Fear in labour- and what we can do to reduce it.
- The Devon Centre for Birth
- Jan 3
- 3 min read
Most of us now in our 20’s, 30’s and 40’s grew up hearing ‘horror’ birth stories from
our mothers, her friends and perhaps an estranged aunt, and unfortunately this has
a lot to be said about how we prepare and enter labour in the modern day.
Do you remember Eastenders and Coronation Street episodes where girls would
scream and shout in pain whilst they gave birth on the sofa, surrounded by panic and
desperation? Perhaps you have watched the show ‘One Born Every Minute’, if you
haven’t then it was a ‘real life’ series of women giving birth on the labour ward.
Women tend to watch this to prepare themselves for labour and what to expect when
it happens to them, but what they tend to be missing here is that the show is
extremely dramatized with suspenseful music, ‘complicated’ births and cliff hangers.
Having a straight forward spontaneous vaginal birth with minimal intervention would
not make good television, there is no wonder that when we fall pregnant ourselves,
we are terrified of giving birth!
So, fear unfortunately plays a HUGE role in this generation of women having babies.
FEAR=TENSION=PAIN is a mantra that I use frequently in my teaching to explain
how fear can affect the uterus in labour. Scientifically, (without going into too much
detail) fear triggers a chemical response of adrenaline in the body, and adrenaline is
NOT a friend of labour. When adrenaline is released into the blood stream, the lovely
oxygenated blood that we need to make the uterus muscle work and contract
smoothly and efficiently, is directed to our arms and our legs in a ‘fight or flight’
response. Our body thinks that there is real threat or danger, and our brain reacts to
this as it would do encountering a lion on the high street- to either fight for our lives,
or run away from said danger! Therefore, reducing the fear in labour and birth is
SUPER important when aiming for a calm and positive birth experience.
How do we do this you ask? We need to essentially re-train the subconscious part of
our brain to expect a more positive outcome when we enter labour ourselves. We
cannot practice giving birth, so we use the next best thing. By watching positive birth
videos, reading lots of positive birth stories, and listening to hypnobirthing scripts, we
are teaching our brain that labour is a safe event!
Giving birth is something that women’s bodies were literally designed to do! And
historically we have done a pretty good job at evolving the human race right? So, by
giving yourself a good antenatal education, understanding the anatomy and
physiology of the body during pregnancy and labour, surrounding yourself with
positivity using various hypnobirthing techniques, you can and WILL have a positive
birth experience, however your baby makes its entrance into the world!
If this sounds like something you would like to know more about then please get in
touch. I have supported many couples antenatally to prepare for their birth and would
love to support you on one of life’s most precious journey’s. Remember, you only get
to birth this baby once!
Hannah
Accredited Hypnobirthing Instructor
Hannah is an accredited Hypnobirthing Instructor who supports pregnant women and
their families to feel informed, confident and empowered as they prepare for birth.
With a background working in NHS and private healthcare environments, Hannah
brings a calm, compassionate and professional approach to her work.
After becoming a mother herself and using hypnobirthing techniques for her own births,
her passion for supporting women through pregnancy and birth deepened. She
believes that when women understand the physiology of labour and are supported to
reduce fear, they can remain calm, focused and better able to manage the
sensations of birth.
Hannah’s approach is evidence-based, supportive and reassuring, helping parents
feel relaxed and confident in their choices and birth preferences.
She offers one-to-one tailored antenatal courses in clients’ homes (and online),
group hypnobirthing courses across South Devon, and unique overnight
hypnobirthing retreats held in a beautiful thatched cottage in rural Devon, ideal for
couples or friends seeking a more immersive experience.
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