she was obviously doing something incorrectly.

The Hypnobirthing Book: An Inspirational Guide for a Calm The Hypnobirthing Book: An Inspirational Guide for a Calm

The NCT (National Childbirth Trust) offers paid-for antenatal courses, and refresher courses for parents who already have a child. It had been a while since I’d seen my own midwife and I had questions to ask that had been playing on my mind. After reading this book, listening to the CD's and practicing the techniques I was able to endure a 30+ hour labor and I was successful in the end.

Read next: If you're struggling with post-birth incontinence, don't miss our guide to the best pelvic floor trainer as recommended by Mumsnet users. Everyone's pain experience is different, and the interventions required to manage pain are different for everyone, and just telling someone that they don't or shouldn't be experiencing pain is one of the least effective things that you can do. Area of focus: Are you looking for one book that covers everything from conception to childbirth, or are you happy to read a book focused on a specific area such as nutrition, breastfeeding or labour? I kept waiting for her explanation of why women experience after-pains, something that certainly isn't related to fear given that the birth is already over at that point and you have your lovely little baby in your arms.

Hypnobirthing? Technique, How-To, Pros and Cons What Is Hypnobirthing? Technique, How-To, Pros and Cons

Related: On the subject of breastfeeding, don't miss our guide to the best maternity pyjamas - including several breastfeeding-friendly options - as recommended by Mumsnet users.Apgar scores, the system to evaluate babies in the minutes after birth, may be higher among babies born using HypnoBirthing techniques. Women and birthing people are welcome to attend any time from 20 weeks into their pregnancy but most expectant parents attend around the 30 week mark. This stance of blaming the victim goes against everything in the psychological literature relating to pain management.

The Positive Birth Company

This is a fully comprehensive hypnobirthing antenatal course with 43 videos that are divided into different section topics. I would say it's not necessarily 100% helpful in isolation, as a lot of the practice is much easier with someone else to guide you. Packed full of helpful tips and advice to get you started, this book offers easy to read, bitesize chunks of information that can inform and reassure without overwhelming. It goes into detail about exactly what is happening in your body and why, without being patronising or dumbing things down for the reader. On the flip side, I understand the theory behind this book, that women should not be scared of giving birth.Find out about our world famous birthing community and why our digital courses are only the beginning of our support. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend course, it was packed full of useful info that we are excited to start practicing and put to good use. Some people struggle to learn the relaxation techniques so allowing yourself plenty of time to practise is better, but if you decide later in the pregnancy that you would like to learn about hypnobirthing you can still practise some of the exercises in time for your birth. The Positive Birth Company is on a mission to make prenatal, antenatal and postnatal education more accessible, because we passionately believe that everyone deserves access to this knowledge and the tools to achieve the best TTC journey, pregnancy, birth and postpartum period possible. Even if you already have a child, you may still benefit from refresher classes - especially if there is a big gap between pregnancies.