Frequently Asked Questions

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‘birthing bliss’ is a labour of love borne out of the experiences I had in the lead up to, and birth of, my son.

Coming from a legal background, and navigating the public health system as a ‘higher risk’ pregnancy (with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Gestational Diabetes), I was taken aback by the lack of decision-making and information shared with me. From day one I was told “you will have a pre-term induction.” The risks of having an induction (and the risks of not having one), were not explained, and I was not asked, just told, what would happen. 

Fast forward to 38 weeks: all evidence showed my son was the perfect size for my body but the pressure to induce remained. When pressed, my obstetrician couldn’t explain why an induction was medically indicated in my specific circumstances and ultimately revealed that they were concerned about staffing as Conor was due around Christmas.

With the support of hypnobirthing, I regained my trust in myself, was able to advocate in line with my intuition and went on to have the empowering birth I wanted as Conor was born spontaneously at 39 weeks and 5 days, at 3.5kgs. 

I was drawn to this space as I want to equip both birthing persons and their partners with the information and support they need to make informed decisions that are right for them, and that help them to have the empowering birth their family deserves.  

The ‘hypno’ part of ‘hypnobirthing’ refers to the self hypnosis or guided mediation that we use during our birth class, and beyond, to shift our mindset and approach birth in a calm and positive way. 

When you release your fears and re-condition in this way, you are less likely to go into a ‘fight or flight’ response during birth, which can lead to the fear-tension-pain cycle and inhibit the process. This relaxation also supports you to release the hormones needed to reduce discomfort and assist with progression (including endorphins or nature’s pain relief).  

Hypnobirthing:

• supports you to make informed decisions that are right for you and your family, so that you can have a positive birth, no matter which turns your birthing takes;
• guides you to reclaim your agency and decision-making power, so that you are in the driver's seat, not a passenger;
• promotes hands-on support systems, so that you are working with your support person, rather than feeling alone;
• provides an array of different tools to relax and surrender to the beautiful process, so you can take what resonates with you; and,
• prepares your mindset to birth, so that fear doesn’t stand in your way.

Positive birth should be the norm, not the exception. Hypnobirthing can help you have the positive & empowering birth every family deserves and its an investment that will take you well beyond your birthing day.

The Positive Birth Program™ is a birth education class uniquely designed for Australian parents by Hypnobirthing Australia. It is Australia's most popular hypnobirthing childbirth education course and is evidence-based and current.

The Positive Birth Program™ equips birthing persons and their support systems with knowledge, tools and support to have positive & empowering births, no matter which turns their birthing takes. It is comprehensive and covers the following:

Unit 1: Creating & maintaining a positive mindset
✔️ Introduction to the positive mindset of hypnobirthing
✔️ How our brain is wired to birth
✔️ The role of our caregivers
✔️ Mind/body connection
✔️ What is self-hypnosis and how will we use it for birthing?
✔️ Our hormones are our friends
✔️ My amazing uterus – understanding the physiology behind birthing
✔️ Fear-Tension-Pain Syndrome
✔️ Causes of Fear (including history) and how it affects our labour
✔️ Re-programming the Subconscious
✔️ The language for empowered birthing
✔️ The power of affirmations
✔️ Birthing environment
 

Unit 2: Our toolkit for birth
✔️ Self-hypnosis tracks
✔️ Birth music
✔️ Conditioning with scent
✔️ Hypnotic anchors and triggers
✔️ Releasing endorphins through massage and touch
✔️ Acupressure techniques for pregnancy, birth & breastfeeding
✔️ Visualisations for pregnancy, labour & birthing
✔️ The importance of facial relaxation
✔️ Relaxation Breathing – a skill for life
✔️ Surge Breathing – the best tool ever!
✔️ Techniques to help make your surges more comfortable
✔️ The ‘urge’ to push/bear down – Breathing/Bearing down
 

Unit 3: Preparation & choices for empowered birthing
✔️ Bonding with baby
✔️ Choices in maternity care
✔️ Birth Preferences – having open communication with your caregivers
✔️ Knowledge is power – researching common interventions and procedures
✔️ Questions to ask, to assist in making informed decisions
✔️ Birth partner as advocate
✔️ ‘Guess date’ – a normal range of pregnancy
✔️ Inductions – things you’re not always told
✔️ Achieving a natural start to labour
✔️ Maintaining a healthy diet
✔️ Preparing the body – staying active
✔️ Optimising baby’s position
✔️ Breech or Posterior – options & positions
✔️ Instant relaxation techniques
✔️ Self-hypnosis, meditation and deep relaxation techniques & scripts
 

Unit 4: Birth – bringing it all together
✔️ What to expect in the weeks and days leading up to birth
✔️ Signs that labour is starting
✔️ What to expect through labour (membranes releasing etc)
✔️ When to call the midwife/go to the hospital
✔️ Accidental home/car birth – what to do!
✔️ Birth partner’s role
✔️ Common procedures
✔️ Using water during labour and birth
✔️ Upright positioning, movement and birth positions
✔️ Special circumstances (including caesarean birth)
✔️ Fear release
✔️ Vocalisation
✔️ Cord clamping & placenta delivery
✔️ Undisturbed bonding & breastfeeding time – skin to skin
✔️ What to expect afterwards
✔️ Self-hypnosis – Rehearsal for Birth
✔️ A practice routine – preparation for birth!

Our Program includes:

1. 12 hours’ worth of lessons;
2. Hypnobirthing Australia™ workbook and voucher for 100% off their online resource package* (valued at $200);
3. Morning and afternoon tea (diabetic friendly, GF and vegan options available)**; and,
4. Ongoing support.

We also offer a 'hypno-toolkit' add-on (for $100) which includes:

1. Lavender & Geranium essential oils;
2. A 12-pack affirmation card deck with nature based imagery made by Happy Birthway;
3. A birth comb engraved with an affirmation made by From Birth to Bloom; and,
4. An eye-mask.

*Hypnobirthing Australia's online package includes:
1. Surge of the Sea album (2 tracks);
2. Rainbow Mist album (2 tracks);
3. eBook 'little book of hypnobirthing'; and,
4. 24-months of access to members-only online portal with lots of extra resources including videos.

**in person classes only

The group program runs over 2 consecutive Saturdays, from 10am to 5pm with a 1 hour lunch break. 

We usually run one program each month and will update our website and social media with the specific dates a month in advance. 

Please see our our upcoming dates here.

Private classes are tailored to your availability (Sundays and weeknights). Please reach out to discuss this option.

One support person is invited per birthing person. This support person can be anyone but should be a person that will be present during the birth- whether they are your partner, parent, sibling, or friend etc. It is important to invite your birth partner, if available, as the program is just as valuable for them.
 

If there are exceptional circumstances and you require more than one support person, please contact us to discuss how we may facilitate this.

While you can absolutely begin hypnobirthing at any time and still enjoy its benefits, we do recommend taking the program between 20 and 30 weeks, if possible.
 

This will give you time to practise the techniques and will ensure that the content is fresh in your mind when you give birth.
 

We also recommend that you sign up for a class as early as possible to secure your spot as spaces are limited and can sell out early.

We run both group & private classes from:

1. Winmalee, in the lower Blue Mountains NSW.

2. Katoomba, in the upper Blue Mountains NSW at the Waratah Holistic Health Clinic.

If you are unable to join us in person at either location, please get in touch to discuss our online class option. 

Ordinarily, our prices are as follows BUT don't forget to check out our registration page for current offers & to sign up for our Info Webinar for an exclusive deal:

Group classes:

• In person: $545
• Online: $530 (including postage cost)

Private classes:

• In person: $825
• Combination of in person & online: $820
• Surcharge for travelling to your home for classes: $30*
• Online: $805 (including postage cost)

We accept payment by bank transfer. Please note that, to secure your booking, a $150 deposit is required at the time of booking. The balance is required to be paid one week before your first class (unless there are extenuating circumstances which we have discussed).

* Blue Mountains and Penrith only

Yes! 

You can:

1. Pay by instalments leading up to the week before your first class (after paying the $150 deposit to secure your booking); or, 
2. Pay the deposit then pay the remainder one week before your first class.
    

If you would like to discuss alternatives, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. 

Yes! 

Give the gift of empowered birth education. Perfect for baby showers, farewell gifts, birthdays, mother’s/father’s day, or any other special occasion- for birthing persons and their support persons too.
 

Contribute what you like as these vouchers are completely customisable- there is no minimum amount. 

Our vouchers do not expire either and are transferrable to a different giftee if the original giftee is unable to attend, for any reason.

Please contact us, providing the following details, to organise your voucher:

· Giftee’s name

· Desired amount

· Desired message to giftee (optional)

Instructions as to payment will be provided by return email.

Please allow up to 24 hours, following payment, for your voucher to be produced.

Please do not join us in person if you:

· Have tested positive to COVID-19 within the last 10 days

· Are experiencing any Covid symptoms including but not limited to:

- fever

- coughing

- sore throat

- shortness of breath

· Have been on contact with someone who has tested positive to COVID-19 within the last 10 days.

You are welcome to join via Zoom (remotely) instead, reschedule or to cancel with a full refund of any payments made.

We thank you for your understanding.

If you need, or would prefer, to join us remotely please contact us.

We will connect via Zoom and will post the Hypnobirthing Australia workbook in advance. We do not charge for this postage.

In the event that insufficient notice is provided and we are unable to arrange delivery by post in advance, we may be able to arrange pick up or another alternative. 

While our group sessions are quite intimate as they as limited to 2-3 birth teams only, our private 1-1 sessions are a great option if you are looking for something more exclusive and centred around you.

We also have greater flexibility with these classes and work to tailor them to your schedule- whether you’d like 6-hour blocks in-person on Sundays, 3-hour blocks online during weeknights or a combination. We also offer classes at your home if you are located in the Blue Mountains or Penrith.

If you would like to register your interest for a private class, or discuss further, please contact us.

Each birth team receives a voucher for 100% off Hypnobirthing Australia's online package, which includes access to the Surge of the Sea & Rainbow Mist albums (with two tracks each). 

If desired, further tracks and resources can be purchased at the Hypnobirthing Australia website, including:

• Prompts for Birthing track;
• Caesarean Birth- Calm & Relaxed track;
• The Positive Caesarean Birth e-book;
• Breech Turn track;
• Hypnosis for Stress & Anxiety track; and,
• Acupressure for Labour and Birth Course.

We also post weekly resource recommendations and empowered educational content on our instagram.

birthing bliss is determined to make birth knowledge and support more widely accessible. In addition to the free information and resources we share on our instagram, and in line with our values, we donate 1% of our profits from each booking to a cause in the birth space. 

We publish our cause of the month with our monthly class dates, both on Instagram and here. For more information about our current cause, please see here. 

If you know of an organisation in this space deserving of more love, please contact us! 

birthing bliss is also mindful of our environmental impact and the importance of giving back to mother earth. In line with our values, we plant a tree for every order with Trillion Trees Australia. 

In it's over 41 years of operation, this not-for-profit has planted close to 15 million native trees and understory across Western Australia, to combat salinity and soil erosion, improve biodiversity, and provide habitat for thousands of native species. 

If you have any suggestions as to how we can expand this initiative in the future, please contact us!