Innate Wisdom Podcast

What It's About:

Join Loren Sofia, Functional Fertility Coach and owner of Innate Fertility, and Tara Menzies of Christian Hypnobirthing, as they discuss the hypnobirthing approach to labor and delivery, and so much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• How Tara got into Christian Hypnobirthing
• What Christian Hypnobirthing is & the benefits 
• Tara’s birth story
• Unresolved trauma and its effect on getting pregnant 
• The difference between hypnobirthing and Lamaze
• All of the important hormones involved in giving birth 
• Why the words you use can make a big difference when giving birth 
• Breathing practice to support your nervous system
• Differences between Christian hypnobirthing and standard hypnobirthing
• How to get your partners involved in your hypnobirthing experience
• Preparing for labor & delivery
• And so much more!

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Loren: Welcome to the Innate Wisdom Podcast. I'm your host, Loren Sophia, healer of my own fertility and health struggles, mother, functional fertility coach to thousands of women, and owner of Innate Fertility. I believe your body is innately wise, and so is your fertility. Sometimes we just need the tools to unlock it in abundance.

I'm honored to guide you through each episode where we'll cover not just fertility, but how to rediscover the innate wisdom of your body. Restore your connection with your physiology, bioenergetics, and metabolism, and get back in touch with Mother Nature and ancestral traditions.

I'm so happy that you're joining me for this episode. Today I'm speaking with my colleague Tara Menzies, the creator of Christian Hypnobirthing, the app, and also the faith filled childbirth course. She created the app in early 2018 after the birth of her first son Because she wanted to combine traditional hypnobirthing techniques in a way that would allow them to be led by her faith with God And I honestly think she has done this very beautifully In fact, the Christian hypnobirthing app has since become one of the most highly rated hypnobirthing apps worldwide And has helped tens of thousands of women have a more relaxed confident and faith filled birth experience It's been said that birth is a religious experience in a sense, and having given birth to baby E, I do truly believe this.

But I don't think that there's one right way to do birth. Tools like hypnobirthing can be extremely helpful, but every woman is different and you might find that something else resonates with you. I want to reassure you here that that is okay. You don't have to use this or that specifically. When it comes down to it However, the most common theme across all of these techniques, really the purpose of them, are to help you get into a breathing pattern and regulate your nervous system.

So that is really what all of these things are doing, in a sense. That's the most simplified way of looking at them. And if you do know how to do this, if you know how to properly breathe and you know how to regulate your nervous system, you will be golden because you'll understand what your body needs and how to regulate your own self, what your triggers are, where you're going, where you feel like you need to start to get out of it.

You know, you kind of get a sense for like, Where your body might be sort of drifting into that, uh, sympathetic state, that fight or flight, and how to bring yourself back to home and home base. And that is the name of the game. You don't want to let things get out of control, and this helps you stay in a regulated state.

And, you know, when I say out of control, I mean, really, it's your heart rate, your pulse. You have to surrender control during birth and delivery. But. As far as like control, that's what I mean. And that said, many of my clients and students and friends have used both traditional hypnobirthing techniques and Christian hypnobirthing techniques with so much success during their labor and delivery.

So I do want to give this technique specifically credit and that's why I wanted to bring this to you is because I have had so much success with so many people in my life. that I'm coaching my students, but also my personal life too, that love this technique. And while you're in labor, being able to call on your faith too, if that's something that resonates with you, and which is why I wanted to interview Tara specifically, it can make things so much more reassured and purposeful.

And If you're curious what I personally used during my own experience, uh, stay tuned for my birth story episode where you'll get to hear all about my, uh, techniques and also you'll get to hear from my husband too. Uh, so let's dive in. This episode will be especially helpful for you if you are trying to conceive or pregnant.

And, and are considering birthing techniques, uh, keep listening to hear how hypnobirthing can support you. We're also talking about how to prepare your body for labor and delivery, how to get your partner involved and so much more. So there's really so much more beyond just hypnobirthing in this episode and it's very, very rich.

Okay, welcome to another episode of the Innate Wisdom Podcast. Today I'm speaking with Tara of Christian Hypnobirthing. Welcome to the Innate Wisdom Podcast, Tara. 

[00:04:47] Tara: Thank you so much Loren. It's so beautiful to be here. 

[00:04:48] Loren: I'm so excited to have you. I know it's your morning, my evening, but we're making it work.

And just in case those are curious. She's like, what, what are the, what is she talking about? Uh, Tara's in Australia. So you couldn't tell from her accent, but I'm so excited to be connecting with such a light in this space. So welcome. 

[00:05:14] Tara: Thank you. It is really, really wonderful. You know, I love your page. I've been following you for such a long time and I always get so much.

I love also like the recipes and things and, you know, your input for so many women. Helping them, like seeing the, the beautiful testimonials and things who, from people who have been able to get pregnant and everything after using your course. And yeah, it's really beautiful to be connecting with you and, uh, I'm excited to be here.So thank you. 

[00:05:45] Loren: Thank you so much. That means so much to me. And yeah, I couldn't be happier to be chatting with you today. So I would love to just kick off this conversation by actually having you share your story and sort of how you've gotten to the work that you do today, because I think the audience would probably love to hear that.

And I think it's, it can say a lot about how you got to do what you are today and how passionate you are. 

[00:06:12] Tara: Yeah, absolutely. Well, uh, it certainly was not something that I was planning to get into at all in my life, although my mom did have a natural birth with me or a sort of physiological birth and. She also did with my siblings and I saw my brother being born.

But to be honest, it just, I, it's funny looking back. Cause I'm like, wow, that maybe that did impact me. Like, I'm sure it must've impacted me. Um, but at the time it didn't feel like it. Like I was like, uh, I grew up in a family of kind of like, there was a lot of singing and music and I, that's what I used to do.

I used to like, uh, sing and I did like, Acting and comedy and all kinds of stuff. And I never would have imagined that I would get into the birth, um, space. And then in my pregnancy with my first son, I had a huge amount of anxiety because, um, my husband and I had had difficulty conceiving. Well, we we've been able to conceive, but we'd sadly lost.

Three babies before he was born and, um, before we conceive my first son. And so, because of that, I just, I was really, really anxious throughout his pregnancy and I was told about something called hypnobirthing to sort of help with anxiety and help with, um. Relax you. And, and like many people, I was like, Hypnobirthing, like that sounds weird.

You know, um, that's a strange sounding name. Like, what does this mean? And so I started to look into it and found out like, you know, it wasn't weird. It's basically just like relaxation exercises and, and that kind of thing to help you relax throughout pregnancy. So I started like listening to some hypnobirthing tracks and that kind of thing.

But then I read this. Christian book that was kind of negative about natural birthing techniques. And so I almost felt like, Oh, maybe I shouldn't be doing that. And it was very much just like, just have faith. And, and so I kind of stopped the hypnobirthing and like attempted to just have faith. But then I'm giving it my best.

With him, it was like incredibly difficult. Uh, I became more and more fearful, which as you probably know, uh, about the fear, fear, tension, pain cycle. I don't know if you've heard about that, but you know, the more fearful you become, the more tense you become, the more painful your birth is. And then that sort of, uh, gets more tension, more pain, more fear.

And, and you get caught in this cycle and it became worse and worse. And. My husband was very supportive, like despite the fact a number of things were just like going wrong, like we went to the birth center, the birth center was full, and they were like, you're gonna have to go on the labor ward. And then I had this midwife who was just kept saying Really negative things, like just being like, I know that you want to go un medicated, but you will need drugs.

Like it's so hard. You won't be able to like have voice was just like this voice of like negativity and like bringing me down. And so. I just, I was just finding it so hard and because I didn't have hypnobirthing tracks or anything, and I'm like trying to just have faith, and I had nothing to kind of focus my mind on, and it was, it was a really difficult experience because then they hooked me up to like a monitor and IV.

And, and I'm like, they're like trying to have like, you know, surges and trying to feel like I can still move, but I can't move around because I'm like hooked up to all this stuff. And so it was just very different from the birth I had envisioned. I did, um, have like a, well, it was a very much a spiritual experience for me where I kind of had this moment where I was like, why is all this stuff happening?

And like, where is God in all of this? And like, and I, I won't go into all the details cause it's like a very long sort of story, but for me, I really came through to something else where I realized that, you know, that God had been with me the whole time and that, you know, And that I did have the power within me, like, as in that I had the strength that like all the strength was already there and I just needed to access it.

Like I needed to like get back in touch with it because I'd gone so far into like the believing what like that midwife was saying and like all of the stuff that I was, I was, I was. being taken in by all the stuff around me. And, you know, and this is something I really try to reiterate in the course as well, is that we can't control what happens in the outside world, but we can control our inner world.

Like we, we have the power to like, bring our focus back to God, to our own strength, to the knowing that we were designed to do this, you know, like, or even like, if we have to, To change, you know, if, if plans do have to change and, you know, someone has to have a C section because it's medically necessary, you know, like you can still change the meaning to an empowering meaning.

The important thing is that you, you find that empowering meaning, you know, and so you don't let yourself become like a victim, I guess, of the circumstances that are happening. So in that moment, when I really changed the meaning. My whole birth just turned around. It started progressing very quickly. It was like, my body started like really like allowing it to happen.

Cause I wasn't holding back anymore. I wasn't trying to stop it, you know, like I wasn't tensing up anymore. And yeah, I birthed him. It was an unmedicated birth. He was nine pounds, eight ounces. So really big, beautiful baby boy. But after that experience, I was so deeply affected. by the fact that I'd listened to that book, which to be honest, I don't think it's a bad book.

I wouldn't say like, Oh, don't read it. Loads of people have benefited from that book. But for me, the whole thing of just having faith really was like, I felt like I really could have benefited from having exercises to put my mind on, like, you know, breathing exercises, visualization exercises to kind of help me through and keep myself focused, you know, and I just was like, gosh, it would be so great if someone would make Christian hypnobirthing, you know, like if, if someone could make.

Like, cause that's what I wanted. I wanted something that was centered on God and bringing my attention back to that, you know, loving presence through scripture and through prayer, but also with the aid of the really fantastic exercises used in hypnobirthing. And I was sitting up in bed breastfeeding my son and I was listening to Matthew in the Bible.

And, um, I was sort of listening and, and it said, I remember like I'd looked into potentially creating an app and it was like really, really expensive. And I was just like, well, we have no money. Like, there's no way I could afford to make an app. You know, it was like, said it was going to be like 40, 000 or something.

And so I just let it go and was like, okay, it's just not possible. You know? And I was sitting up in bed listening to Matthew whilst breastfeeding and it, Jesus said in this part I was listening to, that's impossible with man, but with God, all things are possible. And I was like, what? Like I've like read Matthew a bunch of times, but that verse, like I'd never really noticed it before.

And I skipped back and was like, With God, all things are possible. Like that just like blew my mind. Like I was like, what? Like, that's amazing. And so I think I just went like, well, you know, if, if this is something that I guess I feel like God is wanting me to do, like I prayed about it and stuff. then it must be possible, you know, even though I don't have the money and I don't have the experience, you know, I'm not a hypnobirthing instructor and step by step I like contacted a company that said that like they, they did like free apps, you know, you could create a free app and, and, and I was like, Oh, I don't have any experience in creating apps, but like.

You know, do you think I could do this? And I like, sure, you know, all you need is your own virtual private server, minimum SSD too. And I was just like, uh, I don't know what any of that means. Like it was just such a long process, you know, in creating all the tracks, like obviously took months and like loads of research and yeah, but it, but I ended up doing it and it was a very, very slow, slow process, you know, like initially we would like have like a few downloads a week for like, I don't know, the first year or so, and then it's gradually become bigger and bigger through word of mouth.

You know, again, I didn't have the money for marketing. Um, so it's literally been through people using it and loving it and telling their friends, um, which I've been so proud of. moved by and it's just been the most incredible process. And over time, like, you know, and I ended up like, so I could bring in the childbirth education and everything.

I got my hypnobirthing diploma with Catherine Graves, who's like really old school. She was like one of the first hypnobirthing teachers. Like she came out of like, I think she trained with like Marie Mongin, like who is like started hypnobirthing like back in the day. So I don't know, I think this is like 30 years ago.

Yeah. And from there have been able to then develop the childbirth education. And I've also worked with midwives and doulas and nurse practitioners and all kinds of incredible people to put together things like our postpartum course. And then I used the app for my son, Samuel's birth, which was just a crazy experience.

Cause it was so funny. I got to the birth center again for his birth. And. Again, the, uh, the lay at the birth center was full and so I had to go to the labor ward again. But instead of this time, like it throwing me into that fear and everything, I literally laughed it off with my husband. We were like, of course it's full.

And then, uh, we were just laughing between contractions. They didn't actually think I was in active labor, so they were going to send me home, but thankfully they let us stay. in like a little waiting room. And then I just was listening to the app, listening, um, you know, and sitting and I had it like turned the lights off, had it in darkness, sitting, praying, listening to the affirmations and everything.

And then all of a sudden, yeah, I was like, basically went to the bathroom and was like, started like, feeling the urge to push. My husband like calls the midwife. She comes in with a wheelchair to try and get me to the labor ward, like, or a room where I could actually give birth in. And I was like already giving birth.

So it was really funny because I, gave birth in the waiting room. Um, and he was born on call. Uh, so like my waters never broke. He was born in the sack, which my husband was completely freaked out by because, you know, I think he thought there was something like very wrong when he saw him. Cause he's like, obviously he has this like sack over him.

And my husband was like, Oh my gosh, you know, what? What's going on? But then once he was out, he like kicked in the sack broken. Yeah, it was, I mean, it was an incredible birth because they recorded it as like 12 minutes of active labor and eight minutes of pushing. And it was just so radically different to my first experience, because this time, like using the app, I was just so much more.

relaxed and able to move with my body. And I just felt to like, at one point I was doing these sort of cat cow movements, like just intuitively. And I think that's another thing I try to really encourage people to do is like, like to move with your, like what your God given birthing instincts are telling you to do, you know, like if you're feeling to move in a certain way to, to trust that.

And it was just, yeah, it was a really, amazing birth experience. So, you know, that's been, that's over. I think I created the app like about coming up to six years ago. So, um, it's been like an incredible journey. We've now had like, Over 80, 000 women that have used the app to some degree. Uh, not all obviously like have used the paid version.

We have lots of people who literally just use the like free positive affirmations track and love that. It really depends on kind of how much you need. Like some people are able to just watch a positive birth video and they're just like, cool, I got this. You know, whereas I'm someone who really wants to be.

to understand like the physiology of birth. I need more information. I like data, you know, like I'm quite a logic based person and I want to have the exercises and all the things to practice. Whereas some people can literally just listen to the positive affirmations track and have like a really beautiful, relaxed birth.

So I guess it's like, whatever. everyone's difference. Like, so it's whatever works for you. But that's my journey with it. As I said, like, I wouldn't have expected to be doing this, but I read this thing the other day and it really resonated, which was like, God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

And I was like, that totally resonates with the fact that I'm doing what I'm doing. Cause I, I never would have imagined it, you know, like, I wasn't that person that grew up wanting to be a midwife or a doula or something, you know, like it was just not, but my birth experience truly changed my life. And I think it was like that experience of like, wow, like, if I can do that, I can do anything.

Like it's a very extraordinary experience that, you know, The process of bringing a human being into the world, you know, like it's just such an incredible experience and it's such a privilege to help other people to really embrace that beautiful part of their, their life. Cause it's, you know, it's doesn't happen very often, you know, normally you only experience birth, most people only experience it.

a few times, you know, one or two times, or some people obviously don't have children, uh, men normally don't, don't have children. But, um, like I think, you know, most, a lot of women will, will have children throughout their life. And I think to really make that experience special and to honor it as the, truly miraculous and spiritual experience that it can be, I think is really beautiful.

[00:20:59] Loren: Well, thank you so much for sharing that Tara. I I don't think I've heard your birth story before. So that is incredible. And just what's come out of it is so beautiful. It's a profound experience that you've shared and also just a profound way that you've found yourself in doing the work that you're doing.

And I think A lot of that came from trusting yourself, being able to really listen to your intuition. At least this is what I'm, what I'm pulling from what you've shared, but also being open and receptive to the messages that you're receiving as well and being able to hear them and Learn from them too.

So I think that is just so beautiful. And I couldn't be more honored to be sharing your amazing work with the audience. I think it's just so incredible. Thank you. 

[00:21:55] Tara: Thank you so much, Loren. Yeah. I mean, it was, it's a lot like, it's funny, it's, it's hard to kind of condense it down because obviously there's so much in all of these experiences, but I think that's the kind of.

I think that's the beautiful thing about actually most of the birth, the people I know who are involved in birth, like so often it has come out of their own birth experience and being like, wow, I want to either make sure, uh, women never experienced a birth like that. Like sometimes it's come out of birth trauma and then other times it's come out of like having an amazing birth and being like, I want to make sure everyone has an amazing birth.

But you know, it's a profound thing. a really profound experience. And, um, yeah, and one that I'm so grateful that I had. And also like, I think that after that first birth, you know, I do think I probably did have some level of birth trauma and that, that was, had to be worked through as well. You know, and I think it's really important to honor that too.

Like some people, you know, birth plans, their birth doesn't necessarily go to plan. And I guess it depends on how they deal with that in that moment. And But actually it's really good to talk about that as well. Like, you know, if someone struggles after their birth to kind of come to terms with what happened or if they felt they were coerced into things, definitely really important to chat to like a counselor, a midwife, someone who can help talk you through it.

And so that, you know, you don't carry it through into your next birth as well, or even just like, Life in general, and to know it's okay to talk about these things and to, to get help, you know. 

[00:23:35] Loren: Yeah, I think that's super important. And it's very important as well for also being receptive to accepting another spirit into your, your life too.

So if you're, you know, you experience a traumatic birth, that that's inability to process those emotions can actually be a barrier to conception too. Um, so I think you make a great point. It's very important to work through that if you did experience it, not just the delivery part or thinking about, you know, the delivery part of your next pregnancy, but also just addressing it so you don't carry it through your pregnancy.

Experiencing the anxiety as you shared, even with your first pregnancy and thank you for sharing that. But also, I've come into situations where that trauma actually holds a woman back from even being able to conceive again because they're just, they're holding onto this trauma in their body. 

[00:24:30] Tara: Yeah. And I think a lot of people will be like, I don't want to get pregnant.

I don't want to have another baby because that last birth was, was traumatic, you know? And, um, We had a beautiful birth video from Kathleen Celeste. She was actually one of the first sort of influencers that posted about using the app. And she'd previously had a very traumatic hospital birth. And then she used the app and she'd listened to it every night in the lead up to her birth.

She also did the pain free birth course. And she, um, She ended up switching to a home birth and had this absolutely beautiful home water birth experience. And I, I like, I really love it if people watch it cause it's such a beautiful video and real testament to the fact that like, if you've had a previously traumatic birth, it doesn't mean that birth has to be traumatic in the future.

Like you can have a really beautiful redemptive birth experience. 

[00:25:31] Loren: I do want to ask you, so, there are things like Lamaze, for example, that, People typically have in their head is like a way a method of preparation for labor and you know, a labor breathing technique and you know, you're going to do the he he who who kind of breathing during labor.

What is hypnobirthing? in the realm of, you know, these kinds of like labor techniques or what would you call them? Labor preparatory techniques, you know, kind of, can you break that down for us? 

[00:26:06] Tara: Yeah, definitely. I think, uh, I think a lot of hypnobirthing practitioners think that Hypnobirthing needs a rebrand in that it's like, you know, it sounds like this kind of woo woo, you know, you're going to be in some kind of like, you know, trance or something, but it's really not the case at all.

It is deep relaxation. That's the kind of idea is that it's to help you get into this relaxed state to help you to produce optimum levels of oxytocin and endorphins in the body so that your It's called experiencing your body's natural pain relief. And it's just like it, you know, oxytocin is the hormone that makes labor efficient.

And you know, I mean, it's such an amazing hormone because it helps with so many things. It's called the love hormone. Often it's referred to as that. And it helps with, you know, uh, bonding with your baby, your let down reflex. It, it's great. literally like is what's responsible for your contractions or surges as we call them in hypnobirthing.

So what hypnobirthing is doing is it's really, you know, my, my hypnobirthing instructor, our teacher in my diploma course, she explained it as words. So it's really like the words we use around birth. Uh, and like, For instance, how we frame things. So, you know, if you're saying things like birth is painful versus birth is powerful or, you know, like birth is transformational birth is an amazing, beautiful experience.

You know, like those, uh, the, the words that we use are really important. And this is also like completely in, in the Bible, it says, you know, like in Proverbs, it says that the tongue is. one of the most powerful instruments in the body or powerful organs in the body. It speaks life or death, you know, like, so it's like, we need to be really careful what words we're using, you know, and I think in terms of hypnobirthing, okay, so like the words explanation isn't necessarily Super direct about what it actually is.

So what I would say hypnobirthing is, is really antenatal training and understanding of the physiology of birth and the very important choices around birth, as well as practicing relaxation techniques to use throughout birth. The most important, I would say, being the, throughout your surges, the Just doing the breathing, which is so easy, actually, like it's literally a very simple breath.

People can do different versions of it depending on what feels right for them. So if it feels like too long or too short, you can adjust it. But generally what I do is in for four, out for seven. I personally like in through the nose, out through the mouth. Some people prefer, you know, in through the nose, out through the nose or into the mouth, out through the mouth.

It's, it's really what like, cause in, there's no point in trying to do a breathing exercise and be like, Oh, it's really annoying me because it feels too long. Or like, I don't like doing it through my nose. Like you have to feel good. So, um, do what feels right for you. But the basic, basic breath is just in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Out through the mouth, in for four, out for seven, and that is designed to bring you back into your parasympathetic nervous system. So bring you back into that rest and digest so that all your lovely blood and oxygen can be going to the uterus where it's meant to be. Not in fight or flight, you know, cause you don't want to be in fight or flight where all your blood and oxygen is running, rushing to your limbs.

Like that's not helpful for birth at all. So essentially I would say that's kind of hypnobirthing in a nutshell is a combination of really education so that you have the confidence to really. know of what, what you're going to have to face when you go in, cause especially if you're going in for a hospital birth, you know, often people don't realize that they're going to be having people coming at them being like, okay, so we're going to book you in for an induction and we're going to hook you up to an IV or we're going to do continuous fetal monitoring, even though there's no evidence for it, you know, like as in it doesn't improve outcomes.

Comparative to, uh, you know, the use of a Doppler. So it's like understanding those choices and then being able to really make informed decisions from a place of peace and confidence. And then having all those techniques as well, which are really useful, not only for the birth, uh, the person giving birth, but also for their, um, their partner as well, to know how to actually support them, like, cause lots of the time, you know, birth partners, if they haven't done any kind of training or they haven't done a hypnobirthing program or some other program, they're just like not really sure what to do.

And it can be quite a traumatic experience for them as well. Whereas if the. The mom and dad really like work together to educate themselves beforehand. They can really feel confident going into that birth experience together or whoever is like going to be the birth partner. Obviously it's not always a dad or whatever it could be.

Some people have their mom or, you know, anyone in there with them. It's really about having a birth partner in there. Who's going to. fully support you and be your protector, you know, know what your birth choices are and advocate for them and also help you relax. 

[00:31:58] Loren: Oh my gosh. There are so many points you hit and that just goes to show for those listening in the audience that hypnobirthing is not just this Sort of labor method, like, for example, the moms, you know, where you see all the movies, um, the women doing that breathing technique, but it's birth education, it's partner training, it's.

training for labor for you, but it's also helps you, uh, navigate all the decision making that you have to do and really prepare and be informed about what's to come all while helping regulate your nervous system, which is huge. 

[00:32:42] Tara: Absolutely. It's like one of the main Things I think. Yeah. 

[00:32:46] Loren: Yeah. Hypnobirthing has so much to offer and there's so many aspects.

So, uh, I can see why, you know, hypnobirthers would want to rename it because honestly, when I was, when I first learned about it or somebody mentioned it to me, I think I was In nutrition school, and my friend was talking about how her friend, she was invited to her, her friend's hospital birth, but she used hypnobirthing throughout the entire birthing process.

And she said that she witnessed her friend be the most calm version of herself and how she experienced no pain. That's so, so amazing. Yeah. She'd ever witnessed and she's a nurse too. So it's, it's pretty cool. And that's my, that was my first introduction to hypnobirthing. And I knew that I had to find out more after that.

[00:33:40] Tara: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. We have, we have, well, I had it myself with the midwives and stuff just saying like, Oh, I've, I've never seen anyone give birth like that, which I think is so funny because obviously all I did was give birth. Like it wasn't like I did anything strange, you know, uh, to me, it was just. It was literally just doing what our bodies are designed to do.

But I think because birth has become so medicalized, uh, many people, you know, who work in a hospital don't actually see normal physiological birth anymore. They're used to seeing it. Sped up with, you know, synthetic oxytocin and, and just all of the cascade of interventions that, that often leads to. And yeah, I mean, it's quite sad really, because I don't think that anyone's intending that.

Like, I don't think people go into the medical industry thinking like, Oh, we're going to lead women away from the beauty of what birth can be. I think they're just doing. what they know, you know, they're doing what they believe is going to be the best, uh, or that that's just what they know to do, you know, and, but thankfully a lot of hospitals are starting to actually incorporate the use of hypnobirthing and lots of these different, like it, it, it is growing.

So I think like, Hopefully, we're going to see a change as, as time goes on, where we're going to see more people supported, whether they're at home or in hospital or in a birth center to have more relaxed, joyful births instead of the feeling of it being like a medical emergency, because actually, Realistically, like most people are capable of a normal birth.

Like it's about 90, at least 90 percent of people, um, the WHO estimates sort of between five to 15%, I think of caesareans being necessary, but then it's like, well, why does that, like, why are some hospitals having a 70 percent or even 90 percent caesarean rate then? Like, it doesn't make any sense. Yeah. So anyway, we've still got a long way to go, but I'm always hopeful.

[00:36:02] Loren: I am too. And I think, uh, resources like you can really help shift that. So I appreciate what you're doing. Um, one of the questions that I feel like the audience must have too, is, um, What is the difference between hypnobirthing, especially for those that are familiar with hypnobirthing, but what is the difference between your typical hypnobirthing versus Christian hypnobirthing, which is what you do?

[00:36:30] Tara: Well, I guess it's kind of like what it does on the tin, what it says on the tin, you know, like it's, uh, It's scripture based and incorporates so many beautiful, encouraging scriptures throughout to really help people feel God's love and strength and support. For me, that's what I wanted in my birth. Uh, I really wanted to that connection.

And I think that's really missing. Like, I think that hypnobirthing by itself is so great as a resource for so many people. And look, you know, not everyone wants a spiritual birth experience. Lots of people aren't interested in the spiritual aspect, so it's not for everybody, uh, which is absolutely fine.

But for those of you and, you know, this is with me, is I really wanted to feel God's presence throughout my birth experience. And I guess to know that I wasn't alone in that, you know, like to know that God was right there with me, giving me the strength and support that I needed. And no matter what, what happens, you know, like to feel that it's a very special feeling of like, almost like I talk about in the tracks, like having like a cocoon of calm where like filled with the Holy Spirit.

So you've got this cocoon, like no matter what happens around you. you can just stay in that beautiful cocoon of calm, you know, with the Holy Spirit ministering to you. And, um, and I think that is a real difference where most hypnobirthing programs are fairly secular, I guess, like some of the hypnobirthing apps will sort of maybe be a bit more spiritual on the kind of like, Talking about your inner goddess or, you know, the universe and that kind of thing, which, which doesn't really, well, doesn't resonate with me.

And that's why, again, I was like, I think to have something that resonates with your beliefs. is really powerful because if you're in the middle of giving birth, you don't want to have to be like changing language in your head, you know, like, um, cause that's taking you out of your birth experience. You just want to be able to completely relax and feel completely supported by what's being said to you and completely safe, you know?

So yeah, I would say that that, that spiritual aspect is really the huge. And funnily enough, we haven't, like, it's not just, obviously most of our, um, app users are Christians, but we, the other day I had a woman who's, um, a doctor in India and she's pregnant at the moment. She is a Hindu, but she absolutely loves the app, which I was like, wow, like, that's amazing.

And then a while ago I had a Muslim woman who said that she really loved our content. Because they're also looking for that spiritual aspect and I guess haven't found it outside of us. You know, maybe someone will at some stage create something that's more relevant to them specifically, but at this stage, I guess they haven't felt there's any other program that is really bringing that focus to the spiritual connection and bringing God into their birth.

So, Yeah, and, and I'm always like, anyone can use it, you know, we don't have some kind of like, you know, Christians only like, I mean, I don't like there are so many different kinds of Christian anyway. It's like, anyone who wants to use it is more than welcome to use it. And I just pray that it helps people to have the most beautiful, Experience possible.You know.

[00:40:13] Loren: I think that's so beautiful. And that just goes to show there's, you know, there's no limitation to this, this method or this, I, I guess, what would you call it really? 

[00:40:28] Tara: I don't even know. I, I, like, I sometimes I've thought a lot about changing the, the name because I think it doesn't really represent what it is 'cause.

I just think hypnobirthing, the word hypnobirthing is, is very off putting to a lot of people, but the great thing is, for me, is that it kind of has created very much a niche where it's like, you know, cause it's too, The word Christian hypnobirthing is like too woo woo for, I don't know, the kind of puritanical Christians.

And then it's too Christian for like non Christians. So it's just like this very, very specific niche of people who are kind of like, I guess, open minded Christians who are looking to have a spiritual connection in their birth experience. So I really don't know what I would call it. I guess I would call it like a, a method of supporting you throughout your, your birth experience and pregnancy.

And postpartum, again, not very short there, but yeah, maybe just a method. 

[00:41:39] Loren: Loren here. Like I mentioned earlier, the common thread amongst all these labor and birthing techniques is that they focus on your breathing and nervous system regulation. But what if you already knew how to do this even before you got pregnant?

How to properly breathe, not only to regulate your nervous system, but also engage your pelvic floor is one of the key things that I teach you in my course, Conscious Conception. I also teach you other nervous system regulating techniques so that you know how to integrate this, not just for labor and delivery, but way before that so that you can have a stress free conception experience or trying to conceive experience and also have a peaceful pregnancy because these things are important not just for labor and delivery.

They're important for your entire end to end experience. And if this sounds like something that resonates with you, I want to invite you to to learn more by visiting innatefertility.org/getpregnant for more information. And if you're loving the show, don't forget to leave a review. Now back to the episode.

Yeah, I think it's hard to put, and I don't want to call it a label, but a definition really to something so expansive and expansive. You know, metaphorically too. So I feel like it just goes to show how many applications this has. And you know, it's not limiting to any one type of religion or any one type of person.

You know, there's so many, so many ways this can potentially support you. And I think that's so beautiful. But yeah, I really love the way that hypnobirthing can really affect the nervous system. Um, and just for Those that maybe aren't familiar with the connection between the nervous system and labor, you know, I think also if you've had hospital births and even home births, preparation is a lot often focused on the nervous system or preparation completely misses this part.

And so I would love to hear your thoughts on what the benefits are. of something like hypnobirthing are for a laboring mother, not just for the laboring mother but for her baby as well? 

[00:43:58] Tara: Well, I think um, let's say you do hypnobirthing your entire pregnancy and then right when you're giving birth for some reason Um, or as you're coming up to birth, for instance, like say something happened that was outside of your plans that meant it was necessary to get a c section or be induced.

Some people think like, Oh, why did I even bother to do hypnobirthing when I'm not going to have the hypnobirth that I wanted to, but actually. I would say every single one of those techniques that you practice still applies and I would continue to use them. In fact, they're probably more useful and even more important.

You know, if you're having an induction, then I would say to really keep generating those beautiful, uh, bringing as much natural oxytocin as well and endorphins and into your body as possible is going to make it more likely that You know, for instance, if you just had the progesterone to start with, that might be even enough to start labor.

But then if it was, if you did actually have to have Pitocin, keeping those breathing techniques going through the contractions, like it is all going to help so much. And also in a C section, you know, the part of the course is we talk about like gentle caesareans and. The huge difference that can be made from talking about choices like when your baby is born via cesarean instead of them just being whisked off to have lots of tests done on them or getting weighed or all the different things scrubbing them down and all that. 

Instead of that, just being like, I really want my baby to be put straight on my chest. I want the different monitors and things to be stuck on my shoulders, not on my chest. I want to have my gown able to be moved so that I want it loose so that as soon as my baby's born, that goes straight onto my chest.

I have immediate skin to skin. You know, there are all different things that you can do to make that environment, um, as relaxed as possible, like still having your tracks that you're listening to. In some cases in a cesarean, some doctors will even allow you to dim the lights and have a spotlight on the incision.

Hypnobirthing can help you no matter what kind of birth you're having. And not only that, Those throughout your pregnancy, the time that you spend practicing the relaxation, you're bathing your baby and all those beautiful hormones, you know, you're, you're bathing them in those relaxed hormones. If you spend your entire pregnancy stressing, you know, and feeling anxious and worrying that something bad's going to happen, you know, obviously birth is like life, like there are no guarantees in.

In life, there are no guarantees in birth. We, we never know what's going to happen. You know, there have certainly been lots of things in my life that I was not expecting and had been very hard to go through, which I feel grateful for now. But at the time was a very difficult thing. So, you know, but there's no point in spending your whole life worrying about what's going to happen.

Because actually anything could happen at any point, anytime we walk out the door, you know? So. To spend your time in pregnancy bathing your baby and beautiful relaxation hormones instead of cortisol and adrenaline, uh, which does affect them as well. It's not just affecting you. It's affecting your baby as well.

You won't regret that, you know, no matter what kind of birth you have. You won't regret the time that you spent practicing meditation, practicing prayer, practicing relaxation, doing the breathing exercises. You know, they will just help you to feel calm and good and connected to God and, That's a great thing.

You know, like that's what helps me feel good day to day in my life is making sure I, I have that time, you know, so the benefits go far beyond just the birth itself. And then there are also lots of, um, there's research that shows that there's lower rates of postpartum anxiety and lower rates of postpartum depression for mothers that have practiced hypnobirthing.

And You know, if you've gone into your birth feeling informed and empowered, it will be a much better experience than if you just sort of go in and just kind of like, get pulled into whatever the doctors are telling you in this way of like, not actually being able to ask questions and just having all these things kind of happen to you instead of being actively involved.

In the decision making process and what you and, and what you want it to be. So, yeah, I mean, look, I kind of think the benefits are endless for both you and your baby and the future generations. You know, I always say happy, empowered mothers create happy, empowered children. And over time we change the world, you know, like it, it's a big impact over generations.

[00:49:15] Loren: I couldn't agree more. And I think that, like you said, the benefits are endless. Just, you know, knowing that there are even like less rates or lower rates of postpartum depression, that that is huge. And just, you know, thinking about this sort of, you know, your baby from the late teens, in terms of weeks, can really feel your emotions and be affected by your psychological state.

And I think that the more you can create a safe environment, because what you were saying to earlier, Words are so powerful. And I don't know if that was on this recording or if it was our conversation before that, but, um, you know, you said something so profound and it was also, uh, taken from the Bible too.

Um, and you can, Repeat what you said. If you'd like, I don't want to mess it up. But it was just so beautiful. So the words that you speak the way that you think the sort of mental state, um, that you have not only throughout your pregnancy, but during labor to can really affect your baby state. There's an imprinting that takes place, but also You know, just being in a stressed state, you know, feeling dysregulated, feeling out of control.

Um, which, you know, you do have to surrender quite a bit, so it's not necessarily about controlling, but just having that sort of. education on what to expect because I think this is definitely what we were talking about before the recording, the cycle of fear, tension, and then pain that can really become overwhelming and kind of cause somebody to spiral during their labor.

But being able to quell this and really maintain a sense of serenity and, you know, focus with something like hypnobirthing can really help not only your nervous system, the baby's nervous system, but also help support the different processes and hormones and the cascade of labor that is supposed to be taking place versus Creating a cycle of fear, tension, and more pain where, you know, it could potentially prolong your labor or, you know, lead to a situation that you maybe don't don't want.

I think that something like hypnobirthing can be super beneficial, you know, not necessarily to control every single little thing that happens, but to be able to handle. And like you said earlier, too, it's about controlling your internal space and your internal environment, your internal self, because everything around you is out of your control.

But if you can control your, your resilience to it and your reactions to them, uh, that will set you up for being able to handle anything. 

[00:52:22] Tara: Absolutely. And I see it all the time with people like, and I saw it so much with myself, like that the difference in the choice with my first birth being told the birth center was full and I had to go into the labor ward.

And my second birth being told the exact same thing, the way I handled that was completely different. And the first time I allowed it to spiral me into fear because I was so rigid with my birth plan of being like, I must give birth in a birth center. It needs to be midwife led. It needs to be this, you know, and, The second time around, I, it was such a much more like, come at me, whatever you got, I'm going to stay relaxed and calm, you know, no matter what happens, like, and I'm going to keep my focus on God and spending time with him and this beautiful experience, like, and it was literally that it was a choice, you know, like it is.

And yeah. I think these are tools, not just for birth, they're tools for life. I use the hypnobirthing breathing so often, you know, I used it before this podcast. I use it anytime I'm going in for, I don't know, like anything that I feel, you know, I've used it at different stages when I've had tests done or anything that makes me nervous or stressed.

I've used it when I'm like, I have two beautiful boys, I absolutely love them. But. You know, children can be super triggering, you know, and like they say things and they do things that can bring up a huge amount of tension in your body. And I will like, just give myself a second and take a few breaths. And then I'm able to deal with those situations with so much more calm, you know, because yeah, I was not mentally prepared for how, how many challenges would come up in parenting.

I think it's the biggest transition of our entire life. You know, the transition into, to parenthood is, is. massive. And I think having the breathing techniques, it's not like you just switch off your hypnobirthing or your tracks that you listen to. And you're like, I'm done with that birth now. I've, you know, like, it's.

That's why we have, you know, we have a postpartum track on there. I have moms that tell me that they still listen to the encouraging scriptures all the time. They listen to the postpartum track that listens to the breathing exercise. I have moms that say they use them to put their kids to sleep every night.

You know, like it's able to be giving you tools. That will help you every single day to really bring you back to that place of calm, because we make way better decisions when we're in a good state. You know, if we're feeling fearful, if we're feeling angry, it's not the time to be making big decisions, you know?

So yeah, I guess that's going back to the benefits again of being like, I think there are. Benefits that go way beyond despair. 

[00:55:19] Loren: And I completely agree with, you know, not making decisions in a fearful state. That's something I tell my students all the time. And it's a really important piece to making empowered decisions and decisions that align with your values, because if you're fearful.

You're way more likely to be influenced by outside, you know, inputs and to make things that really don't, you, you would never agree to, and really make decisions that don't align with your goals or your values or your spirituality. So, um, mm-Hmm. . I think that the more you can. Sort of wrap your head around even just knowing when you are experiencing fear to acknowledge it so that you can step away, but also to be able to reset and get back into a state of calm so that you can make that better decision for yourself and one that you probably won't have so much regret and yeah, I think that's that's super profound.

So thanks for sharing that. My pleasure. Yeah. So you mentioned hypnobirthing is also helpful for partners and educating partners on what to expect and how that can be an empowering sort of support during birth. I'm wondering, you know, how from a hypnobirthing perspective, how a partner might be able to get involved in the process and what that could possibly look like.

[00:56:48] Tara: Mm hmm. Well, um, I'd say the first thing that is really great for a birth partner to do is to sort of take charge of the kind of birth space. So if that's birthing at home, um, then they would be responsible for things like, you know, filling up the birth thing. you're having a water bath or making sure the lights are dimmed, getting like led candles set up or like real candles if you're at home.

But if you're going to the hospital or the birth center, then taking led candles, turning off the lights, you know, like that's really important is a dark like space so that you feel. Safe and protected with a few led candles around, just making it like a romantic feeling in the actual space is like a really calm, beautiful, sacred space thinking about, so thinking about the five senses, so site we've taken care of that with the dimming, the lighting and putting out the lighting sound, you would say, like making sure the.

birthing mum has her tracks that she wants to listen to. Some people will want to listen to, you know, the hypnobirthing tracks at different stages. Some people will want to listen to worship music. Some people might want to listen to I don't know their favorite, like house, house club music. Like, it's like, whatever works for you, you know, like if you're feeling like it's actually feeling happy and joyful, it's super important as well.

I mean, obviously I say like still keeping it on the fairly relaxed side is great, but it depends on what you're feeling. Like, if you feel like you really want to like dance or move your body, you know, like that can be great too in labor. Um, in early labor, I would always just say like. Relax, relax, relax.

Like, you know, pre kind of active labor. I'd like, I'd be like, listen to the tracks. If you can go back to sleep, just conserve as much energy as possible. But yeah, that birth partners role is really like taking care of. So we've looked at. We've looked at the site, we've looked at sound, what she's listening to, um, smell, I'd say like, is there some aromatherapy type things that she really likes that help her to relax?

You know, obviously you can think about this. In the lead up, like for me, I had frankincense oil, which I really loved. You can put it on a tissue and just have it to smell. Some people do room sprays and then taste having nice treats throughout labor. Like some people like having like lollies or, uh, what do you guys call them?

Like sweets, candy throughout labor to give them some energy, probably having some healthy things. Like. fruits or like juices, smoothies, you know, keeping hydrated. I love coconut water. Obviously, uh, oh, touch, touch. So, um, and this is where birth partners can be super helpful with like, light touch, breathing, massage.

Like, so, you know, just starting at the base of the spine, like tickling kind of like with the fingertips, like up the back and then down the shoulders and arms, or just doing like hand, like arm stroking, which is a really easy one because like, obviously if they're in the birth tub and you're out of it or wherever they are, you can normally access their arm and just gently stroke their arm.

This will also all be dependent on what the Mom feels that she needs in this moment because For me, I was like, not expecting to want that. And then my husband, like doing the light touch massage was a life saver for me in my first birth. Whereas some people like, do not touch me, you know? Like, so it's just like, it's really whatever's kind of whatever you're feeling.

So supporting the birthing mom in all those different ways, but then I would say their other really super important role is. Knowing what the mom's preferences are and whether, you know, does she want to have gas and air? Does she want a completely unmedicated birth? Does she want an epidural? Does she want to be offered these things?

You know, if she doesn't want to be offered those things, make sure you're kind of that, that gatekeeper between, because she needs to be allowed to just stay in her birthing zone. We really want her to be. completely undisturbed as much as possible because as soon as you're asking someone questions and then they're in the middle of labor, you're bringing them back into the neocortex.

You know, like you're wanting, you're actually wanting them to just go to that kind of, they call it like labor land so they can just progress in their labor. Cause every time you disturb them, you're sort of, you know, You're almost like taking them a step back from the progression that they're making. So I would say, yeah, really like knowing what they want and advocating for them.

So if there's a midwife, normally if you've got an independent midwife or you've got a midwife who's like a home birth, experienced home birth midwife, they're going to be on board with what you want anyway. You will have already discussed all of this. It's more an issue when you. go to hospital and you've got like a nurse or a midwife or a doctor who, if you don't know them, you've not had, you've not been able to discuss these preferences.

You know, you give them the preferences and you talk through them with them. So they really understand. And it can be stuff like saying, please don't say the word pain to my wife. Or my partner, please be really careful. Be really aware of the language you use. Because as soon as someone says, how much pain are you in?

You're going like, Oh gosh, am I in pain? And then you start feeling pain. Whereas if someone says, how comfortable are you? You're like, Oh, actually I feel okay. You know, like, so it's like, what are you drawing attention to? Um, so getting the people around to be aware of the language they're using. We have like a little sign in the course.

Uh, we have a course called faithful childbirth and in the course we've got a little sign that you can put it, print out and put up on the door just being like, hi, like we're practicing Christian hypnobirthing, please respect our space or whatever. You know, like it's like just helping build the awareness of like, because otherwise people will come in, they'll have their clipboards, there'll be shining lights, there'll be like, you know, like talking and they'll, you know, and there's no kind of, necessarily, they're not necessarily going to treat your birth space the way that you would like it to be treated.

So that's the biggest role for the birth partner is looking after, you know, those five senses for mom, making sure she's taken care of in that way. And then really being the protector of the space and advocating for her because she needs to be able to focus and she doesn't need to be trying to advocate for herself.

[01:03:50] Loren: Yeah, I, I think that's amazing and such a, it's a big, big role, a very important role. It's more than just, you know, pressing her hips together. It's, it's really, I think that protector part is so important and a really big piece to highlight because in the throes of labor. Mom's not going to want to be making decisions or she really can't.

So it's up to you to really help protect those decisions that you may be discussed as, as a couple together, um, and really shepherd her through the labor. And I love that because it's such a, you know, I feel like growing up, all of the movies that I watched were just basically the woman goes into labor and the husband's waiting outside, you know, tapping his foot very nervously, anxiously, or just having a cigar with his friends.

And I feel like that's really the perception that many men have of sort of. labor and delivery too, when there's just so much more that, you know, you can do to support your partner and that your partner can do to support you. Uh, so I think that's beautiful. 

[01:05:09] Tara: Absolutely. And that image in the, like, so it's, it's so often in the movies, like you said, it's either the like partner outside the door.

Or they're inside the door, but they're just really stressed out. They're like looking nauseous. They're fainting, you know, there's like, but, but actually they are capable of really being that like anchor of strength and support in the room. You know, I look back at my first birth and there's no way I would have continued with the unmedicated birth.

If it wasn't for my husband really reminding me of what we'd previously decided on and discussed, because I was so influenced by that midwife, you know, and this is again, the power of words, her words. over me were really making me feel completely confused about what I wanted and like who I was, like, I was literally like, Oh, I guess I won't be able to do this.

You know, like I was so, you know, and this is where we do have to be really careful with the words that we listen to and who we're influenced by, you know, because a lot of the time it'll be people with the best intentions. Like, I don't think that midwife is some like evil person or anything. She's just trying to, you know, I don't know, help, but what she was doing wasn't helping what I wanted, but she felt she was helping, you know?

So it's like actually having my husband advocate for me in that moment. And like, he literally was like, sorry, can you just give us a few minutes and got the midwife to leave and reminded me of what we talked about and what we prayed about and what we knew and what we believed and why I was doing this and all these things.

It was like, yeah, if I hadn't had that input from him, I think it would have been a very different birth. And Christian hypnobirthing wouldn't exist either. Like I would never What I'm saying is like, I feel that if I hadn't had to go through that birth experience that I had I don't believe I would have made, ended up making the app.

And so I really feel like that is the power that, that a birth partner has to really support the mom in a way that in that moment, she might not be able to do for herself because you're so vulnerable in that moment, you know, like, yeah. And it's very, very important to have that support. And also like, that's why I think having stuff like the Christian hypnobirthing tracks.

Or whatever kind of tracks you're listening to, to just be that gentle reminder. Being like, Hey, you can do this. You're doing amazing. You know, like, just remember your strength. It's already there. Like we've practiced this. It's here. Like, uh, yeah, it's, it's just to remind you of what's already there and you do know it deep inside, but it's so easy to forget in the moment, you know, because you're very able to be influenced by people.

So the birth partner is super important. Absolutely. Absolutely. 

[01:08:06] Loren: Oh, amazing. I couldn't agree more. And thank you for just also sharing your experience with your husband too. I think that's just so beautiful. And well, so much goodness came out of, you know, your first birth experience too. It sounds like he was really the protector that, um, you know, anyone could hope for.

So that's, that's just so, so great to hear. Oh, thank you. Aside from incorporating something like Christian hypnobirthing or, you know, in the context of Christian hypnobirthing, what are some of the other ways that we or things that we haven't really touched upon that a mother or a couple can approach, you know, labor and delivery in an empowered way?

Any last sort of, you know, little tidbits of wisdom in terms of, labor and delivery and really preparing for that state. 

[01:09:03] Tara: Um, well, outside of doing, you know, a course, like for instance, with the reason why the Christian Hypnobirthing app is separate to our course, which is the Faithful Childbirth course, is because a lot of people do do other courses.

You know, some people might do a hypnobabies course or pain free birth course or gentle birth or any, I mean, there are huge amounts of like, like you said, the maze or, you know, the Bradley method or like, there are loads of different methods out there, but then they might finish doing that course and be like, Oh, I really wanted, you know, something that would help me to be in touch with my faith throughout my birth.

Oh, look, there are these tracks that I can listen to. So not everyone necessarily needs to do our course as well. If they've already done a childbirth educational course, so they can just use our tracks as well as the course they've already done. But then if they wanted to do our course, if they're not doing another childbirth educational course, for instance, If it's a first time mom, especially, I would definitely recommend doing our course at least, or at least one other, like someone's course, do a course with somebody.

If you're a first time mom, definitely. Or if you've had a previously traumatic birth, because it's just that retraining of the mind as to how the birth works and why. like relaxation is so essential and important in that birth process and why it will make it so much easier and how the body actually works and all of that, which obviously takes time to understand if someone really knows about birth and they're sort of highly educated already.

I would say like, you know, if someone's like been a doula or, you know, has given birth before and had an amazing unmedicated birth or whatever, like they probably don't need to do our course or necessarily another course. Like just listening to the tracks on the app will maybe enough, obviously they can always do a course as a refresher as well.

But then outside of that, I always say watching positive birth videos, So good, like to actually see, and it doesn't have to just be people like blissfully breathing their babies out. Like I roared my babies out. Like I was super relaxed throughout the whole second, like my second son's birth, so relaxed the whole way through.

And then in the pushing phase, I was like eight minutes of roaring, you know, so it doesn't have to just be super, super. gentle and calm and blissful the whole time. Like sometimes those, like that urge, you know, that kind of deep moaning that came out of me in that moment, I felt was like helping me. My only advice would be to try and keep the sounds like low and open, as opposed to like, like as soon as you start going high and squeaky, it's actually like.

Potentially causing tension down there. And you want that to be loose. So if you start doing that, maybe do like a, you know, the horse slips like that and just kind of remind yourself to like drop your shoulders. Keep your jaw nice and relaxed, you know, low, open sounds like, Ooh, so exposing yourself to birth videos that are positive, whether that be powerful birth experiences or, um, blissful, relaxed birth experiences.

I would say super like limit the news intake, really do not be like constantly watching the news. And I don't know, just. negative, stressful things. Try not to like, I really, I stopped, you know, doing scrolling on social media back in COVID, uh, back in like March, 2020, I like deleted all my social media cause I used to scroll, you know, like, and like, look at what people were saying and stuff and you'd get pulled into things and so often, so much of it is negative and actually.

Again, I would just say really limit the exposure to fear, you know, like, as in like a lot of fearful stuff out there telling you that things are bad, you know, people have always been saying things are bad. People will continue saying things are bad forever. And I'm not saying bad stuff doesn't happen. Of course, bad stuff happens.

But. There are like millions of beautiful things happening every day. And you don't see those on the news because that doesn't sell newspapers. You know, it doesn't keep people watching. So I would say limit the amount of like really stressful stuff that you're viewing, don't watch horror movies, don't watch scary movies, like don't watch.

Bad birth babies, like don't watch movies that have bad births in them, you know, like, it's just like it, which is like most movies that have a birth, you know, really try and protect your, your mind, you know, try and protect, like, we want to create a faith filled birth mindset. And it's not about like denying that, you know, things can change or whatever, or that your birth might not be exactly what you envisioned.

Of course things can change, but actually the more you focus on the, the bad things, you know, the more you expose yourself to bad births or stressful like situations, or the more stress hormones that's putting into your It makes it easier and easier for your, for your mind to go back there. You know, the more you expose yourself to it, the more you can go there quickly.

And that will impact your birth, you know, like it will in your birth, suddenly you'll be like, Oh, I remember seeing this in that movie. And now it's happening to me instead of going like, Huh, that's interesting, that's happening. Well, I'm going to keep focusing on my relaxation because I know that. No matter what happens, relaxation is going to help me to have a better experience.

You know, so like, it's just doing as much as you can to set yourself up for success in feeling empowered and strengthened throughout. Also reading positive birth stories and we've got lots on our blog. We have loads on our Instagram, um, which is just Christian hypnobirthing, all one word. Just trying to think if there's anything else.

That you can do outside. I mean, keeping healthy generally, like I really. In the, my first pregnancy, I really like took the whole eating for two things seriously. And I put on like 50 pounds and I felt horrendous. My husband was like having to push me up hills by the, by the end of that pregnancy. I was like so uncomfortable in my body.

I had so much like joint pain. Whereas in my second, uh, in my pregnancy with my son, Samuel, I really kept, like, I ate mostly whole foods. I did a lot of, like, keeping active, walking every day. Obviously, I also had a toddler, so I was like, you know, really, really active throughout our pregnancy and I felt so much better, you know, and I think that really contributed to a better birth experience too, just because I think actually, yeah, physically feeling strong and well, also super important.

So, yeah, I would say that's. But outside of like doing our courses and listening to the app, they're probably my number one tips. 

[01:16:23] Loren: Oh my goodness. You hit on so many good tips. Thank you for that, Tara. I think you can consider so many things and you don't have to do everything. You know, it's not about consuming or incorporating.

All of the things, but I think Tara really makes a great point. So if something really resonated with you, maybe you start there and see where it leads. Uh, but I think those are really great points and a lot of them go back to just regulating your nervous system. You know, those really Stressful movies and you know, you don't need that.

And that's something actually I have really noticed as my pregnancy has progressed is how much more sensitive to things like what I'm watching. I am. And so I'm very cognizant of what I expose myself to. And I think that is also really important for for birth. labor and delivery because of that fear, tension, pain cycle, you know, that that doesn't just start, I think, for labor and delivery that that's a cycle that possibly exists, you know, throughout your regular life.

Yeah, absolutely. 

[01:17:38] Tara: And a lot of women who have done our cause have said things like, I used to get IBS, you know, like, and I used to end up being. Very, I'd get into like this nausea where I couldn't stop throwing up. I personally had similar experiences to that. I get like this thing, it's like stomach pains and cramps and stuff.

And then obviously when you get it and you start becoming more stress and it's getting more painful and like, you know, that's not labor, it's just day to day life, you know, like it's, uh, especially as a woman, you know, and in your cycle and everything, learning how to like, Breathe through, uh, and relax your body.

As soon as you, you know, as soon as I start feeling that anxiety coming up or that nausea coming up, I really, I do the breathing, you know, and it really, really helps to just bring me back, you know, down to like that calm state and often the pain will then go away, but I used to get myself into. Yeah, like a, a, a really painful state and that was not in pregnancy.

[01:18:46] Loren: Yeah, I, I totally hear that. And that's not uncommon with clients that I've worked with, with IBS. So you're not alone, but I think that just goes to show how powerful this work can be and so applicable in so many aspects. even outside of labor and delivery and, you know, pregnancy, postpartum. But yeah, thank you so much, Tara.

I so appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom. I would love to ask for one more piece of wisdom from you today. You know, this podcast is really about Reconnecting with the innate wisdom of your body and unleashing it. And I would love if you could share with the audience what they might be able to start doing today.

One small thing, uh, it can be, it can be small or big, but you know, one thing that you think that they can start doing today to unlock more of the innate wisdom of their body. 

[01:19:40] Tara: For me, One thing I've started doing recently that I honestly am so excited about and I love it so much is just getting up and going out and sitting in the sunrise every day.

And I've really been way more conscious of light and getting sunlight throughout the day. all the different times and spending time then in the sunset and then, you know, trying to turn off the overhead lights. Like we've even been using like candlelight in the bathroom and, and really cutting the blue light, you know, like on our phones and screens and everything.

And just reconnecting with that kind of rhythm of like the day, you know, like Getting outside, grounding as much as possible throughout the day, like getting my feet on the earth and spending time in nature. For me, that's when I feel most connected to God is when I, I used to do this thing every day and I need to start doing it every day again, but I always go on like a gratitude walk and I would spend my walk, just really thanking God for, um, Like it would be like things in my life, like my, my beautiful children, my husband, um, but also like the leaves that I was looking at the sunlight on my skin, like really.

Bathing myself in that, like that feeling of just real gratitude and gratitude also sparks oxytocin. So it's an amazing thing to do for birth, which is why we have the creative visualization and gratitude track on the website. app, which I really recommend having listened to if you'd like to do that, but having that daily time where you step away from technology, you spend time in nature.

For me, it's a spiritual thing. For me, it's a time of really thanking God. Obviously that might not be the case for some of you out there, but I really feel that that time in nature and, and getting reconnected. It's just so wholesome and it's such a beautiful thing to do because I feel that it's very easy to become completely disconnected from ourselves and from, you know, like, from who we really are as beings in this world right now.

The way it is, like, it's so, so much technology, so much work, So much busyness, and I really don't feel like that's what we're here for. You know, like I know it's important and we have to do it, but to really reconnect with who we are as like, what our purpose is, you know, and why we're here, um, so that, that's what I would say.

[01:22:26] Loren: I think that's so beautiful. And I think regardless of, you know, whether you're spiritual or not, you know, we as beings have an innate attraction and connection to nature and, you know, there's so much spirituality in nature itself to if you are spiritual, there's so much to be, you know, um, Unfolded there and uh, there's no denying that we as humans have a connection to nature and it just it's a really positive one.

Uh, it's so, so important for us to be out there in nature. So thank you for that. So what Tara is saying is just get outside. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I'm, I'm constantly telling, you know, Uh, my students too, to get outside because that's, that's mother nature's fertility as well. And, you know, in regards to fertility itself, there's no better place to be than in the fertility of nature as well.

Uh, so, you know, I think there's just so much, so much benefit there, but thank you so much for sharing Tara. One last question. How can people find and support you? 

[01:23:39] Tara: Uh, well, we, if you want to use the app, you just go to the app store or Google play and search for the Christian hypnobirthing app, or the website is christianhypnobirthing.

com. And from there, you can also find the faithful childbirth course. You can find us on Instagram under Christian hypnobirthing. Um, we also have a private community group on Facebook, which you can find in our links in like the kind of, if you go to our Instagram and then click on the links. the link in the bio, it'll say like Christian hypnobirthing community.

And that's a really beautiful sort of safe space where people can go to request prayer, ask questions, share positive birth stories. And it's really beautiful to see the amount of support pouring out from, you know, people all over the world. For each other for people that don't know, you know, and they're sharing wisdom and because I don't have time to answer everybody's questions, you know, like we have so many questions every day.

And I can't like, I can't be in there like constantly answering questions. But the beauty is like, it's a community. supporting each other and, and answering a lot of those questions, praying for each other. Like it's a really beautiful thing. And I'm so excited about that. So please feel free to join that.

And also you are always more than welcome to reach out to us anytime on info at christianhypnobirthing.com 

[01:25:14] Loren: Well, thank you so much. Definitely go check her app out and her course out. Uh, Tara has put an amazing amount of work into these resources and they've just, they're just so helpful. Uh, you know, whether it's the app for the.

You know, meditations, or I should say the tracks, um, and prayers or the childbirth class, which is an amazing way, especially, you know, if you're looking for a more spiritually based, uh, child birthing class, that could be. beautiful for you. So, um, thank you so much for what you're doing. Thank you for your time, Tara.

I really appreciate it. It's been a wonderful conversation and I hope we can stay in touch for future ones too. 

[01:25:58] Tara: Oh, absolutely. Thank you so much, Loren. I've loved it. It's been really beautiful to talk to you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here.

[01:26:11] Loren: Thank you so much for listening to the Innate Wisdom podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review and share the podcast with someone who you think might benefit. If you're new here, we can't recommend enough that you take advantage of my free resources like the Get Pregnant Yesterday Checklist, Psycholiteracy Guide, Prenatal Primer, To's.

And if you're trying to conceive now or in the near future, I invite you to join my pregnancy prep e course, Conscious Inception. Make sure to follow me on Instagram too, at innate underscore fertility, and consider joining my newsletter to receive exclusive content related to fertility and so much more.

A friendly reminder, the content shared on this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be a substitute for the advice provided by your doctor or other healthcare professional. It is not intended to be, nor does it constitute healthcare or medical advice.