Mindful Birthing in Anne Arundel County: HypnoBirthing, Meditation, and Local Doula Support

I have a book on my shelf called “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Birth” which a friend commented on one day, asking, “well, who isn’t a thinking woman who is giving birth?” And I thought, yes, that title is a bit rude! It wasn’t that great of a book, either. 

I mention this because, with my blog title, I’m talking about a specific approach to birth using mindfulness practice. A birth where you approach it purposefully with an intention and you practice that throughout the pregnancy, working on your body and mind to prepare. That isn’t to put down anyone who takes a different approach. There are a million reasons out there for going into your birth without deep diving into options–trauma being chief among them–and I have had clients who hire me to simply be by their side while things unfold without wanting to know all the details. I respect that and am so happy I can make people feel safe with me. 

So many people have this version of birth in their heads from all the fictionalized accounts of birth they’ve seen over the years through movies and television where it’s screaming chaos with so much pain. I won’t tell you that it’ll be pain free, but that version of birth does not have to be your version. The more you can start to frame the labor process not as a terrible trial to go through, but as this great journey of transformation, a trip that’ll be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but one of the best things, the more prepared you’ll be when the time comes.

If you don’t already practice some form of mindfulness in your life, now is a great time to start. It’s a way to connect to yourself and to help you to stay grounded. At its core, mindfulness is the practice of being here in this moment, offering yourself reflection, emotional regulation, and compassion. Mindfulness isn’t about always feeling peaceful–it’s about meeting whatever’s here with awareness and care.

Why Mindfulness Works So Well in Labor

This is really effective for labor because it’s one of the only times in your adult life (for most of us) that we are absolutely forced to stay in the moment–one contraction at a time. Time is different in labor. Everything is different. You’re naked with strangers; you’re leaking water everywhere; you are wide awake at 3am and dancing. 

During those contractions, you need to use all your energy to concentrate on relaxing, moving, and not fighting your body. What I mean by not fighting your body is that so many women try to crawl away (sometimes literally) from that pain/sensation/intensity. And they scrunch up their faces and tighten their shoulders and squeeze both their hands with all their might–this is a)fighting your body, b) taking away power from your uterus to do its job–the uterus is a muscle. If you’re tightening every other muscle when you’re trying to work out your bicep, is your bicep working at full capacity? No. Isolate your uterus by relaxing all your other muscles. And c) you are working extra hard by contracting extra muscles AND your uterus at the same time: you’re going to tire yourself out sooner! We don’t want that. So, you need to learn some coping strategies for those contractions, and practice them, because being loose and limp in the uncomfortable is not something that happens overnight. 

When it comes to meditation, the first and most important thing to know is that you’re not trying to stop your thoughts. The mind races like the heart beats. That’s just life. What we’re trying to do is develop a new relationship to those thoughts. Instead of letting them take over, you just let them wash over you and come back to this moment, come back to your breath.

My favorite way to think about meditation is to imagine you are sitting behind a waterfall. The waterfall is the flow of your thoughts and feelings, the racing ideas of your mind—and that water will continue to keep falling-but you are sitting right there in that nook, safely watching. 

The water can keep falling, those thoughts can keep going, and all you need to do is watch. As you watch, without judgement mindfully paying attention—that's awareness. That’s the goal. Just to …be.

The moment you realize you’ve been pulled into a thought and you’re no longer just an observer—I have a shitload of work to get done by 8—that’s when you can come back to your breath, and feel how the air flows down your throat. Let the thoughts come, but bring your awareness back to your anchor: your breath. Or your practice may be repetition of a word or a phrase (or mantra) such as “I am safe.” Whatever it is, you’re just going to keep bringing your attention back again and again without judgement, with compassion and kindness always. Imagine sitting behind that waterfall and let those thoughts flow—let them go.

Any mindfulness practice strengthens the mind, making it less susceptible to the nagging voice of pain and panic. Through practice, if you condition your mind to be at peace and to be in the moment, you’ll be able to recognize when thoughts of fear or anxiety crop up in labor and you won’t let those thoughts control your birthing experience.

That’s why I love HypnoBirthing so much! As a certified HypnoBirthing doula serving the Annapolis area, I help families prepare for a calm, empowered birthing experience using breathing, visualization, and mindfulness tools. It teaches you the physiological processes–the science behind why your thoughts and emotions can change your birth. And it arms you with a range of tools for yourself and your partner to help you pivot when you ultimately do encounter a road bump in your plan. That’s so important because women in labor often pick up on subtle energies in a room. So if a doctor comes in with the attitude of ‘I think this will be a csection,’ even if they don’t say anything directly, the body language and tone of what they’re saying can be picked up by that laboring mom and it can really throw her through a loop–without her even really knowing why.

If you think of a woman in labor like an antenna–they pick up whatever signals are being thrown around. That’s why it’s so important that your birth partner is on the same page as you, being a beacon of confidence, shrouding her in care, love, and protecting her calm. 

Mindfulness in Pregnancy in Severna Park 

I highly suggest practicing some form of movement and meditation together. What I love about yoga for pregnancy is that it combines movement, breath, and learning how to stay calm in the uncomfortable. It’s a moving meditation where you are not thinking about your thoughts–you’re not running through that list of what else you need to do tomorrow–you are in the moment, breath to movement, listening to the instructor and simply being. Especially if you’re new at yoga, you don’t have time to think about anything else because you’re just trying to keep up and figure out where the teacher is going next. 

Severna Park Prenatal Yoga at Yoga Barn 

Crofton Prenatal Yoga at Crofton Yoga 

Annapolis Prenatal Yoga at Blue Lotus Annapolis

Beyond the mind body connection with yoga, the physical benefits cannot be overstated. The more your pelvis moves in pregnancy, the more you’ll be able to move that pelvis in labor. And that’s how you’ll help your baby come down–movement & relaxation. Motion is lotion. See my blog post on The Best Yoga Poses For Pregnancy, Labor, & Birth. 

Choosing A Doula Who HypnoBirths in Anne Arundel County

Picking a doula that ‘knows what HypnoBirthing is’ is different than picking one that’s certified in it. I’ve been a certified HypnoBirthing instructor since 2023, but have practiced HypnoBirthing techniques since I first took the course in 2017–the year my first baby was born. I’ve incorporated HypnoBirthing relaxation techniques into my approach to birth as a doula and childbirth educator. 

Every instructor teaches HypnoBirthing a little differently. It’s important that whoever you choose to see you through this journey is someone you can trust, rely on, and someone who makes you feel at ease. I think my sense of humor and my experience with two totally different births (my hospital and car births), along with my ten years as a doula all influence the ways in which the information is taught and absorbed. I’m proud of the work I do as a childbirth educator and stand by my expertise and quality of the courses. 

HypnoBirthing Classes are 5 week sessions in-person at Magnolia Wellness in Severna Park. Reach out today to join the next round! 

If you’re interested in my doula services or have any other questions, please sign up for a free consultation today!