Customer Reviews

Effective Birth Preparation: Your Practical Guide to a Better Birth

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`Effective Birth Preparation' is an absolutely crucial read in terms of preparing for labour, for either first time mums, or those who have already given birth. I used the Natal Hypnotherapy CD Effective Birth Preparation (Hospital or birth Centre) in preparation for my first baby and had a great experience. I'd planned to give birth in a midwife led unit, but was unable to do this and had to be monitored on the consultant led unit. I don't mention this as a scare story, but only to illustrate that Natal Hypnotherapy is a skill that can be applied in any birthing environment. My labour was six hours long; I didn't feel the need for any pain relief and, despite not being in my ideal environment, did not find this a problem. All the skills and techniques from the CD `kicked in' at the right time without any conscious effort on my part.

I have just bought the book in preparation for my second baby. The book is great as it is written in an incredibly straightforward and accessible manner. Amongst other things it provides reflections on why there is so much fear surrounding our ability to give birth and the impact of fear on pain during labour. A really clear explanation of both Natal Hypnotherapy and hypnosis is given. There are techniques in there for dealing with pain and lots of practical ways in which birth partners can support women.

This book outlines a really positive practical way women can prepare for birth. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

For anyone who has used the CD's reading this book will become almost an extension of them. It is written so naturally and from the heart that everything sounds instantly familar and right - I felt as if someone was sat with me talking through each chapter.

The most beautiful part for me was that rather than talking about replacing negative images and thoughts with positive ones (a near impossible task for most mums of my generation as there are so few to replace them with!) this book provides what all the others have missed by offering wonderful stories and experiences, as told by mothers who have used natal hypnotherapy, with each story told with perfect timing in the book and many so memorable and moving that I found that they went straight into my subconcious as if to cleanse the old ones away'.

I found reading the book cleansing, inspiring, encouraging and empowering. It has left me filled with a deep sense of power and pride when reflecting on the birth of my daughter and with a sense of urgency when considering doing it all again!

Words cannot truly express just how invaluable I found the Natal Hypnotherapy Programme to be. I had a dream pregnancy and the natural birth I had longed for. I went 10 days over my due date but was able to genuinely enjoy the last few days of my pregnancy, remaining relaxed, active and optimistic that my baby would be born when my body was ready without any medical intervention. I spent three days in labour but can honestly say that thanks to the relaxation techniques I was able to stay calm throughout. Furthermore, I had a back to back labour - whereby the baby was on my sciatic nerves throughout labour - and thanks to the calm breathing and positive visualisation, that became second nature to me after listening to the CDs, I was able to avoid all pain relieving medication (with the exception of gas and air when I got to 9cms!!). My baby boy was born in his membranes in the birthing pool to the sound of the soothing birth music with an APGAR score of 9 at 1min and 10 at 5mins. All the midwives commented on how calm and alert he was and how relaxed I seemed (one asked if I was a nursery nurse because I appeared so comfortable and confident holding him!). And thanks to the Fast Postnatal Recovery CD I am really enjoying the first weeks of babyhood and I feel confident and relaxed... If ever I find things overwhelming or I cannot sleep I just reach for my ipod and play the CD and everything returns to feeling manageable. I had some difficulty breast feeding, however, once my sister reminded me I should listen to the Postnatal Recovery CD whilst I fed him all the troubles seemed to melt away and (much to the midwives astonishment) my 10 day old baby is 940g heavier than when he was born! The best word I can think to describe Natal Hypnotherapy is magic and I truly give full credit to the Natal Hypnotherapy Programme for the success of my labour and birth experience and the confidence I feel as a new mother. I feel that it was thanks to the positivity that the CDs and book oozed that I had such a positive and enjoyable experience.

With regards to the book, I wish someone had given me a copy before I even fell pregnant. Every page is filled with lovely anecdotes of other women's positive birth experiences (completely the opposite to the scare mongering you get on some websites and in magazines) and powerful quotes relating the empowerment of becoming a parent. It's absolutely packed full of invaluable tips and hints like `shaking the apples' - you'll have to read to find out! - and techniques used in other cultures during labour and birth (I spent a lot of time during my labour under my duvet in my very own Boab tree). It even has a whole chapter on the effective inclusion of your birthing partner so that they become a pivotal part in enhancing your birth experience. Even if I wasn't pregnant, I would have found this book a fascinating and empowering read!

My very experienced doula recommended this book and CD and I'm so pleased I read it. It gave me the confidence to have a home birth -safe in the knowledge that my body would be be able to do what it needed to do in a relaxed environment.

There's a lot of repetition but that's a good thing: slowly it dawns on you that birth needn't be a hideous, painful, medicalised experience. Mine was the opposite - chilled, exciting and so so empowering. I was so relaxed that I couldn't believe it when the midwife arrived and told me I was already fully dilated after just 10 hours. The baby (my 1st) arrived 2 hours later with no drugs, interventions or tear.

I used this book in conjunction with the hypnobirthing book and CDs. Like other posters, I enjoyed the fact that it was written from a British perspective and was less 'Americany'. invaluable to anyone who is after a truly great birth.

This is an amazing book, it REALLY worked for me and I can't recommend it highly enough! On discovering I was pregnant for the 2nd time, I knew that I had to do 'something' to ensure that my experience of childbirth had at least a chance of being different (ie better) the 2nd time round. I desperately wanted to avoid the feelings of helplessness, panic and horific, unmanageable pain that had haunted me since my first daughter's birth. I decided that my husband needed to be on side too (his view was firmly that i'd done it once and would do it again) and so I searched for a book about being a supportive birthing partner, it lead me to natal hypnotherapy...
I bought and read the book, listened to the cd 2 or 3 times a week (from 28-38 wks) and went on the first half of the course with the brilliantly inspirational georgie ruthven in Burford.
I didn't know if it was going to work but felt comfort from the fact that I had something to focus on when the contractions started. And early one Monday morning, my waters broke and I knew that it was time to put the relaxation techniques into practice. It worked! I took myself off to my special place when i felt a contraction building and soon came out the other side. As things intensified, my husband repeated the 321 relax chant and firmly held my arms during each contraction. I rang the hospital at 6.30 am on my husband's insistance (I was perfectly happy) who told me to go in immeadiately, we arrived at 7am and my daughter was born at 9am with no fuss, no pain relief, infact no intervention of any kind, we were left to our own devices, my body did it brilliantly, i felt in control throughout. It was the most empowering experience of my life!
I know that natal hypnotherapy and my effective birth preparation played a huge role in me achieving my ideal birth. I also recommend acupuncture for childbirth. I would describe myself as fairly sceptical of alternative therapies or at least i was...

I came across the UK Natal Hypnotherapy system after going on a Hypnobirthing (The USA version, Marie Mongan Method) course run by my local NHS Birth Centre. The midwives there are SO impressed with the positive outcomes that relaxation hypnonosis brings for mothers and babies (and fathers too!) that they actually offer the course for free as part of the birth preparation. I really enjoyed the Hypnobirthing course but if I'm honest, I found the language in the book and the American drawl on the accompanying CD a little bit...I dont know...alien, annoying...not really sure how to put it. The last thing I wanted during my birth was to be listening to the CD and thinking "god, that voice is annoying"!!!! So, I was recommended UK Natal Hypnotherapy instead of Hypnobirthing by a friend and having done both, I actually wished I had followed this from the start, however the two systems are entirely complimentary, so if you want to do both and see which works for you, go for it. Its probably a very personal thing but I just found this one was more up my street and straight forward. With Natal Hypnotherapy, there is just one, easy breathing relaxation technique to learn rather than whole load of different breathing techniques for use at different stages of labour as there is with Hypnobirthing. For me, the Natal Hypnotherapy technique was great, because in the throws of labour, I didnt remember to do my "J-breathing" at this point or my "birth breathing" at that stage and anyway, because this was my first baby, I had no idea what stage of labour was what! Looking back at the time scales, I was well into established labour and half way there when I decided it might be best to go and feed all my animals as I might not be able to later! Using the techniques I learnt in the book and CDs, I was comfortable enough to be in established labour, walking around outside and shoving hay into bags to take round to the animals and just leaning against the water butts to do my breathing ever few minutes when the surges came! I do remember saying to my husband: "Sorry I can't help, just seem to need to stop and focus" and he just laughed and told me he would let me off as I was having a baby! I'm SO SO glad it was all really relaxed, we were at home together rather than surrounded by strangers telling me where to go and what to do, it was just my husband and I enjoying our last few hours as a couple before our son arrived and working as a team, with him reading me the personal positive affirmations we had worked on together from the techniques suggested in the book. My son was born only about 4 hours later!! Our midwife was a bit sceptical about hypno-relaxation before she came to us, but afterwards was a total convert! DO get the accompanying CDs (and Maggie Howell has the MOST beautiful, silky, relaxing voice you could imagine and the more you practise, practise, practise your relaxation listening to them prior to the birth, the better). The arrival of the book means it is now a brilliant and complete system to get you the best birth possible. It clearly takes you through, step by step, to look at any negative feelings you might have around birth and how you can address them to create a positive outcome. The fear- tension- pain cycle will be a real lightbulb moment for most people as you realise that nature would never have designed birth to be a painful trauma. After all, it wouldnt really help our species survive if giving birth was so dreadful you never wanted to do it again! Why would we be the only species on the planet for whom giving birth was designed to be this painful, major medical emergency? Of course the answer is that it is our fears and what we humans do to interfere with the natural birth process which causes all the problems. So, please know, if you follow this process, you really can have a great birth. We had our baby son (our first baby and just under 8lbs, so, yes, you can do it even if you haven't done it before and you are a total woosey normally!), very peacefully, at home, in water. No screaming and shouting and begging for help and pain killers or anything like that. Infact, I didnt need or have any pain relief at all because I didn't have any pain (actually I tell a lie, I did have 2 paracetamol after he was born as I was quite sore once the endorphins had worn off!) I did have some stinging just as his head crowned, but it didnt last long and was gone as soon as his head was out. I listened to the birth music and just breathed the baby down. I could hear Maggies voice on the CD player calming and encouraging me all the way though and my husband did the same. Don't get me wrong, the sensations of birth are hugely powerful, massive feelings of pressure and stretching that are totally all consuming and at times quite uncomfortable (which was where the water helped as I could very easily try new positions supported in the water) but there was NO pain and NO feelings of fear or trauma. I felt completely in control and in deep communication with my baby the whole time. Just amazing, especially when you need to know I am the first one reaching for the paracetamol at the first sign of a headache!!
If you can, it is worth going along to one of the courses Natal Hypnotherapy run as well as I think that helps bring it all together, but even if you can't, the book and CDs are brilliant birth tools. I feel SO empowered by having given birth this way that I am considering training as a Natal Hypnotherapy practitioner!
I'd also highly recommended The Fathers Home Birth Handbook by Leah Hazard, a really brilliant book for giving you confidence in the birth process even if you dont plan to give birth at home.

What an empowering read! This book is written as if its being spoken to you. Every chapter has penny dropping moments - it makes complete sense! I would be sitting reading this, and repeating out sections to my husband, mum, friend, sister - anyone who was around! I just couldn't wait to share the knowledge! Why are we so frightened of something that is so natural?! It makes so much sense to turn your analytical mind off and let your primal body do what it instinctively knows is best to birth you baby.

All the positive birth stories throughout the book where such confidence builders - by the end of it, I was so excited about the birth of our first baby - I knew that no matter how or where I gave birth, I could be calm and in control. I refer all my pregnant friends to this book as the one they need over all others.

A wonderful read, which lead to a wonderful birthing partner, and a wonderful fearfree pregnancy, and a wonderful calm controlled birth.

This book is full of positive affirmations, beautiful birth stories and lovely quotes.
If you are pregnant, I urge you to read it! You will be in control of the birth you want.
When I was pregnant I was advised to read hundreds of books about what to do with your baby when you have it, routines, how to prepare the nursery, what to buy etc. etc. Looking back, this was the only book I needed!
Birth should be instinctive and so should parenting. I realise that now.
If you only read one book to prepare yourself for birth, let it be this one.

What can I say about Maggie Howell's natal hypnotherapy range. I bought all of the CDs and the workbook and listened to the CDs most days and completed the workbook. At a fraction of the price of hypnobirthing, I found these to be very effective and delivered my first baby, a healthy boy scoring 9 on the apgar scale listening to the labour CD without any pain relief. When I arrived at hospital, the midwife was going to send me home as I looked so calm however I persuaded her to examine me and she found that I was fully dilated and took me to the labour ward. She said that she hadn't seen a case like that in all her years of being a midwife. I didnt get the pool birth that I wanted however the birthing process was very enjoyable and amazingly I felt no pain. The NHS classes that I attended were very focused on pain relief during labour however I truly believe that most women can deliver naturally without pain relief if they prepare mentally and physically and Maggie's CD and workbook can help. The NHS would do well to promote natal hypnotherapy and perhaps save some money on pain relieving drugs. Thanks Maggie for an enjoyable birthing experience and I will continue to tell everyone who listens how fantastic your products are. The success stories throughout the workbook are inspiring.Effective Birth Preparation: Your Practical Guide to a Better Birth Effective Birth Preparation (Hospital or Birth Centre): A Self Hypnosis CD Programme (Natal Hypnotherapy Programme)

I was a bit worried about buying this book so late in my pregnancy - 38weeks! I didn't feel fearful about the labour, but i saw how many 5* reviews this had and thought it may be worth the read!
It came immediately and once i started reading i just could not stop! I read it in two days, and it's now going to be used as a fantastic reference book. I have not been practising Natal Hypnotherapy, nor did i know anything about hynosis [or anything like that!!] however, i found this book so brilliant for putting into text how i feel about a natural birth, i will be having my first baby at home, with the help of a birth pool - this book has given me so much more confidence in my decision, and completely relates to every opinion i've ever had on birth being a natural process of the body - not a medical process!
My husband hates reading, infact he's been so sick of me thrusting books in his direction and also felt fairly patronised by my obsessive control-freak-ways, however, he reluctantly read the section in this book for birth partners and 5 minutes later i was sat with him practising breathing techniques whilst he was giving me a massage!!!!!!!!!!! [so WAY worth the £8.99 ladies!!] He has enjoyed this book, its given him the confidence & the know how so that if things dont go to plan during my labour, he knows what to say to the midwives & medical team to ensure all my wishes are respected.
I can't recommend this book enough to be honest & i'm bloody excited about my labour :)