Last week (11 – 17th May) was Mental Health Awareness Week, an annual event run by the Mental Health Foundation to increase public knowledge of mental health and wellbeing issues.
This year, the event is focusing in the positive effect that applying Mindfulness can have on depression and anxiety.
In honour of Mental Health Awareness Week the HypnoBirthing Institute are exploring how HypnoBirthing the Mongan Method, a technique that shares many parallels with mindfulness, can be used to vastly reduce postnatal depression and birth trauma in women. This blog post has been kindly provided by Grace Grieve from the HypnoBirthing Institute:
Postnatal Depression is a crippling illness that affects up to 15% of new mums each year, robbing them of what should be a blissful time with their new baby. Far more than the “baby blues”, sufferers can experience a range of frightening and confusing emotions. They may feel they can’t cope with motherhood and they don’t bond with their baby. Some mothers may feel anxious and worry about the health of both themselves and that of their child. They may suffer panic attacks and feel tense and irritable all of the time, as well as tired and lacking in energy. Most have problems sleeping and a poor appetite and many lose interest in sex.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a reaction to exposure to a very stressful event and can occur in women who have had a particularly traumatic birth experience. They may experience flashbacks, panic attacks and other acute symptoms and in some cases can be unable to even consider a future pregnancy.
Initial findings of ongoing research are starting to demonstrate that it would appear that postnatal depression in women who use antenatal hypnosis programmes to birth their babies is vastly reduced. HypnoBirthing Mongan Method Practitioners universally report a lower rate of PND in the mother’s who take their classes, compared to the national average. It’s unsurprising, given that a traumatic birth experience can massively contribute to the onset of PND.
So we know that HypnoBirthing is hugely effective in reducing PND – but just how does it work?
HypnoBirthing Mongan Method is an antenatal technique that guides and prepares a woman to give birth in a peaceful and extraordinarily beautiful manner. It is a program that considers the psychological, as well as the physical, well-being of the mother, her birth partner, and the newborn, independent of context, whether that be in the quiet of a home or a hospital.
The HypnoBirthing Mongan Method program is built around an educational process that includes special breathing, relaxation, visualization and meditative practice. In essence, HypnoBirthing Mongan Method empowers the mother to be fully in control of her birth experience, however that plays out. She is mindful, and in tune with her body, eliminating external stimuli.
She is able to focus on that moment, without dwelling on the past (in the case of birth trauma) or worrying about the future. It has a huge impact on the way she reacts to her pregnancy and birth, providing her with a valuable tool to stay both physically and emotionally healthy throughout and in the following months. Thousands of women across the world have successfully used this technique, which was pioneered by Marie Mongan and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
For more information please contact Grace Grieve PR Consultant on 07821 776555 or visit www.hypnobirthing-uk.com
Leave a Reply