What Does A Hypnobirthing Instructor Do?
I usually get one of three possible responses when I tell people I train others to be hypnobirthing teachers.
Response a) “I wish I’d known about hypnobirthing when I was pregnant”
Response b) “What does a hypnobirthing instructor do?”
Response c) “How do you train to become a hypnobirthing instructor?”
There’s not really a lot I can say to the first one other than smile and nod my head a bit, but if I get asked the second one, it’s all I can do to stop myself inviting them to pull up a chair and ask them how long they’ve got?
I have developed a sort of interim response in order to determine how interested they actually are, and not to scare off those who are simply being polite, which goes something like this:-
“I teach people how to remain calm during childbirth” which then either leads to a non-committal response (see response a) or they press me further.
How Does Hypnobirthing Help?
The truth is it is quite hard to sum up the total transformation a hypnobirthing class can provide in one sentence.
- I could talk about how it helps clients to understand the physiology of birth;
- I could mention how hypnobirthing is a way of changing the pre-conditioning of the sub-conscious as far as birth is concerned;
- I could maybe discuss the physiological nervous systems and how hypnobirthing actively supports and encourages the para-sympathetic nervous system thus making birth a manageable and positive experience;
- I could maybe even mention that hypnobirthing encourages the production of the vital labouring hormones which inevitably has a positive knock-on effect to the post-natal period;
- If I felt as though I needed to get my soap-box out to really emphasise my point, I would say how hypnobirthing gives pregnant clients vital tools and techniques to help them navigate the maternity systems and the ever increasing snarl-ups of changing hospital policies and NICE guidelines;
- and I would be remiss not to mention that it is suitable for every type of birth medical or physiological.
But which one would be the most effective at getting my point across? Hypnobirthing is all of these things and more.
Can Anyone Become A Hypnobirthing Practitioner?
Absolutely! Anyone who has a passion for birth can teach hypnobirthing. I also find it is particularly powerful (although not, in any way, necessary) when hypnobirthing instructors are already doulas, yoga for pregnancy teachers, reflexologists or anyone who already works with pregnant clients because the addition of hypnobirthing knowledge helps them to level up their offerings, adding another valuable revenue stream to their birth business. If you are already working with pregnant clients, you might find this article helpful.
What Makes A Good Hypnobirthing Teacher?
Again, a passion for birth is a must! Other than that, everything else can be taught on one of my hypnobirthing training courses. However, a really excellent hypnobirthing teacher is one that is able to be authentic to who they are as individuals. In other words, they bring their own personality and their own voice to the courses they teach, instead of regurgitating somebody else’s words and ethos, which is why I always teach my courses in a way that you can adapt to your individual style.
There are a lot of hypnobirthing teachers out there so the way to truly stand out is to be true to your passion and your energy enabling you to be unique and create a hypnobirthing course that enables you to tweak your course in order to respond to your clients’ needs as opposed to tweaking your clients’ needs in order to fit in with your course. This also works very well if you have existing services that you offer as you are able to give them the fully rounded package.
How Do I Become a Hypnobirthing Instructor?
If you would like to know more about becoming a hypnobirthing teacher or becoming independent then please click here to have a look at the courses I offer. And you may find this article “What to look for if you want to train as a hypnobirthing teacher” helpful too.
Feel free to contact me, if you have any questions at all.
