In this episode of Untidy we talk to Helen Bartrom from Positive Births. Helen is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, mum of three, and host of The Positive Birth NZ podcast. She is also the author of ‘Positive Birth in New Zealand: using Relaxation, Hypnobirthing and Mindfulness’.

Helen helps women and birthing people feel empowered for their upcoming birth, using hypnobirthing techniques. Matty recently had a session with Helen, so the girls dive into what hypnobirthing actually is, and the common misconceptions around it — i.e., whether it is just a ‘woo-woo’ fad. They discuss the importance of focusing on what you can control in the labour process, and how to let go of the need to control the things you can’t. We delve into the importance of the breath, and how it is used to work with your body to assist the birth process, as well as practical ways your partner can act as a support beam during labour. 

The girls also discuss the primal sounds that can occur in birth, why we should embrace the time in a woman’s life where it is socially acceptable to moo like a cow, and why positive birth stories need to be shared far and wide to flip the narrative that childbirth needs to be feared. 

Follow Helen on Instagram at @positive_births_nz, and check out her website https://www.positivebirths.co.nz/. Helen does in person sessions as well as online. Helen also does a free Webinar every few months. Find out more via her website.

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Untidy is made for you – the people right at the heart of this steaming hot mess we call parenthood. Follow the show and get in touch on Instagram @untidypodcast and visit Untidy podcast. Find Matilda at @matootles and get your copy of The Feel Good Guide. Find Hannah at @hannahedavison and her My Big Moments children’s books at @mybigmoments. Enter code UNTIDY at checkout for 10% off your order.

This Untidy episode is co-produced, edited and hosted by the good folks at rova

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