Your Monkey; Your Circus: hypnobirthing helps new moms reclaim the birth experience

I recently had the pleasure of photographing local supermodel and now supermom, Alexandra Rodriguez. She shared the details of her amazing hypnobirthing experience on her blog, “Alexandra.” Check out her gorgeous maternity and newborn photography portraits below.

While a very small percentage of moms give birth at home these days, shared tales like Alexandra’s are helping to raise awareness about what was (up until the mid-20^th-Century) the most common birth experience.

Your Baby; Your Birth Experience

Alexandra and her fiancé, Simone researched at-home water births extensively during her pregnancy. They were shocked at the amount of misinformation and fear-mongering they found on the Internet. She was comforted to know that emergencies during water births are extremely rare. Only two percent of mothers participating in home births experience complications requiring hospitalization. In fact, she found that most birth-related complications occur during hospital birth scenarios, where there is “big money” in medically-assisted procedures and even short-term stays.

After doing due diligence with her research, she says she was convinced at-home, natural childbirth was the right option for her. She began preparing herself for the big day by looking for a midwife, taking prenatal yoga, practicing relaxation, swimming, getting massages, eating healthy, meditating, and studying HypnoBirthing—a home-birthing technique that uses a deep, hypnotic state of relaxation to facilitate a calm, positive birth experience.

You can read all about Alexandra’s inspirational birth experience here. She says she did not scream once during her 17-hour labor. Her beautifully calm, healthy baby boy, Gianluca Roberto, arrived and was placed in her arms with no complications. (Well, almost… She was so calm, her doula suggested she get out of the pool so she could check her, thinking they still had some time to go. But Baby was ready to come, and mama knew it!) When the midwife checked Alexandra on the bed, Baby’s head was crowning. It was time for his grand entrance, surrounded by loving family members at home. Congratulations to Alexandra and her family!

Home Birth Might be Right for You if You…

Are healthy, and your pregnancy is not considered “high risk”
Prefer natural care and want to avoid medical or pharmaceutical interventions
Want your baby to be surrounded by loving and welcoming family members and friends at birth
Wish to avoid expensive hospital procedures (home births are at least 60 percent less expensive than hospital births)
Prefer to be in charge of your own delivery, with the assistance of a qualified at-home birth team

Home Birth is Riskier for Mothers Who…

Have diabetes, high blood pressure, or another serious, chronic health condition
Are diagnosed as “high-risk” due to fetal or maternal complications
Have a partner who is not supportive of at-home birth
Haven’t prepared for or arranged an at-home birth team for home labor
Have a history of preterm labor or are currently experiencing very early labor

Hypnobirthing is clearly not for everyone. But Alexandra’s experience suggests that mothers prepared to do a little research prior to their at-home labor can look forward to a positive, spiritual birthing experience that is beneficial in so many ways for Mommy, Daddy, and Baby.

If you would like to find out more about home births and hypnotherapy, visit: Amazing Births and Beyond.

South Florida Maternity Photography Studio

We specialize in fine-art maternity and newborn photography. For more South Florida maternity photography and pregnancy portraits, please, visit our maternity gallery. For bookings and information on maternity, newborn and baby photography sessions contact us or call directly 754.581.2133.