Birthing From Within, Hypnobirthing, hospital?
Choosing the right childbirth education for you.

There are a range of childbirth education classes available in Adelaide, and different classes will tend to suit different couples. Here are some ideas to consider when choosing, followed my thoughts on some of the differences and similarities between Birthing From Within and some other major childbirth education approaches: hospital classes, Hypnobirthing and Calmbirth.

Ideas to consider

Your needs. Before you begin, I recommend taking time to write down what you need from childbirth education--mentally, emotionally and practically--because it can be easy to feel overwhelmed or unsure in the face of passionate advice and/or advertising. What would you like to know, feel, understand, or be able to do after a class? Are there questions you haven’t found the answers to, or even felt comfortable asking?

What’s available? Spend your time finding out about all your options. If you decide on the first thing that sounds good, you may miss the one that feels even better.

What does the class cover? What kinds of information, skills, and birth possiblities are covered? How flexible is the content according to your needs?

What is the format? It is teacher-student, or interactive? How big is the class size? Will you and your partner receive individual attention?

Who is the educator? It can be helpful to get a feel for the educator themselves: their interpersonal manner, background, beliefs, and how they view their role. You could meet with them, have a phone or video-call, or read articles or blog posts they have written.

Who is the class aimed at? Does it emphasise particular birth choices over others or guarantee certain outcomes? What value will the class bring for your partner and their birth journey, and for your relationship?

Recommendations from other parents. A recommendation from a friend can be a powerful thing; just remember that your friends, even the ones with similar values, aren’t you, and your birth journey is unique. Try to get specifics from friends: what in particular did they find useful? How well do they feel the class prepared them for birth? Was there anything they wish was included that wasn’t? How did they feel coming out of the class?

Recommendations from care providers. Midwives, doulas, doctors, yoga teachers, physiotherapists, chiropractors, fertility specialists, and so on can be great sources of information about childbirth education options. Look for care providers who share your beliefs about childbirth and/or understand your birth needs and priorities.

Hospital classes

Each public maternity hospital in Adelaide, and many of the private hospitals, offer antenatal classes. Most hospital classes cover hospital policies around labour and birth, interventions for pain and delivery, basic labour physiology and newborn settling and changing. Some hospitals also offer breastfeeding, exercise and/or dads' classes.

While hospital classes are widely attended, many parents prefer a deeper level of childbirth preparation. Independent classes are usually taught by specialist educators who are not bound by hospital policy, and offer much smaller class sizes, a more personalised, hands-on experience, and information on a wider range of birth and parenting options.

Read on to find out about three independent childbirth education approaches: Hypnobirthing, Calmbirth and Birthing From Within.

Hypnobirthing classes

Hypnobirthing is a childbirth preparation approach designed by American hypnotherapist Marie Mongan, that grew from the work of British obstetrician and natural birth advocate Grantley Dick-Read. His book "Childbirth Without Fear" brought attention to the ways in which fear and pain can interfere with natural labour hormones. Hypnobirthing teaches mothers self-hypnosis techniques aimed at achieving a state of controlled, calm relaxation throughout labour in order to achieve a painless, unmedicated birth. Partners are taught how to support the mother in these self-hypnosis techniques.

Calmbirth classes

Calmbirth was launched in 2004 by Australian ex-hypnobirthing instructor and midwife Peter Jackson, and shares many similarities with hypnobirthing. It is based on the idea that mothers' bodies are designed to give birth calmly and naturally, aims to empower mothers and their partners to achieve a fearless, calm birth, and teaches relaxation, breathing and visualisation skills.

Birthing From Within classes

Like many independent childbirth education approaches, Birthing From Within recognises that parents can work with their minds and bodies before birth to deeply impact their experience; that birth is a profound, potentially joyful life event and is rarely a medical emergency; and, an understanding of the normal, physiological and hormonal processes of birth is very useful in preparing for and navigating birth.

Birthing From Within diverges from Hypnobirthing, Calmbirth and some other popular approaches, however, in several important areas:

Pain, fear and coping: Birthing From Within acknowledges that not all, but most mothers will experience some pain during or after birth. Participants learn to differentiate between pain and suffering, practicing a variety of mental and physical strategies to minimise each, as well as to cope if they do occur. Birth is a profound and intense experience, and it is normal for moments of doubt, confusion or fear to arise. Birthing From Within classes help parents to address their fears and doubts before labour, and to manage them should they arise during birth.

For many parents, effective coping in labour is loud, active, or wild, rather than calm and relaxed. Birthing From Within focuses on supporting parents to better know themselves and what is helpful for them.

Birth outcomes: Birthing From Within views all birth as sacred, whether or not medical intervention occurs, and prepares parents for a range of planned and unplanned birth situations. Classes focus not on achieving a particular outcome, but on building parents’ strategies to be active and engaged on their journeys, to be creative and resilient in unexpected circumstances, and to remain connected with themselves, their partners and their babies throughout.

Power and control: Birthing From Within recognises that all births are the result of many internal and external forces (people, policies, culture, luck, life experiences), and coaches parents to navigate this complex reality with informed decision-making, courage, honesty, self-knowledge and self-compassion. Mentors help parents connect with the power they already have

Dads and partners: Dads and partners become parents in birth too, and their experiences, while different, are usually as profound and intense as the birthing mother’s. Birthing From Within classes respond to each parent’s needs as parents as well as partners, and help each to effectively support the other as well as to seek outside support.

Parenting: Birthing From Within aims not only to prepare parents for the birth process, but to birth themselves as parents. Classes address parents’ hopes, fears, skills and knowledge about parenting and taking care of their baby.

If you'd like to learn more, you can check out Adelaide Birthing From Within antenatal classes page, read the Birthing From Within class FAQ, or view the class schedule .

Hi, I'm Diana- mum, doula, childbirth mentor and birth story healer serving Adelaide families. Consider me an ally on your journey. I'm so glad you're here!