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The Calm Birth Method: Your Complete Guide to a Positive Hypnobirthing Experience
Discover tried-and-tested techniques to help you relax during labour, so that you can work with your body for an empowering, positive birth.
Birth is a natural and normal event and, while it can be unpredictable, this book will show you how you can make it a gentle and enjoyable experience. In The Calm Birth Method , hypnobirthing expert Suzy Ashworth helps you to build confidence in your body and its abilities, and shares practical techniques to support you so that, no matter what happens, you feel prepared.
Walking you and your birth partner through the whole process of birth preparation, Suzy
· Why many women feel so scared of giving birth and how to eliminate these fears during pregnancy
· How relaxing your mind and body during birth transforms your physiology
· Practical tools and techniques to promote deep relaxation and mindfulness
· How to unify birth partners and care providers, to ensure the birthing environment is stress-free and has the most conducive set up for a calm and relaxing birth
· Breathing techniques and visualizations to help with the sensations of birth
Take the power back into your own hands so that you can learn to trust your body, and look forward to welcoming your child into the world with confidence.
Birth is a natural and normal event and, while it can be unpredictable, this book will show you how you can make it a gentle and enjoyable experience. In The Calm Birth Method , hypnobirthing expert Suzy Ashworth helps you to build confidence in your body and its abilities, and shares practical techniques to support you so that, no matter what happens, you feel prepared.
Walking you and your birth partner through the whole process of birth preparation, Suzy
· Why many women feel so scared of giving birth and how to eliminate these fears during pregnancy
· How relaxing your mind and body during birth transforms your physiology
· Practical tools and techniques to promote deep relaxation and mindfulness
· How to unify birth partners and care providers, to ensure the birthing environment is stress-free and has the most conducive set up for a calm and relaxing birth
· Breathing techniques and visualizations to help with the sensations of birth
Take the power back into your own hands so that you can learn to trust your body, and look forward to welcoming your child into the world with confidence.
- GenresNonfictionParenting
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 2016
10 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 12, 2016
I liked the majority of the advice and information this book had to offer. The best parts were practical advice for teaching oneself to relax, unwind and deal with challenges ahead of labor, so that it's easier to get into a calm, relaxed state when the day comes that you give birth. I wish there were much more of those practical boxes of suggested methods in the book. I didn't like it that this book seems to be just a companion to the course created by the author, which is pricey. I felt a little cheated because I don't plan on spending $150 on access to some mp3s, etc. I did like the positive birth stories, encouragement and reframing of the way we think of birth- using more encouraging terminology, etc. I was a little put off by the British terminology and wonder if some of the methods used are not common in America, or called something else, because I had never heard of them before.
Not a bad book overall, but not perfect for what I needed either.
Not a bad book overall, but not perfect for what I needed either.
February 26, 2018
The typos in this drove me crazy - would have got a higher score if it wasn’t for that
April 17, 2021
2.5/5 ☆
I wanted to like this book, but there were a total of (2) helpful, unique things I learned throughout it all that weren’t covered in my basic online birthing class through the local hospital. It’s a good starting point if you know nothing about labor and delivery, but if you’ve already done basic research, I don’t think this book is worth reading. I also don’t feel like most of it covered much hypnobirthing either, just general birthing, so I don’t feel like I really know much more about hypnobirthing than when I started.
The one thing I did like, however, was there was a positive birth story at the end of each chapter to help replace the idea that birth has to be a terrible, painful experience. I also liked their alternative language suggestions — “surges” rather than “contractions,” “comfort level” rather than “pain level,” etc. There were also a number of helpful links to things on their website like some free modules of their birthing course and free meditations and print-outs, so that was another plus.
I wanted to like this book, but there were a total of (2) helpful, unique things I learned throughout it all that weren’t covered in my basic online birthing class through the local hospital. It’s a good starting point if you know nothing about labor and delivery, but if you’ve already done basic research, I don’t think this book is worth reading. I also don’t feel like most of it covered much hypnobirthing either, just general birthing, so I don’t feel like I really know much more about hypnobirthing than when I started.
The one thing I did like, however, was there was a positive birth story at the end of each chapter to help replace the idea that birth has to be a terrible, painful experience. I also liked their alternative language suggestions — “surges” rather than “contractions,” “comfort level” rather than “pain level,” etc. There were also a number of helpful links to things on their website like some free modules of their birthing course and free meditations and print-outs, so that was another plus.
November 1, 2017
It has a lot of useful information in it and it was nice to actually ready positive birth stories. I only ever hear about awful ones (and my first pregnancy and labor was traumatic to begin with). I am going to try out some of the breathing techniques. My critique is that I'm not sure this is really going to help me in any meaningful way with my second labor. I could see if I had taken actual classes with it--where they really show you how to apply the information. I'm glad I read it overall though.
September 20, 2018
I would recommend this book to any expecting woman because it’s the rare book that honors and empowers moms to take control of whatever their birth experience might be. I love reading home births and c-section birth stories in the same chapter. It’s also very respectful to a variety of postpartum choices. There is a decent set of tools provided in the book but my one complaint is that the downloads don’t cover everything mentioned and aren’t very user friendly (streaming an mp3 through my browser is not ideal for during labor).
March 25, 2018
Not a bad book in all but quite frankly seemed a little bit of a rip off of Marie Mongan's hypnobirthing book. The techniques are the same the word hypnobirthing is thrown about constantly and yet its sold as a different school of thought? It was nice to reiterate techniques whilst still reading a new book and I like the addition of birth stories - but otherwise I could have very easily have confused which book I was reading.
December 12, 2020
Wonderful book for helping you develop a positive mindset going into labor and also teaching breathing and relaxation techniques. It’s not long so it’s easy to finish. I started reading Birthing from Within but found it to be super negative with terrible stories about delivering in hospitals. I swear those authors have a fear of doctors. This book was much more my style and what I was looking for to prepare for labor!
April 7, 2020
Easy to read book about birth, some quirks but definitely lots of helpful info, well spaced and described, even if you’re not 100% sold on the ‘hypno’ side of things.
She ends with this encouragement, “You can’t fail at birth”.
She ends with this encouragement, “You can’t fail at birth”.
April 14, 2017
An amazing book to help keep you calm throughout pregnancy and childbirth.!An important and helpful read but be prepared, it is slow and repetitive at times.
March 21, 2025
It’s a great book to help a person consider all potential outcomes that might happen while giving birth. I would recommend it for anyone who are starting to consider their birth journey.
April 5, 2016
If I could write a book about childbirth, this is the book I would want to write. Suzy Ashworth is informative, inspiring, and introspective, and her approach to childbirth helps calm the fears and focus on what matters most: a healthy and positive birth experience. In this new book, she lays out the tools and techniques available to families who wish to take ownership of their birth experience, working with their care providers to have the best birth possible for their own family and particular circumstances. While she focuses primarily on birth care in the United Kingdom, the information she provides can be applied in nearly any birthing environment.
Ashworth's guide draws from the precepts of HypnoBirthing™, a model first developed by Marie Mongan in 1989. Mongan, a hypnotherapist, used her teachings during her own birth experiences in the 1950s and 60s to have medication-free births in a time when that was generally unheard-of. She later developed HypnoBirthing™ to guide and prepare women for a peaceful and positive birth experience, far different from the screaming mania typically seen in movies. The program "considers the psychological, as well as the physical, well-being of the mother, her birth partner, and the newborn, independent of context, whether that be in the quiet of a home, a hospital, or a birth center" [1], and employs self-hypnosis tools such as breathing, relaxation, visualization, meditative practice, and more.
The Calm Birth School builds off this model to create a guide for women birthing today, in the mid 2010s. She addresses current trends in midwifery and obstetric care, calling specific attention the ways language used in the birthing environment (e.g., "delivery" vs. "birth; "pain" vs. "intensity") can impact a family's perceptions and experience. She speaks to the realities of birthing, recognizing that not every family is able to have the picture-perfect birth, but every family can achieve a birth that is perfect for them. And she provides specific tools to help families navigate this sometimes confusing process to both create a calm, positive birth experience, and to process and learn from that experience. The stories she shares offer a variety of examples of amazingly positive birth experiences, illustrating birth in hospitals, birth centers and homes; natural, medicated, and Cesarean.
My only gripe with the book is that Ashworth's tone, though meant to be entertaining and perhaps reach a younger generation of pregnant mamas, is occasionally somewhat grating and even almost judgmental of different birthing philosophies and approaches. I noticed this more at the beginning than later on, so all I can suggest is that Ashworth eventually got into a better groove at some point during her writing process, and found her own voice. For the most part, her tone is even-keeled and supportive -- with the exception of a few choice phrases sprinkled about early chapters.
Overall, I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book, and will highly and eagerly recommend it to the birthing families I work with.
Ashworth's guide draws from the precepts of HypnoBirthing™, a model first developed by Marie Mongan in 1989. Mongan, a hypnotherapist, used her teachings during her own birth experiences in the 1950s and 60s to have medication-free births in a time when that was generally unheard-of. She later developed HypnoBirthing™ to guide and prepare women for a peaceful and positive birth experience, far different from the screaming mania typically seen in movies. The program "considers the psychological, as well as the physical, well-being of the mother, her birth partner, and the newborn, independent of context, whether that be in the quiet of a home, a hospital, or a birth center" [1], and employs self-hypnosis tools such as breathing, relaxation, visualization, meditative practice, and more.
The Calm Birth School builds off this model to create a guide for women birthing today, in the mid 2010s. She addresses current trends in midwifery and obstetric care, calling specific attention the ways language used in the birthing environment (e.g., "delivery" vs. "birth; "pain" vs. "intensity") can impact a family's perceptions and experience. She speaks to the realities of birthing, recognizing that not every family is able to have the picture-perfect birth, but every family can achieve a birth that is perfect for them. And she provides specific tools to help families navigate this sometimes confusing process to both create a calm, positive birth experience, and to process and learn from that experience. The stories she shares offer a variety of examples of amazingly positive birth experiences, illustrating birth in hospitals, birth centers and homes; natural, medicated, and Cesarean.
My only gripe with the book is that Ashworth's tone, though meant to be entertaining and perhaps reach a younger generation of pregnant mamas, is occasionally somewhat grating and even almost judgmental of different birthing philosophies and approaches. I noticed this more at the beginning than later on, so all I can suggest is that Ashworth eventually got into a better groove at some point during her writing process, and found her own voice. For the most part, her tone is even-keeled and supportive -- with the exception of a few choice phrases sprinkled about early chapters.
Overall, I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book, and will highly and eagerly recommend it to the birthing families I work with.
March 12, 2016
Informative book
Soon to be a first time mom. This book helped calm my fears about giving birth. Still not sure what my birth plan is but it is a comfort to know that I don't necessarily have to have the traumatic births you see on television. The relaxation techniques are definitely something I plan to do because I would like to try and be as calm, as possible, throughout the pain.
Soon to be a first time mom. This book helped calm my fears about giving birth. Still not sure what my birth plan is but it is a comfort to know that I don't necessarily have to have the traumatic births you see on television. The relaxation techniques are definitely something I plan to do because I would like to try and be as calm, as possible, throughout the pain.
June 4, 2020
Found this book very helpful to prepare for a calmer labor experience than my first. I appreciated the various labor and delivery scenarios she provided as well - hospital birth, home birth, emergency cesarean, planned cesarean, epidural, medication free, etc. I took some of it with a grain of salt and did the breathing exercises on my own without using the online videos. Definitely utilized the positive thinking, breathing strategies and visualizations during labor which was very helpful.
May 20, 2020
Book 21 of 2020 I read in preparation for Logan’s birth but didn’t actually get to use the techniques as he flipped and was transverse last minute and ultimately I had to have an emergency c section. I’d recommend this book as a starter to investigating hypnobirthing.
December 14, 2024
Seems like water is really calming in birth.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews