Some Famous HypnoBirthing Mums and What's In The Press
Jessica Alba on HypnoBirthing
Q: What are your plans for the delivery?
A: I want to spend as much of my labour as possible at home, and I'm taking a HypnoBirthing class. It's a relaxation technique that allows you to avoid going into panic mode and tightening up. If you are calm and relaxed, your body will just do what it has to do. Preparing for the birth of your first child can be nerve-wracking for any new mom, but for Jessica Alba and her husband Cash Warren , the birth of their daughter Honor Marie Warren on June 7 was anything but chaotic.
"I didn't scream," Jessica tells OK! in an exclusive interview and photoshoot. "It was really Zen."
And Cash could only marvel at his wife's quiet strength when she gave birth. "She didn't make a sound," he says. "It was amazing." Here, the proud pair open their door exclusively to OK!, introducing the adorable Honor Marie Warren.
"It hasn't totally sunk in," Jessica reveals to OK!. "She dreams, she smiles, and coos and does all these things, but she hasn't seen enough of the world yet to understand any of that stuff. So I still feel like she's connected to the other world, r something. There's no other way to explain it. It's a miracle." The Love Guru star tells OK! that she had natural birth. "The labor was more like meditation," she says. "I did yoga breathing. I was focused."
TV Presenter Beverley Tuner and her Husband Olympic Rower James Cracknell had a HypnoBirth!
'I hypnotised myself and had a pain-free birth'
And Bev is living proof. 'Just after I found out I was pregnant, I saw a documentary on HypnoBirthing, where you put yourself in a calm, positive state of mind through self-hypnosis,' she explains. 'I thought, "Fantastic! That's how I want to do it." You need a HypnoBirthing partner to give you encouragement during labour, so it was a great way of getting my husband James involved. Frankly, if he was hanging round with nothing to do, I knew he'd only get in the way.'
The couple found a HypnoBirthing coach who helped prepare Bev for a stress- free delivery. 'It's based on the principle that fear makes you tense, then tension creates pain,' she explains. 'When you go into labour, your womb contracts to push the baby out - but if you're all clenched up, the muscles won't work properly. And who wouldn't be tense after years of hearing how scary giving birth is?
The classes teach you breathing and visualisation exercises to banish those thoughts from your mind and relax your muscles to help your baby out easily. It sounds horribly LA,' she admits. 'But the classes were actually really funny - we spent most of the time giggling.'
Whether it was thanks to the HypnoBirthing coaching or not, Bev sailed through her pregnancy. 'I didn't get morning sickness, so I really made the most of it food-wise,' she says. 'I spent my 20s holding my stomach in, so it was great to eat loads of cake and let it all hang out. And my boobs looked fantastic!
'I only felt uncomfortable near the end when my bump got huge,' she says. 'I was trying to finish writing a book and the only way I could get comfy was to sit on a Swiss ball with my laptop, and jiggle up and down. My midwife said it was the best thing I could have done, as it literally bounced Croyde into exactly the right position for birth.'
By the time she went into labour, Bev was so relaxed she insisted on catching that week's Sex And The City episode before going to hospital. 'I listened to the HypnoBirthing tape, then I got into the birthing pool at 4am,' she recalls. 'Being in the water softens your skin and muscles, so everything happens faster and more easily. Croyde popped out at 9.30am and I didn't have any tearing or need any stitches.
'Halfway through, however, I did start to panic it was going to hurt,' she admits. 'I told the midwife, "Get me the gas and air now!", but she said, "Why? You're doing so beautifully." And she was right, I didn't need it. We went back to repeating the positive affirmations over and over - things like. "You're doing brilliantly, it's all going well" - and I relaxed again.
'Giving birth was probably worse for James than me,' Bev laughs. 'He cradled my head in the water for the whole five hours. All the calluses on his hands from rowing peeled off and his skin was red- raw. But I felt brilliant, like I was floating in another world. I'd recommend HypnoBirthing to anyone, it was a lovely experience.'
Bev was similarly relaxed about getting back into her size 10 jeans.
'I don't know how Victoria Beckham got rid of her baby weight so quickly. I think it's a very dangerous example to set,' she says. 'I didn't weigh myself when I was pregnant so I've no idea how much I put on, but it took me six months to get down to a size 12 and another year after that to get back to size 10. And that's totally normal,' she stresses. 'I breast- fed for five months and you shouldn't even think about dieting during that time.'
Royal Collage of Midwives Journal
