Your Changing Body
Laura contacted me the same day her GP confirmed that she was pregnant. Already a mum to a five year old daughter, this pregnancy was unplanned and a shock. Laura had mixed feelings about how she would cope with a second pregnancy because she struggled to feel at ease with the physical changes and sensations of foetal movement in her first pregnancy.
Pregnancy brings with it a monumental amount of physical change which is noticeable on a week to week basis. Most expectant mothers have degrees of concern as these changes take place. We’ve all had periods of paranoia about stretch marks but for some women anxiety about growing so big in a disproportionate manner is something they feel a heightened level of anxiety about. Often, the anxiety is based on a past traumatic episode or belief but it isn’t necessary to know what is causing the uneasiness in order to clear it. Connecting to the emotion and the sense of fear can be enough to start dissolving the emotional state and this is how I started working on this first issue with Laura.
In session, I asked Laura to connect with her unsettling feeling and describe it. She described feeling trapped, as if she had no control over the whole process. Once we had this start point, we cleared feelings of being trapped in her growing body and a feeling of intimidation that she felt as her body took over to grow her baby. As this emotion started to dissipate, Laura started to relax a little more but there was still the issue of feeling physically sick at the thought of feeling her baby’s movements later in pregnancy.
Again, I asked Laura to tune in to the feeling and describe the emotions she felt. All she could connect with was an overwhelming sense of fear and dread. So once more, we focused on this emotion and dissolved it. As one emotion cleared, another one popped to the surface for attention. Eventually, a buried memory surfaced of being very little herself and touching her mum’s pregnant bump when her baby brother was very active. Her memory was one of fear and feeling quite freaked out by the experience at the time. As we continued to work, this memory lost its power and she described herself feeling calm and settled.
With our therapy work complete, Laura opted for my Essential Support Programme for the remainder of her pregnancy to tackle any future anxiety and stay focused with a weekly check-in. Laura also listened daily to a personalised hypnotherapy CD to maintain her relaxation over the coming months and to-date, the pregnancy is going well and her daughter is very excited about the imminent arrival of the new baby.
If you would like to find out how I can help you clear fears and phobias or support you through your pregnancy, visit my Pure Therapy and Essential Support programme pages. Alternatively, use the form below to drop me a line or call and speak with me directly on 01276 21386.
Conception & Birth Services
Pure Therapy Programme Brief therapy to dissolve your fears, phobias, anxieties and any emotional trauma. This programme focuses on calming your mind, restoring your confidence and self-esteem, giving you back a sense of control in your life as well as the clarity to make important decisions.
Essential Support Programme Regular, short check-in sessions by phone to keep you calm, relaxed, optimistic and positively focused between significant milestones from conception to birth. The therapeutic toolkit enables sabotaging emotional wobbles to be dissolved in an instant.
HypnoBirthing® Classes The ultimate in birth preparation classes to teach both you and your partner how to use hypnotic relaxation skills, special breathing techniques and endorphin releasing massage to manage the physical demands of labour and feel calm, relaxed and confident during the birth.
Parent Coaching Programme No baby arrives with a manual and few parents have endless hours to devour a ‘how to’ book. Parent coaching is a supportive route to helping you create your own practical solutions to whatever parenting challenges you are facing, in time sensitive short sessions.