Mothers, Mother-to-be, Midwifes and Doctors of the world are divided on whether pain does or does not have to exist in birth; each of us is firm in our stance that our belief is right. For many the notion of comfortable or even joyful birthing still remains just outside of our grasp. Undoubtedly millions of women have experienced painful birth and the idea that birth must be painful is widely accepted. Mothers who have comfortable or even painless births are dismissed as lucky, delusional or having a really high pain threshold. Women who openly plan a drug-free birth are smirked at with knowing glances of “just you wait…you’ll be begging for an epidural” and warned that no medals are given for going without.

HypnoBirthing is a unique antenatal program that teaches simple but specific self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques for an easier, more gentle birth that is often accompanied by a significant reduction in pain. HypnoBirthing is not about “training mothers to give birth”—when undisturbed we already know how to do that instinctively. HypnoBirthing is about getting rid of fear and allowing our bodies and minds to relax so we can birth our babies gently. It is tought through several sessions prior to the 8 month mark of pregnancy. It allows the mothers to mentally prepare themselves for the exciting and (for many) mysterious elements of the birthing process. As in all societies everyone has their own opinions on birthing and pain relief but this method provides and alternative to the au-natural or medicated births. Celebrities have also tried and tested the hypnobirthing method. Jessica Alba stated that she found hypnobirthing to be a pleasant and joyful experience, allowing her to relax and enjoy the processes of the birth, Katie Holmes also adopted this method during the birth of daughter Suri Cruise, Katie took the hypnobirthing to a new level, requesting silence where possible and for the lights in the room to be dimmed as much as possible. So could this be the new craze to sweep the nation, or will tried and tested methods remain ?

Experts say that your baby receives a certain amount of sensory information in the uterus to which they’ll respond, and can memorise, to a degree.

Towards the end of the second trimester, your baby starts to hear. While their soundtrack is your heartbeat, breathing, voice, pumping of blood and gurgles of digestion, they can also hear muffled noises from outside your body. While a daily dose of Mozart during pregnancy won’t make your baby a musical prodigy, he may recognise and be soothed by it when they hears it again as a newborn.
When you play music to your baby in the uterus, their heart rate will increase and they will move more. Shortly after birth, they may respond to music that has been played regularly, by becoming more wriggly and alert.

In the same way, your baby might also demonstrate that they recall and are comforted by other noises heard while in the uterus. These could be the theme tune of your favourite TV programme , or a story frequently read out loud to them. They  may also prefer your voice, paying attention when you speak.
One study found that if music was played while pregnant mothers relaxed, the same music would soothe their newborns when they heard it again. They ceased to cry, opened their eyes, and made fewer jerky (known as clonic) movements.

It’s not only the sounds heard while in the uterus that are thought to be remembered by your newborn. It’s believed they remember tastes too, as your Pregnancy diet flavours your amniotic fluid.
Some experts believe that this familiarity with flavours can help to establish breastfeeding, as your diet also flavours your breast milk. Your baby may even prefer these familiar-tasting foods during weaning .
One study showed that babies of mothers who drank a lot of carrot juice, during the last trimester, preferred carrot-flavoured cereal rather than plain. It highlights the important of a varied diet while you are pregnant, as it may influence your baby’s food preference.

There are three main ways that babies are thought to learn in the uterus:

Learning through exposure to an experience. Babies recognise familiar voices and music they heard in the uterus, and are soothed by them after birth. They are also soothed by rocking and noises like car engines as these may remind them of the movement and sounds of your body. Learning by becoming accustomed to an experience. For instance, if you repetitively play an alarming noise to your baby in the uterus, they may not be startled by it as a newborn. Learning by associating one experience with another. For instance, if a certain piece of music is played to your baby in the uterus while you are relaxing, the same music may soothe them after birth.

Is there anything I can do to help my baby to learn in the uterus?

There is no evidence that you can increase your baby’s intelligence by playing music and reading stories. However, it may help them to recognise and bond with you after birth. It might also help you to relax, reduce stress and deepen your own feelings for your baby.

Don’t worry if you’re not comfortable with singing and chatting to your bump. The natural stimulation your baby receives from everyday conversations, and activities, is more than enough to prepare them for the outside world.

Women in their early 30’s that aren’t planning to have children at that age should consider freezing their eggs to help their chances in later years. Egg freezing will give such women a chance a better chance of trying to become pregnant at 40 and is more cost effective for the average woman. The technique is widely available but can cost more than £10 000. Experts have said that egg freezing has improved so much that it has become a more reasonable option than the more expensive IVF, allowing more women to delay starting a family due to work or relationships. A US medical society concluded that on average, if a woman wanted to have a baby in her 40’s it would work out cheaper and more effective for her to freeze her eggs in her earlier 30’s than to wait and take her chances naturally at that increased age. This method offer about a 70% chance of conception in later years if eggs are frozen earlier on, this percentage decreases to 50 % if eggs are frozen at the age of 36. I was also noted that women that waited ill the age of 40 to try for a baby were unsuccessful in conception and attempted IVF had a decreased chance of only 36% of falling pregnant. If women do decided to wait to conceive a child then it is suggested that it is better to plan ahead to allow for some degree of fertility preservation.

Research commissioned by UNICEF UK has revealed that low breastfeeding rates in the UK are costing the NHS millions of pounds. A report into Preventing diseases and Saving Resources , looks at how raising breastfeeding rates could save money through improving health outcomes. The authors’ calculations show that moderate increases in breastfeeding could see millions in potential annual savings to the NHS – and that figure might only be the tip of the iceberg. The report findings show that for just five illnesses, moderate increases in breastfeeding would translate into cost savings for the NHS of £40 million and tens of thousands of fewer hospital admissions and GP consultations. In addition, analyses on three conditions – cognitive ability, childhood obesity and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) – indicate that modest improvements in breastfeeding rates could save millions of pounds and, in the case of SIDS, children’s lives. For many breastfeeding is not always an option as the experience can be painful and impractical for them. Problems such as Mastitis can occur when the milk ducts can become blocked, causing a painful infection. For others they find a stigma attached to breastfeeding in which they may find it uncomfortable to breastfeed in public places, causing sever insecurities for the mother. But these issues can be resolved or assisted by your local midwife or health visitor whom can help you understand better the resolutions of painful breastfeeding or whether breastfeeding is right for you. This report may suggest that more women should be breastfeeding, however they shouldn’t be forcing women into making decisions that can affect their health physically or mentally especially at a time where they are dealing with a newborn or first experiences of mother hood, a time that should be enjoyed.