Eight Benefits of Watching Birth Videos
DO YOU WANT to watch birth videos? Getting informed about labour and birth is one of the most powerful ways to stack the odds in your favour of a better birth - as long as you don’t freak yourself out!!
There is a BIG difference between watching real life birth videos and what you see on TV programmes that are designed to create drama, chaos and shock you. When I’ve taught hypnobirthing classes a few couples have asked why the videos were edited to 10 mins or so - the truth is no-one would want to sit and watch even a short four hour labour from start to finish because for much of it there’s not much to see and not much happening! And, as you know, many labours are long. There is plenty you can do to stack the odds in your favour of a more comfortable, easier birth.**
Here are eight benefits of watching birth videos:
1) You realise that birth is almost as unique as the woman birthing which gives you freedom to do it YOUR WAY
2) You can see clearly that what you have been told about birth for most of your life is a load of nonsense because you can see women who are not screaming the house down or begging for pain relief. You will learn that contractions (called surges in hynobirthing) are not to be feared.
3) You will be in AWE at the QUIET POWER (and sometimes noisy) of the birthing-mum.
4) It will help your mind integrate the fact that you too will be giving birth and these experiences are in fact, not just normal, natural
5) It stimulates your mind to think about the type of birth environment and support you would love to have from setting (home, birth centre, hospital) to twinkly fairy lights and music). One of my mums highlighted how a midwife was telling birthing-mum to ‘push, and keep doing that',’ and in that moment she knew she didn’t want anyone bossing her about like that = brilliant clarity.
6) You will gain confidence when you see that other women, women just like you, have already given birth and what’s possible for them is possible for you (unless of course you have special medical circumstances which dictate otherwise for the safety of you and your baby)
7) You can often see what a birthing partner does and this can help your husband / boyfriend get rid of his fears about what birth will be like and what his role will be.
8) Often watching a birth video will challenge beliefs that you have about birth and that’s great. Some of them might make you cry a bit - and that’s great too.
You DO need to be selective in what you watch so ask a trusted friend to vet some for you, or check out some of my faves below (I am a hypnobirthing and prenatal yoga teacher so I promise these are not made for fear or drama!). All are home births and that’s largely because people who have home births have a lot more freedom with the camera since it’s their home, and they’re more willing to share intimate parts of their lives. These are here for you to see what’s possible, not to persuade you to choose a certain type of birth.
This is a very chilled out home birth - lets you see how calm and hands-off birth can be IF that’s what you want.
Orgasmic home birth (you might want to turn the sound down!) Yes, I really did say ORGASMIC.
Home birth of Baby Sloane (don’t freak out about what they do with the umbilical cord, it doesn’t have nerve endings = no sensation or pain)
Home birth, described as the best experience of Brittany’s whole life
Eva Rose Birth - empowered orgasmic hospital birth (you read correctly 💕)
Unmedicated hospital birth - an inspiring watch
And the last home birth for now…
You might watch some of these and wonder why they seem romanticised or almost too intimate for your eyes - that is how special birth can be. A labouring woman is not a patient, she is not ill. Birth is not a medical event; each woman is bringing life into the world, and a phrase I use often when teaching is ‘what got the baby in there will bring the baby out’. Love creates love.
IF you find additional birth videos that you love that have helped you reframe your beliefs about labour and birth I’d love to know - ping me a message sophia@sophiahanson.com
Big love 💕 🥰
Sophia xx
