Hello! in this video I'm going to be teaching you a hypnobirthing breathing technique. This breathing
technique is called UP breathing and you can use it during the first stage of labour when your
cervix is dilating. If we haven't already met my name's Anja and i'm a hypnobirthing practitioner :)
On my youtube channel you'll find antenatal education and birth preparation videos as well
as a series of pregnancy relaxation audios. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and hit the
bell icon because I upload new videos every single week and I don't want you to miss any. This is how to
do up breathing. As soon as you feel a contraction starting, you can close your eyes if you want to,
and then breathe in through your nose for the count of four
then out through your mouth for the count of seven.
That's in through your nose for four, out through your mouth for seven.
During your contractions all you'll do is keep repeating that up breathing, cycle over and
over again, until each of your contractions ends then return to breathing normally in between. The
reason I recommend that you close your eyes is so that you can concentrate better on your breathing.
During labour, as contractions get more and more intense, you don't want to be visually
distracted by anything going on around you so it can help you to concentrate if you close your eyes.
I'm now going to guide you through five lots of the up breathing technique and the reason I'm
going to guide you through five cycles of it is because during the most intense phase of cervical
dilation your contractions will probably be lasting about one minute, 45 seconds to a minute, so
five lots of the up breathing technique should carry you through from the start to the end of
your longest contractions. In a moment, I'm going to say "IN, two, three, four" so what I'd like you to do
is breathe in deeply through your nose then when I say "OUT, two, three, four, five, six, seven" I'd like
you to breathe out slowly through your mouth. When I guide you through the five lots of
up breathing, you might find that I'm going too quickly or too slowly for you but don't
worry about that because when you're practicing at home by yourself (or with your birth partner)
you'll find the right pace and right rhythm that's comfortable for you. For practice purposes,
let me guide you through the up breathing technique so that you get the hang of it.
If you want to just close your eyes for me, breathe out through your mouth to empty your lungs
and breathe IN through your nose, two, three, four- OUT through your mouth, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, good! IN, two, three, four - OUT two, three, four, five, six, seven, good! IN through your nose two,
three, four- OUT through your mouth, two, three, four, five, six, seven, good! IN two, three, four - OUT two, three,
four, five, six, seven, good! IN, two, three, four - OUT, two, three, four, five, six, seven -well done!
You've now learned the first stage of the up breathing technique :) I'm now going to teach you
how your birth partner can support you with this hypnobirthing breathing technique during your
pregnancy (when you're practicing it together) and during childbirth. Your partner can help with your
up breathing by saying a visualization word as you breathe in and a mantra word as you breathe out.
The visualization is most powerful if you visualize something going UP because during
the first stage of labor the muscles in your uterus are drawing up to dilate your cervix.
As you breathe in for the count of four your partner could say the word
"sunrise" and you could visualize a sun rising in the sky.
You might also like to visualize a hot air balloon going up into the sky
so your partner could say the word "balloon".
Maybe you could visualize a flower opening as your partner says the word "open". This can
encourage your contractions to be more efficient as they open your cervix up more and more.
Maybe there's an upward or open visual that personally resonates with you that
your that you prefer over my suggestions- so be sure to tell your partner what you would
like them to say if you decide not to go with any of my recommendations...
As you breathe out for the count of seven, your partner can say a positive mantra word and some
great examples are "calm" "relax" "release" "peace" "serenity" "let go" or "surrender". Now that you've
learned how to do this hypnobirthing breathing technique, I'd like you to start practicing your
up breathing every single day in pregnancy so do five lots in the morning, five lots in the
afternoon and five lots in the evening. If you're practicing this breathing technique by yourself,
all you would do is close your eyes and breathe in for the count of four (counting up to four in
your head as you inhale through your nose) and then as you breathe out through your mouth (just count
from one to seven in your head as you exhale). If you're practicing this breathing technique with
your partner, they'll be helping you by saying the visualization and mantra word as you breathe in
and out. Thank you so much for watching this video today! I hope that you found it useful
and GET PRACTICING your up breathing technique every single day in pregnancy so that you can
nail it during childbirth :) If you're keen to learn how to breathe during the second stage of labour
you can click the video on this screen right now. Also if you want to learn more about
hypnobirthing and you're interested in finding out more about my hypnobirthing classes and courses
you can click the links in the video description below. See you again soon and take care! Bye :)