Why
Birth Therapy?
You are about to do one of the greatest things a human being can do: give birth to another human being.
Giving birth is a natural part of being human, but at the same time, it is an insanely big thing to do. It involves strong physical forces, and enormous emotions that can overwhelm you.
The hormones in charge of starting and controlling labor can both affect and be affected by our mood, which in turn can be affected by the thoughts we think. In other words; your thoughts can directly impact the process of giving birth.
This means that we can control more than we are aware of. You are not at the mercy of luck when it comes to giving birth. Although, there are factors that you cannot control, such as whether you get a good midwife, strong pressure contractions, or the baby gets stuck, for example, you can, in fact, influence how such factors affect you.
I know this is cliché: “It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” But most clichés are rooted in truth.
The wonderful implication of this is that there is a lot you can do yourself, so that your birth will not only be a wonderful experience, but also as safe as possible for both you and your child.
There is a big key for the birth to go as well as possible: to relax.
Ironically, giving birth is one of those moments when it is most difficult to relax. Contractions are powerful, and they hurt. Even with today's technology and knowledge, where maternal and child mortality in birth is extremely low, fear and anxiety is still strongly present in many women during birth.
Fear is your worst enemy during birth. It causes your body to produce adrenaline, which counteracts oxytocin, increases pain sensitivity, and tenses the muscles so that contractions become less effective (and more painful). This prolongs labor, exhausts you and stresses the baby.
The good news is that fear is greatly influenced by what you think, and you can control your thoughts.
With birth therapy, you will learn to control the fear and anxiety you have surrounding birth, so that you can be as relaxed as possible during labor. I can help you identifying your fears and finding out what exactly it is that you are anxious about. Then I can work with you and help you reframe those fears into empowering thoughts. I can also teach you breathing techniques and other cognitive tools to help regain your cool in the event of overwhelming fear and anxiety, and how to keep yourself as relaxed and calm as possible.
In many cases it can be sufficient just to have someone to talk to. If you just need someone to talk to - I can help!
Birth therapy after birth
If you have already given birth, but feel the need to talk about and process your birth, you are also welcome to get in touch with me. I can help you process feelings and impressions from what you have been through, whether it was positive or negative. If you are left with a traumatic experience, I can also help - but only to a certain extent. I am not a clinical Psychologist, so if the trauma is very large, you may need more clinical care than I can give. However, if it feels scary to get in touch with licensed health personnel, you are welcome to have a chat with me first, and I can help you get the help you need.
