The popularity of hypnobirthing has increased dramatically over recent years and this is certainly helped as more celebrities jump on the bandwagon and publicly share their experience with the media. In a recent issue of OK! Magazine they investigate it further:

'Hypnobirthing has become all the rage among celebrity mums and has apparently even been given the royal seal of approval. HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, who displayed the first signs of a baby bump during a reception at Buckingham Palace last week, is thought to have used the technique when she was pregnant with Prince George, listening to meditation recordings to get her into a relaxed frame of mind ahead of his birth.'

Katharine was recently asked to join the expert panel for Mother and Baby to answer a question often posed to her:

What is hypnobirthing and how can it help me during labour?

Breathing exercises, visualisations and relaxations have been around for years, and they are helpful.  But what sets hypnobirthing apart and makes it so much more effective?  

The most important thing is the way it works on fear.  Remember the story of The Princess and the Pea?  The princess couldn't sleep because the pea under her mattress irritated her constantly.  Even when the servants added more mattresses, she couldn't sleep because the pea still irritated her.  The pea is like fear.  Every woman, however much she is looking forward to giving birth, will have seen a TV programme or film which showed a less than positive birth experience. This may be buried deep in her subconscious, but it is there.

We are pleased to share that another high profile couple have embraced KGHypnobirthing as the best way to enjoy a natural childbirth. Sophie Austin, well known for her role in the British soap opera Hollyoaks and her partner singer and actor Shayne Ward are expecting a baby later this year.

This is their first baby and we are very excited to be joining them on this journey and know that hypnobirthing will provide them both with all the skills, confidence and knowledge they need at this exciting time.

Sophie has recently tweeted about her initial experience of hypnobirthing and we are looking forward to more updates.

Can not thank @hypnobirthing enough for today , feel totally in the zone and ready for the weeks ahead ⭐️??

— Sophie Austin (@SophieAustin1) October 2, 2016

Katharine was honoured to appear on BBC Woman's Hour today (7th September), and discussed Hypnobirthing with presenter Jenni Murray, Midwifery professor Soo Downe, and Hypnobirthing mother Michelle Ollie.  You can listen to a recording of that interview below:

Stream the podcast here:

{mp3}womanshour/BBCWomansHour-20160907-HypnobirthingExplained{/mp3}

Jenni: How justified are the claims that hypnobirthing will give you a calm delivery over which you have complete control. Soo Downe is Professor of Midwifery studies at the University of Central Lancashire and joins us from Blackburn, Michelle Ollie used the technique for the birth of her daughter 11 days ago, she is in Ipswich. And the voice you just heard belongs to Katharine Graves, the author of The Hypnobirthing Book.

Jenni: Katharine are you seriously saying a woman can choose the length of her labour, 8 hours, 3 hours or 2. Because if you can surely everyone would go for two.

Katharine: I didn’t say she has complete control because nobody can ever say how labour can pan out, but I am saying that her mental state will very much effect the length of her labour and what you focus on is very often what you get.

Jenni: Michelle, how in control of your labour did you feel using this technique?

Michelle: I felt pretty in control really, I felt more relaxed and was in a really good mental state which allowed me to zone out and focus on what was important. Obviously opening up and birthing my baby as quickly and calmly as possible. So I never thought I am going to do this in 2 hours or 3 hours because mine was a 12 hour labour but the time went so quickly because I was in the zone and I was in control and very relaxed so time was not a big thing on my mind.