Hypnobirthing

Introduction

In this episode of Mother'z Yoga podcast we are joined by Jemma Vyas from South East Hypnobirthing - who takes us through an interesting topics like

• What is Hypnobirthing?
• Role of hypnosis in child birth?
• Mind body connection
• Power of hypnosis
• Hypnobirthing course 

Let's listen to the session by playing the link below:  

Transcript

0:00:00:00 - 00:00:28:01
Ragini
If you are pregnant or a new mom. This podcast is for you. Welcome to the Mother's Yoga podcast. I am your host, Ragini, a mom of two boys, a pre and post-natal yoga instructor and the founder of an online program exclusively for moms called Mother's Yoga. Come and say Hello to me on Instagram at Mother's Yoga. And for now, let us dive into the show.

00:00:30:15 - 00:01:01:02
Ragini
Hey, mamas. Welcome to another guest Speaker session. Today I'm joined by the lovely midwife and Hypnobirthing Australia practitioner Gemma Graf. And we are going to chat all about Hypnobirthing. So what is Hypnobirthing? What exactly is the role of hypnosis in childbirth? What is mind, body connection and its importance? Whether you're going for a normal or a C-section birth?

00:01:01:20 - 00:01:21:23
Ragini
And also what is Gemma's top labor tip and why? And we are going to chat to Emma about how can we attend her hypnobirthing sessions and get more knowledge from her. So I'm so excited by this session. And welcome, Gemma. Thank you for joining us.

00:01:21:24 - 00:01:23:13
Jemma
No worries. Thank you for having me.

00:01:23:19 - 00:01:27:05
Ragini
Would you like to introduce yourself to my listeners?

00:01:27:09 - 00:01:54:06
Jemma
Thank Ragini. Say hello, everyone. My name is Gemma. I am a registered midwife and a Hypnobirthing practitioner childbirth educator. I have been a midwife now for about 14 years and I trained and practiced in the UK, did a stint of practice when I qualified over there for about 18 months, mainly doing home birth water births, which was fantastic.

00:01:54:24 - 00:02:33:00
Jemma
And then I moved over to Australia in 2009, 2010, and I worked in the private sector at Aqua Freemasons for two years and then I moved on to at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, which is a very large tertiary hospital. And I've been practicing there for around about 11 years now. And the reason why I chose to become a Hypnobirthing practitioner childbirth educator was because particularly in the antenatal period, mothers were coming up to me absolutely fearful of giving birth.

00:02:33:05 - 00:02:50:07
Jemma
You know, I don't want to do this. I want to skip the whole thing and book me in for the Caesarean section, or how do I schedule in my epidural. And this was prior to me having my children. And I was thinking, why are we going so wrong in society that so many mothers are fair in giving birth?

00:02:50:14 - 00:03:12:12
Jemma
And I believe that knowledge is power. And I feel like I really am doing my my part by doing by being a Hypnobirthing Australia practitioner in the stories that I get is fantastic. But also as well, being a mother of two, I've also utilized these birthing tools and techniques from birth in my two children as well, so I know what I'm teaching does actually work as well.

00:03:12:23 - 00:03:27:12
Ragini
Wow, that's wonderful, Gemma. Thank you for that introduction. So let's get into today's discussion, which is the Hypnobirthing basics, and then start by understanding what is hypnobirthing.

00:03:28:05 - 00:03:55:05
Jemma
A lot of people get a bit pissed off about this word. Hypno. Hypno Hypnobirthing. And you know, when I say to people it's an it's a word that means it's a positive, positive birthing. Hypnobirthing is a fancy word for positive birth. If you have a normal birth and instrumental birth caesarean section, these tools and techniques can be applied for all type of birth.

00:03:55:05 - 00:04:17:15
Jemma
And I believe that all birth is birth midwife. The meaning is with woman. As midwives, we support women in their choices and in all types of birth that may unfold for them. So it really is just a fancy word for a positive birth experience. And I have a lot of clients come to me who are working towards a vaginal birth after caesarean section, for example.

00:04:18:01 - 00:04:27:12
Jemma
And even with inductions, like, you can apply the tools and techniques, even if you've been induced. So a batch is a fancy word for having a.

00:04:27:12 - 00:04:28:14
Ragini
Positive or positive.

00:04:28:21 - 00:04:41:02
Jemma
Experience. Yeah, and it's a very comprehensive course. It's very inclusive as well. Adaptable and it's evidence based. So it is based on evidence.

00:04:42:09 - 00:04:59:16
Ragini
That's interesting. So, Gemma, can you tell us the importance of mind and body connection? I believe you talk about it in a lot in your sessions, so can you tell our listeners about it?

00:05:00:01 - 00:05:33:08
Jemma
MM A lot of midwives say tight mind tight cervix, open mind, open cervix. So if we can allow our body to remain loose and limp, be nice and relaxed and welcome each we call them surges in hypnobirthing. So welcome each surge rather than fighting and resisting, it's going to be a lot easier to get through them. Okay. Rather than tensing up our body and fighting it, we're going to work with it.

00:05:33:15 - 00:05:59:06
Jemma
And these tools and techniques help you to relax. We talk about the physiology of childbirth, like what's happening when we're having our surges. Well, it's these muscles, these uterine muscles working in harmony together to bring your baby outside. So it's literally your uterus having a really big workout. Yeah. I always say to my clients that you can do anything for 60 seconds.

00:05:59:18 - 00:06:24:02
Jemma
That's the average length. The surge. And every surge that you have is bringing you one step closer to meeting your baby. And these surges cannot beat you because they are you. So it's about creating that positive birthing belief system. But this has to start during pregnancy. It takes time to practice these tools and techniques and, you know, practice makes perfect.

00:06:24:02 - 00:06:26:17
Jemma
As my mother always says, Well.

00:06:27:05 - 00:06:44:02
Ragini
I really love you can just like said some really wonderful points there that the best tools and techniques are to be practiced throughout pregnancy. So just, you know, you can't do it on one day and it's set in a mode.

00:06:44:14 - 00:07:20:06
Jemma
That set, you know, there's only so much that I can do. I mean, I can teach you the full program, but it's then up to you to go home. The practice is tools and techniques that practice with your support person. The support person is central to the hypnobirthing Australia program by working together. At the end of the day, you guys are going to be working as a team and you need to know your support person needs to know what these tools and techniques are so that on the day, if a particular tool isn't working, you can delve into your Hypnobirthing is straight toolbox and they can help you to apply the next one.

00:07:20:10 - 00:07:41:02
Jemma
And that practice that practicing, you know, labor is an endurance event. You wouldn't expect an athlete at night. We've got this World Cup happening at the moment. I don't me and I don't think the English and I don't know if we can talk about the cricket regaining because then England's England beat India in the cricket and we got the World Cup.

00:07:41:02 - 00:08:02:04
Jemma
But anyway, any, any kind of sporting athlete, they are practicing, they're not just practicing in terms of their skills, they're practicing that mind body connection that they can do this, that they are going to do this and embed in that belief system, really psyching themselves up. And that's what we do with our hypnobirthing as well.

00:08:03:23 - 00:08:24:03
Ragini
That's wonderful. So also, Gemma, I would love to know you did mention that mind and body, so open mind, open cervix. So if we talk about normal labor, a normal, but that's applicable. How does this concept apply to a caesarean section?

00:08:24:03 - 00:08:59:19
Jemma
What it's going to be a more positive experience if you enter an operating theater with fear which read with not knowing, not not having any knowledge behind you, you're going to go into panic mode. You're going to trigger that sympathetic nervous response. So all these tools and techniques, the light touch, massage the anchor, touch your breathing techniques, your visualizations, listening to relaxation, music, diffusing in aromatherapy, thinking about the lighting, having a support person there in theater as well.

00:08:59:19 - 00:09:23:06
Jemma
Applying these tools, helping you with these tools is going to help you to remain calm and relaxed. So it's going to be a more positive experience. And you know, you look at our postnatal depression rates in Australia, it's something like one in six mothers. It may even be higher than this. Have postnatal depression one in eight support people, dads, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends.

00:09:23:10 - 00:09:53:05
Jemma
You have postnatal depression as well. And I do believe that having a positive birth experience, no matter which way baby is born normal, sees an instrumental. It's giving you a great landing mat and then transitioning into the postnatal period. It's going to help with breastfeeding rates, It's going to help reduce perinatal anxiety and depression and it's going to help the bonding between and, you know, you and your support person.

00:09:53:19 - 00:09:54:16
Jemma
Yeah, and baby.

00:09:55:05 - 00:10:28:22
Ragini
Yeah absolutely I, I strongly believe in that because I've had friends who were going for a caesarean section and just chatting to them maybe a day or two before their surgery, they were telling me that they're feeling so anxious and whether it was the right decision and things like so many thoughts going on, so not feeling calm as you would expect, like it's a planned thing, wasn't a labor which people think that it can be, you know, how many days it's going to go for.

00:10:28:22 - 00:10:37:16
Ragini
It's a little unpredictable yet, but they I know they were quite anxious and yeah, but it's quite normal. It's a big, big event.

00:10:37:16 - 00:11:00:16
Jemma
Yeah. Yeah. Most, most mothers, young, healthy, they've probably never set foot in a hospital before, let alone an operating theater. So you do have that anxiety maybe around that. And but my clients who do end up we have in particular an emergency caesarean section. There. My biggest advocates for the course and they they message me saying thank you.

00:11:00:17 - 00:11:23:19
Jemma
Thank you so, so much. We knew how to navigate the system. This this course helps you to know how to make informed decisions. We give you tools in how to word questions to your obstetricians and midwives so you can retrieve that evidence based information. So then you can go home, look it up, read about it, and think, well, is this the best decision for me?

00:11:23:22 - 00:11:48:10
Jemma
This is when it's not a medical emergency. This is what it's a routine investigational procedure that we're talking about. And, you know, they were able to remain calm and relaxed when things were happening quickly, when they had to get in to theater. And they just thanked me. So like the reviews that I have, the messages that I receive, like I get my own oxytocin endorphin rush every time.

00:11:48:22 - 00:12:15:13
Ragini
I can totally imagine that. Yeah, it must be feeling so good to make that kind of an impact. I can completely relate to it. Yeah. Okay. So going on to our next topic, can you tell us what is this, hypnosis and the power of hypnosis? And many people think hypnobirthing hypnosis. Tell us. Let's about it. Yeah.

00:12:15:18 - 00:12:54:24
Jemma
What is first of all, like I said before, I'm not going to make you click around like a chicken and people think that I'm going to hypnotize you and I'm not. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, and it's a normal state of mind. In fact, you go through self-hypnosis many times a day and regularly. Have you ever read a book and you think, you know, you've been so engrossed in that walking your partner's trying to get your attention or you've just been able to block everything out and that's going on around you and that's that's a form of self-hypnosis.

00:12:54:24 - 00:13:16:20
Jemma
It's literally where you're focusing on one thing and you're blocking out all of the outside noise and a little bit like meditation a little bit. So if you don't like the word self-hypnosis, call it meditation or deep relaxation. We talk about that in Hypnobirthing. If you don't like the word, change it so that it feels good for you.

00:13:16:20 - 00:13:48:12
Jemma
You don't like that negative connotation, change it. So it's all about that. It relates in to that mind body connection. But the self-hypnosis part is a way of conditioning yourselves to release endorphins to a hypnobirthing Australia world or thought out. Endorphins are really important because they're nature's natural pain reliever and they are 20 to 40 times more powerful than morphine.

00:13:49:08 - 00:14:15:19
Jemma
So we do everything and anything in our power to release these endorphins during our labor and birth. That's why when mothers are in labor, in good active labor eyes are close and they look like they're off in labor land. They're the endorphins. That's why. Day, day three, day four, maybe even day five. We have baby blues, postpartum then, because those endorphins have come all the way back down again.

00:14:15:19 - 00:14:39:02
Jemma
So the hormones are going everywhere. But during labor and birth, we're wanting to condition ourselves to relax in copious amounts to help us. But it's also a way to self-hypnosis. We do actually do some group hypnotherapy in unit four, and it's a way for us to release any fears or reservations that we may have leading up to the birth of a baby.

00:14:39:16 - 00:15:04:03
Jemma
And these fears can be the pain of childbirth or not having my preferences honored by my midwives or obstetricians. Or it could be, oh my goodness, are we going to be able to finish off this kitchen renovation before baby arrives? We've got to unpack all of this because if we can't get rid of these fears and reservations, it's going to be a lot harder for your mind to go into labor.

00:15:04:20 - 00:15:09:09
Jemma
Your mind's not going to be able to switch off and you won't go into spontaneous labor.

00:15:10:01 - 00:15:21:05
Ragini
Yeah, yeah. I was actually going to ask that. That's my next question. How does hypnosis help with dealing with the fears of childbirth?

00:15:21:17 - 00:15:56:04
Jemma
So so yeah. So it's all about creating and maintaining a positive birth belief system. So my clients get amazing resources and downloads, so they get, for example, to self-hypnosis tracks and they listen to this when they go to sleep at night. And it's all about positive messages going to their subconscious mindset. So getting rid of all of that negative stuff about birth that you've been fed, that you've been conditioned to believe from a very early age, you know what?

00:15:56:04 - 00:15:59:11
Jemma
Where do you think I'm going to ask you a question? Yeah, that's like.

00:16:00:02 - 00:16:00:13
Ragini
Like.

00:16:01:12 - 00:16:05:16
Jemma
Why do you why do you think fear comes from which childbirth?

00:16:06:11 - 00:16:20:09
Ragini
I think more about more from not knowing in which direction, the unpredictability of it, how things are going to turn, how good or bad is it going to be? So I think that unknown factor.

00:16:20:14 - 00:16:21:12
Jemma
Yeah, absence.

00:16:21:12 - 00:16:23:07
Ragini
Brings the fear. Yeah.

00:16:23:13 - 00:16:46:14
Jemma
And also what we see on the TV, you know, one born every minute, you're not going to see the quiet and hypnobirthing Australia couple who, you know have made this beautiful romantic environment and she pushes out her baby. You're going to be shown the drama and the codes and all the and everyone rushing in because that's what draws the viewers in.

00:16:46:21 - 00:17:03:21
Jemma
Yeah, Yeah. So we go from a very early age that, you know, childbirth is a drama. And I'll tell you something, I wouldn't be a midwife for 14 years if it was like that. Every single day. I wasn't. I would have retired early.

00:17:03:21 - 00:17:23:23
Ragini
Yeah. Okay. That that's wonderful. Gemma. So now, would you like us? Like to tell us what exactly are covered in these hypnobirthing sessions? And why is this knowledge important? Like, whatever is covered, what's the importance and how does it prepare someone going in?

00:17:23:23 - 00:17:58:19
Jemma
So yeah, so our four key pillars of the program, our recipe for a positive birth experience is knowledge, preparation, support and tools. So there are four key pillars. The day is or the program is split into two full days. So it's actually 12 hours of tuition for myself over over two for four days. And day one, we go over unit one, which is all about creating and maintaining a positive mindset for birth.

00:17:59:05 - 00:18:23:02
Jemma
So we're really talking about like self-hypnosis is what happens to your body when you become sympathetically driven. You know, that fight flight brings a peace response. How does that affect how you train muscles and how can that slow labor down? How can that make labor more painful? And we talk about how we can create and that positive birthing belief system values.

00:18:23:20 - 00:18:53:04
Jemma
We talk about the history of birth like, which is fascinating because we're all a part of it, the history of birth. So we talk about how fear has crept in through our history, through throughout time, and we talk about birthing and environment. So how we can and this is a big role for the support person. They get so much out of this course on how to create, but also to maintain that calm, quiet, supportive, romantic environment.

00:18:53:07 - 00:19:11:20
Jemma
We talk about the brain, how you're wired for birth, and how it can be distracted and how that can slow down labor. We talk about the hormones of birth, so that's just unit one that's just setting the scene about now what Hypnobirthing is all about. And those are other things. After lunch we get a little bit more hands on.

00:19:12:08 - 00:19:36:23
Jemma
So it's not just me just talking to my clients. We actually stand up, we move around, we practice our. So our toolkit is about our breathing techniques, our visualizations, and doing some instant relaxation techniques, acupressure point, light touch, massage and active birth skills. And there's so much yeah.

00:19:37:01 - 00:19:47:13
Ragini
That's not really like good value. I would say it's like really touching upon everything that you need to know to be prepared on that day. Wonderful.

00:19:47:13 - 00:20:25:19
Jemma
Absolutely. And then day two is so they have some time in between just to and you know, because there's a lot of information that we're giving to really digest that information. And then when they come back for day two and three, that's all about preparation and choices for empowered birthing. So this is a lot about your birth preferences, how to write birth preferences, how to navigate the system, what questions to ask to your care providers, what routine investigations and procedures may be offered to you, how to get good credible in silicone on mummy blocks and Dr. Google, where do I get credible evidence based research from?

00:20:27:12 - 00:21:13:23
Jemma
We do, and they're watching birth videos as well. So during this, also watching Nick's up to date birth videos and and Hypnobirthing Australia is Aussie so they're watching Australian birth videos rather than birth videos that have been set in the UK or America and the Australian mums in this health care system. And then unit four is birth. That's bringing it all together and I think that's why my clients like that I'm a midwife teaching is because I can really well, I know what I'm talking about and we're talking about things like when do we call the hospital or when to if they've chosen a hospital, but when do we call our midwives if we're having

00:21:13:23 - 00:21:35:22
Jemma
a homebirth? And what happens if our waters release? What happens when we first get there? What the observations like vaginal examinations, biases in how to birth, the placenta, delayed cord clamping, initiating in breastfeeding. And then we do a birth rehearsal right at the end. And I've only given you a small snippet in all of those units of what we actually do cover.

00:21:36:11 - 00:21:44:06
Ragini
MM That looks amazing. Does it also touch upon a little bit of afterbirth?

00:21:44:19 - 00:22:11:13
Jemma
And I know we talk a little bit and but I actually advice to my clients that these are your childbirth courses big tick that you don't need to do anything else if you want to do a hospital course you can but sometimes I actually find that that confuses clients a little bit more because hospital classes are more geared towards the policy and protocol of the hospital and looking at interventions.

00:22:11:13 - 00:22:31:23
Jemma
And if you're wanting to stay away from that, it's up to you. It's your choice at the end of the day. But sometimes it does confuse people. But if you want to do a postnatal course, I highly recommend doing that or at least doing if you've chosen to breastfeed and that's your likely method, then to do a breastfeeding course, at least I'm breastfeeding.

00:22:31:23 - 00:22:37:13
Ragini
Okay, so you suggest doing a childbirth course combined with the breastfeeding.

00:22:37:18 - 00:22:38:01
Jemma
Yeah.

00:22:38:01 - 00:22:41:24
Ragini
So antenatal I'm sure you do. Do.

00:22:41:24 - 00:22:51:16
Jemma
Yeah. Do you. Childbirth education hypnobirthing. Australia is your childbirth education class, but then add on a small postnatal course as well.

00:22:52:08 - 00:23:12:15
Ragini
Oh okay. Cool. I was actually going to ask you how does this hypnobirthing Australia childbirth course differs from other courses like antenatal classes in the hospital and so we have heard about converting. So would you know what's the difference between. Yeah, yeah.

00:23:12:16 - 00:23:48:01
Jemma
Yep. So like I said at the start, the Hypnobirthing Australia program is evidence based. So Doctor Kate Levitt back in 2016 performed a randomized controlled trial and she randomized her participants to attend independent childbirth education classes such as Hypnobirthing Australia that focuses on affirmations, breathing techniques, the support person's involvement and active birth skills, etcetera, etcetera. And then randomized the other section to attend Standard Hospital childbirth education classes.

00:23:48:18 - 00:24:18:18
Jemma
And her research found that when mothers in support, people attended the independent childbirth courses such as Hypnobirthing Australia, they were 65% less likely to require a caesarean section, and so 65% less likely to require an epidural and 44% less likely to require caesarean section. Okay, So that's that's the evidence regarding the course. We forget the figures to come birthing Hypnobirthing International Hypnobirthing Australia.

00:24:18:18 - 00:24:47:00
Jemma
I think the she births as well. And you know, the philosophy is pretty much the same about approaching birth in a calm, positive manner and that the course material that you receive is, is different. So I believe and I did my research, I knew that I wanted to be an independent childbirth educator. I did my research on Hypnobirthing Australia really stood out for me because the resources that my clients get is second to none.

00:24:47:00 - 00:25:12:03
Jemma
They get so much and so the course material is different, the tools are slightly different, maybe the language is slightly different. The and the MP three tracts that they listen to in the birthing Australia course is Australian accent it and it's a female as well because some people don't like to listen to American accent is things they will they don't like to have a male voice talking to them.

00:25:13:04 - 00:25:28:16
Jemma
And like I said during the course you're watching Australian birth videos, not mothers who are barefoot in America that, you know, it's typical of what you see in class is pretty much what a hospital room is set up like in Australia.

00:25:29:02 - 00:25:43:00
Ragini
Okay, that's wonderful, Gemma. So let's go on to the next part, which is your top hypnobirthing tool and why I'm so excited for this bit.

00:25:43:00 - 00:26:04:20
Jemma
I'm wondering what you think I'm going to say. Actually, my top tip is actually movement. So active birth skills, you probably like this as a yoga instructor as well because yeah, active birth skills getting up off of the bed again, we're conditioned to think. And also when you look at a birthing suite room, what's in the middle of the room is the bed.

00:26:04:20 - 00:26:05:06
Ragini
Bed.

00:26:05:11 - 00:26:29:04
Jemma
So you gravitate towards it? Yeah, you do. You just think, Oh, I make myself at home here and you just like. But when you lie on your back on the bed, it hurts more because you're compressing all of your sacral nerves. So your surges, your contractions are a lot harder to get through. Sitting up, bouncing on a ball or rocking and moving your hips, doing a little bit of a labor salsa.

00:26:29:15 - 00:26:55:14
Jemma
Mm hmm. It's a distraction tool. So it's taking instead of focusing on you, you train surges, you contractions, you're actually focusing on movement and and using your body to work through it. You're opening up your pelvis. So I'll actually get you my pelvis here. So when you're lying back down, it's going a bit blurry, isn't it, When you lie back down on the bed, the sacrum.

00:26:56:08 - 00:27:20:10
Jemma
Sorry. And you can't move back. You can't really see, can you Can't move back. But when you're standing up, leaning forward, this can actually move out. Okay. Okay. So you're really opening up that pelvis, allowing blood to circulate it around as well. They don't like it when you're lying on your back too long because you're stopping the blood flowing to the uterus, therefore to the placenta, therefore to the umbilical cord.

00:27:20:19 - 00:27:36:14
Jemma
And you're using gravity. I always say in class, if you've got a ketchup bottle and there's just a little bit of tomato sauce left, you're not going to bang it on the side like that with it lying down. Are you going to step it up and you're going to bang on the top? So we need to use gravity as well.

00:27:36:15 - 00:27:39:18
Ragini
I love that.

00:27:39:18 - 00:27:39:24
Jemma
Yeah.

00:27:41:01 - 00:28:07:08
Ragini
Mhm. Yeah. That's wonderful. Yeah. And we do talk about that in our prenatal yoga sessions about movements and breath and movement and various different combinations. Yes. Yeah. That's, that's lovely. Now coming to the last bit Gemma, where can someone find you or if they want to have some questions, chat to you or know more about your classes.

00:28:07:11 - 00:28:29:12
Jemma
Mm hmm. Absolutely. So the best way is Google MI, south east Hypnobirthing or Hypnobirthing me near me and I'll probably buy Will. I'll jump up on Google their website has so much information. There's a contact form on there. Or if you actually prefer to talk to me over the phone and then we can, we can do that as well.

00:28:29:12 - 00:28:53:10
Jemma
But my classes are based in Narre and South and and yeah, face to face classes now, which is really exciting that that's back on. And I also offer a half private half group classes. So one class one day I can see you in your own home and I travel everywhere. Last weekend I was down in St Kilda doing that all the weekend full.

00:28:53:19 - 00:29:09:03
Jemma
Yeah. And then joining me for the group session because maybe a particular date doesn't work for you or maybe you want to do the full private course just in the comfort of your own home. So I'll come to you for that as well. We do also have online options as well.

00:29:09:03 - 00:29:13:03
Ragini
Yeah, so that is to far less.

00:29:13:03 - 00:29:52:08
Jemma
Of an option. Yeah, absolutely. And I've taught people over in Perth, Hong Kong who can't obviously that's too far to travel. It's come down to Nari one so so they do the online course and if they purchase through my link on my website or if I send it to them by email, then I can then offer them a 90 minute private session upgrade for a further $150 where we catch up via Zoom or Skype or if you're local, I come to you to your house and we talk about things that you just want to kind of touch up slightly.

00:29:52:08 - 00:30:05:04
Jemma
So you want to talk more about support person's involvement or you want to really look at birth preferences or active birth skills or all of that, then we can really individualize that session to meet your needs.

00:30:05:17 - 00:30:11:06
Ragini
MM That's wonderful. And you are also on Instagram and Facebook. I believe so.

00:30:11:06 - 00:30:17:22
Jemma
Oh yeah, of course. So Instagram, Facebook, Sometimes I'm really good at that. Sometimes I'm just a little bit not.

00:30:19:03 - 00:30:47:13
Ragini
Yeah, I think it's just the busyness and I imagine your mum. Midwives Yeah. Childbirth educator Quite a busy life. It is, It is, yeah. Okay. Well I believe that was the end of our discussion. Now let's go to the Q&A session. Gemma Mm hmm. So I had two people submit some questions to me, so maybe we'll start with those.

00:30:47:17 - 00:31:14:04
Ragini
Yeah, sure. One of our members actually asked that I'm going for C section birth and we briefly touched upon this in our chat, but if you have something to elaborate or some extra points for them. So they said, I'm going for C section, but and this book since previous birth was a normal vaginal birth, but for some reason they are going for C section this time.

00:31:14:16 - 00:31:30:04
Ragini
So they ask this question basically, how are these tools going to be helpful for me? Like all the labor part is probably not relevant to me now. So yeah, if you have any extra care for them.

00:31:30:09 - 00:32:14:03
Jemma
So what I would say is that the Hypnobirthing Australia, we actually have a positive cesarean section force, so you can do this online and this further tools and techniques that you can take in to your caesarean section. And I did explain during the session about about that. But what I would say is having open and honest discussions with your care provider, so talking to your obstetrician about what your choices are and you know, things like delayed cord clamping and skipping in straight after babies is born and not having baby separated after birth.

00:32:14:03 - 00:32:41:16
Jemma
Staying with mum. Could they dim the lights slightly? I mean, obviously the surgeon, the obstetrician can't do a Caesar in the dark, but they could maybe have subdued lighting on the outside. What about birth Music Can if that's a possibility. I can't say that that would be. But that's why we need to have open and honest discussions and and ask, is that available to me?

00:32:42:00 - 00:32:59:14
Jemma
And if not, how can we adapt it slightly and maybe even writing birth preferences for your particular caesarean section? Because birth preferences are your communication tool. They communication tool. That's how you talk to obstetrician midwives. Okay. Yeah.

00:33:00:07 - 00:33:10:08
Ragini
Gemma, do you have a cause for the positive C section birth in your program? Like, do you run those courses as well or is not something that can do online only?

00:33:10:13 - 00:33:27:02
Jemma
It's online, yes. So we do have some positive cesarean section practitioners. Okay. And I haven't got there yet. It's on my to do list. I haven't quite got there yet. But we do do or do have the online course.

00:33:27:02 - 00:33:48:14
Ragini
Online course. Okay. That's wonderful to know. The next question that we had was one of my members said that the birth videos are really scary and she's a first time mum. So what should I do and how should I prepare? So she's really scared looking at some videos.

00:33:48:20 - 00:33:55:24
Jemma
Okay. Okay. As in like what she will see in the Hypnobirthing Australia program or just birth videos in.

00:33:55:24 - 00:34:14:01
Ragini
General with videos has really scared her. And you know that that fear is in her mind. So what can she do about it? And you know, watching birth videos is recommended, but what's your recommended and how can you not be scared?

00:34:14:07 - 00:34:45:12
Jemma
Yeah, it's it's it's making sure that you're going to the right places. So Hypnobirthing Australia have a YouTube channel and they have birth videos on there and they're calm, they're gentle. It's not the ones that you see on one born every minute, for example. And that amazing to watch. Like I get goosebumps from watching them, but you know, watching those types of birth videos is good, but also surrounding yourself with positive birth stories.

00:34:45:12 - 00:35:13:20
Jemma
So on the Hypnobirthing Australia website, they have so many positive birth stories and just surrounding yourself with positive birth podcasts. So Australian birth stories, the Midwives Cauldron, the birth rebellion is the new one that's that's just come out they're, they're all Valium ones as well. I think that's really important to Aussie ones when you're birthing in Australia and I'm reading positive birth books as well.

00:35:14:08 - 00:35:21:16
Jemma
Okay. Surrounding yourself everywhere, positivity. And if someone wants to tell you a negative burst or if they talk to the hand.

00:35:21:16 - 00:35:22:15
Ragini
You know, listening to it.

00:35:23:10 - 00:35:27:04
Jemma
I mean is that that people saying negative their stories to a pregnant lady?

00:35:27:17 - 00:35:39:00
Ragini
Yeah, I know, I know. Do you have any recommendations, any books? Gemma You didn't mention podcasts and things. Do you have any top books that one can raise in this space?

00:35:39:11 - 00:35:46:23
Jemma
Yes. So gentle Birth Gentle Mothering by Dr. Sarah Buckley. Again, she's an Australian GP.

00:35:47:08 - 00:35:47:14
Ragini
Yeah.

00:35:48:16 - 00:35:53:10
Jemma
There's a book by Dr. Rachel Read, and I always forget the title of it.

00:35:53:23 - 00:35:58:07
Ragini
And Childbirth The Rite of Passage.

00:35:58:17 - 00:36:09:04
Jemma
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Well done. But it's a it's an amazing title, but I can never get the words in the right way. There's more to it than that. But you know, you're run by Dr. Rachel Read. Amazing.

00:36:09:12 - 00:36:09:20
Ragini
Yeah.

00:36:10:12 - 00:36:22:04
Jemma
In a make asking you can't go wrong with with her book in a may Gaskins guide to child but birth and Millie hail birth like a feminist that would be my top top books.

00:36:22:05 - 00:36:26:20
Ragini
Wow I love them. I've read the one by area them say.

00:36:27:07 - 00:36:29:03
Jemma
Oh, yes. Birth with confidence.

00:36:29:08 - 00:36:30:14
Ragini
Yeah, birth with confidence.

00:36:30:14 - 00:36:34:15
Jemma
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she's a local as well. She's down in the Mornington Peninsula.

00:36:35:02 - 00:37:01:07
Ragini
Yeah. Yeah. So here I quite enjoyed that. Awesome. Well I think that's the end of our chat today. Thank you so much, Gemma, for coming along and sharing your knowledge. It was a wonderful session and. I really enjoyed it and I'm pretty confident our listeners will enjoy it too. Hi ladies. I hope you enjoyed today's chat and got something really valuable out of it.

00:37:02:04 - 00:37:27:06
Ragini
If you would like to access all of our guest speaker videos with lots of bonus content and a huge library of pregnancy and post-natal yoga workouts, make sure you subscribe to our online membership by visiting www.motherzyoga.com. I can't wait to welcome you inside this beautiful online community until we meet next time.

00:37:27:15 - 00:37:35:06
Ragini
Namaste.