To ensure your finish your program on time, choose a class series that starts when you are 32 weeks pregnant or earlier. Listings are provided by independent HypnoBirthing instructors. Click on the listing for the direct contact of the HypnoBirthing instructor.
Register for Your Online HypnoBirthing Prenatal Education Classes
The pandemic has been ongoing for the past year and we at HBGTA have witnessed how this has affected pregnancy families. Pregnancy care and access to services and resources have been reduced. Many of us here are HBGTA are also doulas and have noticed an increase in intervention use and decrease in birth experience satisfaction. This is why is it even more important now to choose a prenatal education program that will help you and your partner fully prepare for childbirth. You will learn relaxation techniques to help you keep calm and confident during labour and childbirth. Your partner will learn ways to fully support you (because additional support people are not allowed back in hospitals). You will learn how to advocate for yourself so you can have a positive birth experience. Many of our new parents report using their HypnoBirthing skills to help them keep calm with new baby.
Our HypnoBirthing practitioners have fully adapted their classes to online learning in a way that is still interactive and engaging. We have received positive births stories from our HypnoBirthing families throughout the pandemic. Get started on your positive journey to birth! Check the class calendar and choose a class that starts when you are around 30-32 weeks pregant or earlier. We look forward to seeing you in class!
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What will I learn in the HypnoBirthing classes?
The full class outline is here: http://hypnobirthinggta.com/about/
2) How many weeks are the classes?
The full program is five weekly classes of 2.5 hours each.
3) When should I start the classes?
Because you baby could arrive anytime after 37 weeks (full term), it is recommended that you start the classes when you are 32 weeks pregnant or earlier so that you will finish the classes in time.
Some mothers like to start the classes much earlier so that they have a lot of time to practice and benefit from the relaxation exercises. Some mothers prefer to start the classes later so that the information is fresh in their minds.
4) Can my husband/spouse/partner/ friend attend the classes?
Your chosen birthing companion is welcomed and encouraged to join you during each class. The program includes exercises for the birth companions to help relax the mother as well as guidelines on how to best support the mother during labour and birth. Alternatively, some mothers don’t have a partner, and that is fine too!
5) Do I need to take an additional prenatal class from my hospital/ midwife clinic/ doctor’s office?
The HypnoBirthing Childbirth Preparation classes are designed to provide (along with the HypnoBirthing techniques and exercises) comprehensive information regarding labour and birth, with discussion on what to generally expect with hospital and home births as well as brief discussion on breastfeeding and after care for the mother. Many parents who take the HypnoBirthing classes don’t take any other additional prenatal classes. The HypnoBirthing class outline is here for your reference: http://hypnobirthinggta.com/about/
6) Do I need previous experience with hypnosis or meditation? What if I’m not good at relaxing?
No previous experience with hypnosis or meditation is required. You don’t have to be good at quieting your mind or be “good at relaxing”. In fact, many mothers seek out HypnoBirthing because they may struggle with relaxation, anxieties and fears. By the end of the program, many mothers comment that HypnoBirthing has helped them become more relaxed and less anxious and more confident about their baby’s birthing day.
7) Does it matter if I have an midwife or OB? Does it matter if I plan to give birth at home or in the hospital?
HypnoBirthing is useful for any birthing situation. Each HypnoBirthing practitioner has received positive birth stories or attended wonderful births at home and hospital, with midwives and OBs. Regardless of how your birthing unfolds, the techniques and exercises taught in your HypnoBirthing classes will be useful and beneficial for you and your baby.
Have a Doula at your Labour and Birth
Some of the HypnoBirthing practitioners of HypnoBirthingGTA are also doulas.
Imagine the double advantage of having both a doula and a HypnoBirthing practitioner at your birth (especially if you took your HB classes with her!). A doula trained in HypnoBirthing is familiar with the exercises and techniques you learned in your HB classes and can help remind you and reinforce what you need to do during labour and birth — RELAX!
The following HypnoBirthing practitioners are also trained doulas or also attend births. Please contact them directly for more information:
What is a Doula and How Can She Help Me?
A doula (also referred to as a labour attendant or labour coach) is considered the person who provides continuous physical and emotional support and assistance to a woman before, during and after childbirth. Having a different role than a midwife, OBGYN or RN, the doula provides important care from a non-medical aspect. A doula also helps the birthing partner and/or family by providing information, physical assistance, and emotional support. Having this continuous support during labour and birth is associated with improved maternal and newborn health and a variety of other benefits.
While the goal of an OBGYN or midwife is a safe childbirth, the goal of a doula is to ensure the mother feels safe, comfortable, confident, informed and supported before, during, and after the birth of her baby. Doulas cannot make or voice decisions for the birthing couple nor can they intervene the actions of the attending midwife, RN, obstetrician or other medically licensed professional active during labour and birth, but they can help the birthing couple ensure that they are active participants within their healthcare team every step along the way.
A mother who feels safe, comfortable, confident, informed and supported is able to relax and allow the natural process of labour and birth to happen in a healthy normal way.
Many studies have shown significant benefits of having a doula present during labour and birth:
Benefits to mother
- Continuous ongoing support during labour and birth
- Shorter labours
- Lower rates of intervention use during labour and birth
- Lower rates of epidural use
- Lower C-section birth rate
- Higher levels of reported satisfaction
Benefits to baby:
- Lower rates of fetal distress
- Lower rates of low APGAR score at 5 minutes after birth
- Higher rate of breastfeeding initiation
- Lower admittance rates into the NICU
References:
Hodnett ED, Gates S, Hofmeyr GJ, Sakala C, Weston J. Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Feb 16;(2)
Kozhimannil KB, Attanasio LB, Hardeman RR, O’Brien M. Doula Care Supports Near-Universal Breastfeeding Initiation among Diverse, Low-Income Women. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2013 Jul;58(4):378-82.
Kozhimannil KB, Hardeman RR, Attanasio LB, Blauer-Peterson C, O’Brien M. Doula care, birth outcomes, and costs among Medicaid beneficiaries. Am J Public Health. 2013 Apr;103(4):e113-21. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301201. Epub 2013 Feb 14.
Deciding What to Bake for Your Baby’s Birthing Day? GROANING CAKE RECIPE
One of the mums in my HypnoBirthing class generously baked a groaning cake for the class (it was a trial run for her, as she was deciding what to bake on her baby’s birthing
day). It was still warm when she brought it in and the smell of warm cinnamon, clove, almond and molasses wafted in the class. The cake tasted as delicious as it smelled as
we all eagerly ate a piece during the class break! Her choice had been made, she would be making this Groaning cake come birthing day! — EeVon Ling ND, HBCE
” The tradition of a groaning cake, or kimbly, at birth is an ancient one. Wives’ tales say that the scent of the groaning cake being baked in the birth house helps to ease
the mother’s pain. Some say if a mother breaks the eggs while she’s aching, her labour won’t last as long.” — Ami McKay, The Birth House
Groaning cake recipe
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups apple, peeled and grated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 molasses
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease two loaf pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Then add apple, oil, orange juice, molasses, sugar and almond extract. Blend well.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans.
Bake 35 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Enjoy!
Optional: Add a cup of raisins, dates, dried fruit or nuts.
Enjoy!
Home Sweet Homebirth — Birthing Your Baby at Home
Home Sweet Home – Birthing your Baby at Home
By EeVon Ling ND
Childbirth = Home
This equation may appear incorrect since 99% of North American babies are born in a hospital. However in actuality, home births more reflect the norm around the world and for the other 1 percent of babies here — not to mention that in the history of human race, babies were born at home up until the last several decades. In Canada, if you are healthy and have a normal, low-risk and uncomplicated pregnancy, choosing to birth your baby at home poses no more risk than choosing to birth your baby at a hospital (and vice versa). Of course, where you choose to birth your baby is your (and your baby’s) choice, but for those of you who would prefer or are considering a home birth, I hope to provide some useful information in this article.
When I was pregnant, there was no question that we wanted a natural home birth, specifically a water birth using HypnoBirthing techniques. This choice came from our own beliefs about what birth should be like for the baby – undrugged, peaceful and welcoming. Fortunately for us our friends, family and health professionals (mid-wife, family doctor) were very supportive of our ideas and we met with no resistance or argument. I suppose being a naturopathic doctor myself helped – they knew that I knew what I was getting myself into! And, I knew friends who also had home births, in some cases all their children were born at home!
When Keira was born, her birthing day unfolded more or less as we hoped … she was born at home, without drugs and with me in the birthing pool. And most importantly she was healthy and I was OK.
If you are choosing or considering a home birth, I wish you the same kind of positivity around your decision and situation as we received.
Things to consider when choosing a homebirth:
Do you want a natural, drug-free birth? Most drugs and procedures administered during labour (epidural, oxytocin, forceps, vacuum etc) can only be done at a hospital with an OBGYN and other medical professionals. This may be a good thing if you REALLY want a natural birth, because at home, you don’t have that option. It is still possible of course to have a natural birth at a hospital, but when the medications are available and offered, it may be easier to accept them in the heat of the moment.
Do you want an OBGYN or a mid-wife? In Ontario we are fortunate to have the option to choose between an Obstetrician (OBGYN) or mid-wife (given that your pregnancy is healthy and uncomplicated). Who you choose depends on what kind of birth you plan. OBGYN’s don’t do homebirths. Mid-wives can’t do C-sections. OBGYN’s are surgical specialists in complicated pregnancies and births. Midwives are specialists in normal pregnancies and births. Midwifery is a regulated health profession in most provinces in Canada and covered by the government in those regulated provinces. The things I really liked about our midwife care were the longer appointments and home visits after the baby was born. We also had 2 midwives: one attending to mom and one attending to the baby.
You will need to gather supplies, prepare your home and clean up after. Unlike the hospital, where you just show up and then leave, you will need to equip your home for the birthing day. Midwives DO NOT clean up! Your midwife will provide you with a list of supplies (such as extra bed sheets, towels, pads etc) and you’ll need to keep them handy and ready. That part is easy. The clean-up … well, we didn’t even think about the clean until we needed to clean up. The honest truth: Birth is messy. There is blood. There is body fluid. There is the placenta. That said, Dad had the condo spotless by the end of the next day (and we don’t forget we had a birthing pool to empty and clean up too!).
Who do you want at your baby’s birth? Most hospitals limit you to 2 people in your hospital room. At home, you could have a family reunion if you really wanted. You can even have pets and other children present.
Also, whatever you want to create a soothing and relaxing atmosphere, you can have it – candles, videos, music, incense whatever. Birthing equipment such as a birthing pool, birthing stool, birthing ball etc are other options too.
You can also eat and drink what you want at home — hospitals usually have restrictions about what the labouring mother can eat and drink. You also avoid many of the usual hospital procedures such as IV hook up, continuous electronic fetal monitoring, continuous blood pressure monitoring etc.
Are you considering cord-blood banking? Cord-blood collection CAN be done from home! Please check with your care provider of your options.
So, you have decided that “yes, we’re having our baby at home!” and you share this information with your friends and family. What if their reactions are not supportive? What if they start talking about the “what if’s”? What can you tell them?
First, take comfort in knowing that your midwife is a highly trained professional, providing you and your baby with proper care and medical advice and doing what is in the best interest for you and your baby. On your birthing day, the midwife brings with her the necessary medical equipment to monitor you and the baby as well as other supplies that may be needed in an emergency (such as oxygen). If at any time your pregnancy or birthing moves away from being normal and low-risk, she will recommend and take the appropriate actions in order to address any medical needs, that may mean moving your birthing to the hospital or transferring care to an OBGYN.
Multiple studies comparing the outcomes between hospital and planned home births show no difference in terms of the amount of risk to mother or baby. Healthy babies are born at home and at the hospital. In fact, for a healthy, normal pregnancy and childbirth, home may be a safer place. Some people may not think there are risks in hospital births, but there are – drug-resistant infections, unnecessary interventions that can lead to side effects and complications. The safest birth for a healthy low-risk pregnancy is one without any interventions. Birthing at home affords you the time you need to birth your baby, so situations such as a long or stalled labour can be managed safely and on your and your baby’s schedule, not the hospital or staff’s schedule.
There are many benefits to birthing your baby at home:
Mom is usually more relaxed, therefore allowing her to better manage or even avoid unnecessary discomfort.
Rates of post partum depression are lower in moms who had a home birth
You have better access to resources: food, drink, clothing, shower/ tub, people, TV/radio ec
Those who choose home births generally delay umbilical cord cutting. Delayed cord cutting allows more blood, oxygen and immune cells to reach baby.
There is more room at home for mom to change positions as she choose or for emergency purposes (such as the baby is not in the proper position)
Mom and baby bond and recover in the privacy of home, rather than in a shared room.
What About “Emergencies”?
Contrary to what is depicted in movies and TV shows, birth is generally a slow process and there is usually ample time to get to a hospital even in the case of a true emergency. And while there is small a risk that a medical situation could happen which could possibly be better handled in the hospital (such as umbilical cord prolapse, uterine rupture, abrupted placenta, postpartum hemorrhage) the midwife monitors the labouring woman carefully for potential problems.
Excessive bleeding (postpartum hemorrhage) can be managed at home by breastfeeding immediately to stimulate oxytocin production and uterine contractions or by doing uterine compressions. The midwife may carry IVs or an injection of Pitocin for these circumstances.
For true emergencies that require going to the hospital, those living 20 minutes from the hospital have the same access to emergency services as women birthing at that same hospital. Many hospitals cannot prepare for an emergency surgical delivery in less than 20 minutes. The standard is “30 minutes decision to incision” for all non-scheduled cesarean sections.
The experience of birthing at home is very different than in a hospital. It feels calm, relaxed and familiar. Even looking at home birth pictures brings about a different feeling compared to looking at hospital birth pictures. And even though birth itself can be unpredictable, birthing at home can give you a secure sense that you can control some things. And when it’s all done and you meet your baby, you’re already home!
I wish you a happy birthing day!