“Hypnobirthing? It still sounds rather hippyish to me.” Read more on what hypnobirthing dad Ollie had to say about attending classes.

Greetings fellow hypnobirthing virgins.

I am offering you my thoughts via Vicki on the classes that you may be about to attend.

Firstly, a little on myself – I am halfway between a sceptic and a believer in processes that may fall under the umbrella of new age. A sceptic, for I do not like to be involved with new people and things. However, when I am cajoled into a class, consult or similar, I often find myself a believer.

I have a wife that is nervous about the birth of our first baby together, her first pregnancy and my second child. I am nervous about the parenting, not however about the birth perhaps that was the reason behind my initial reluctance to attend hypnobirthing classes. Nevertheless due to minor pressure from my wife and a reminder from my beloved mother that I was, in fact, born under hypnosis, I decided to attend with an open mind.

I definitely found the sessions helpful, being a second time Dad and suffering from the debilitating disease of ‘knowitallism’, I had forgotten many basics of the birthing process. In that sense, there was beneficial information that was not just related to hypnobirthing. Practical things, like clothing for Dad, how to communicate with midwives, food for Mum to snack on; Practical things that I had forgotten.

Hypnobirthing? It still sounds rather hippyish to me. Thus, I redubbed it relaxation techniques in my own mind, at least initially. Mum relaxes and everything goes smoothly, for the baby can feel my wife’s emotions, I accept that for Science tells me so.

Anyway, off we toddled to class, the first week I made the rather silly decision to work the night before and may not have been the most attentive, wonderful husband and attendee I could be; however, the class was interesting enough to keep me awake. The previous point is important; it can be very difficult to hold the attention of adults during a presentation/seminar, especially if PowerPoint is involved. It is a skill to use PowerPoint, in that regard I feel Vicki did well.

I enjoyed the birthing videos, to see the joy on the parents faces when they held their child – I did tear up, if only a little. The films took away remnants of fear in regards to my role during labour. I was unsure of what was my designated role, hand holder or subject of virulent abuse from my beloved. After the classes and the discussions it has promoted with my wife, my place during labour is clearer.

I am a lexophile and I believe in the power of language, thus, to that end the discussion about the language to be used during the birthing process enlightened myself and my wife, a fellow lexophile. Pain, Push and Contractions are words that evoke sensations within, feelings that may not be conducive to a calm birth. I prefer surges and bearing down, what do they mean? Why not attend the class? I found it helpful and non-threatening. I did not feel brainwashed or bullied during the seminar.

I thank Vicki and the other attendees for providing a positive environment.

P.S. I can’t wait to meet our baby, to hold them close to me and smell that baby smell.

Regards, Ollie
February 2016