![\"Is](\"https:\/\/hypnobirthingaustralia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Website-featured-images-60-300x171.png\")
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This scenario played out countless times during my time as an antenatal clinic midwife.<\/span><\/p>\n Me<\/span>: \u2018How are you feeling about the birth? What sort of preparation are you doing?\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n First-time mum: <\/span>\u2018I haven\u2019t really thought about it, I\u2019d rather not know so I don\u2019t have to worry about it. I\u2019ve decided to just wing it and go with the flow. If I don\u2019t plan, I won\u2019t be disappointed if it doesn\u2019t turn out the way I want it to.\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I usually follow this up with an analogy \u2018You wouldn\u2019t run a marathon without putting in the training \u2013 birth is a marathon!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The average marathon trainer spends 2.5 to 3 hours running, three to four days a week for 16 to 20 weeks prior to the forty-two-kilometre race. On top of that, they practise energy preservation, cross-training, hill training, gut training. They build strength and endurance, tailor their nutrition, focus on getting enough recovery and sleep, train the mind to not fear the marathon and practice keeping a positive mindset. They choose a support crew to train with and keep them motivated, to be there on race day and whilst they recover.<\/span><\/p>\n Most runners will do a half marathon rehearsal, a simple twenty-one kilometres, to feel psychologically primed and ready so that race day feels<\/span> familiar<\/span><\/i>. When the big day rolls around the runner focuses on staying calm, following normal routines and preserving energy. During the final ten kilometres the runner pushes themselves, focussing on each kilometre they are in. They know it\u2019s easy to get carried away with the work still to be done so they use their positive self-talk strategies \u2018breathe and relax your shoulders\u2019 \u2018focus on the vest in front.\u2019 As they approach the final kilometre, they find something deeper, a last rush of adrenaline to propel them forwards. They know they can get there \u2013 they\u2019ve done all the preparation! How amazing it will feel to have achieved their goal. They can hear their supporters cheering them on as they pass the finish line.<\/span><\/p>\n This is birth. Preparation begins for most even before the baby is conceived. During pregnancy, parents have the opportunity to prepare themselves with knowledge, tools and support. The Positive Birth Program provides parents with evidence-based techniques and education to experience a positive birth. Like the runner in training, the birthing mother\u2019s training incorporates self-hypnosis, massage and touch, relaxation, visualisation and breathing techniques. She chooses a birth support \u2013 a partner, a family member or a friend who will practise these techniques with her and be with her on her birthing day and whilst she recovers postpartum.<\/span><\/p>\n As her birthing day draws near, she thinks about her birth preferences and communicates them with her care providers. She asks questions and makes informed decisions, maintains a healthy diet, optimises her baby\u2019s position, keeps her body active and recognises the importance of rest. She rehearses with her birth partner how her birthing day might play out and what tools she may utilise to stay calm, focussed and in control. She knows her body and her baby instinctively knows how to birth, and she surrenders to this miracle. She feels empowered, strong and the most immense sense of love and fulfilment. Her mind tells her \u2018If I could do that, I could run a marathon.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n This scenario played out countless times during my time as an antenatal clinic midwife. Me: \u2018How are you feeling about the birth? What sort of preparation are you doing?\u2019 First-time mum: \u2018I haven\u2019t really thought about it, I\u2019d rather not know so I don\u2019t have to worry about it. I\u2019ve decided to just wing it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2603,"featured_media":149996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u00a0<\/span>This blog is written by Catherine Williams who is both a <\/b>Midwife <\/b>and a Hypnobirthing Australia Practitioner in Queensland, Maroochydore.<\/b><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"