A different way to prepare for birth — rooted in physiology, nervous system support, practical tools, and deep trust in your body.
This live 5-week series is for you if you want more than a checklist of what might happen in labour.
You want to know what to do when things get intense, how your partner can actually help, what questions to ask, how to work with your care team, and how to stay connected to yourself if plans shift.
Together, we’ll cover the real pieces of birth preparation: breathing techniques, pain-relieving hypnosis, labour positions, comfort measures, birth companion support, common interventions, self-advocacy skills, bonding with baby, and nervous system tools for fear, tension, and overwhelm.
Birth can’t be controlled. But when you understand your body, know your options, and have tools to come back to calm, it can feel less like something happening to you — and more like something you are actively moving through.
Series Details
Dates: August 6 - September 3rd (Thursdays)
Time: 7:00–9:30pm
Location: Live on Zoom
Length: 5 weekly classes of 2.5 hours
Investment: $500 + GST per couple / birthing person and companion
Format: Small group, interactive, and practice-based
Partner or birth companion strongly encouraged. Enrolment closes July 28th
What makes this different?
Most of us have absorbed a lot of fear about birth. We’ve seen birth as emergency, pain, chaos, or something to simply “get through.” And even when we know birth can be normal, it can be hard to actually feel that in the body when pregnancy brings so many unknowns.
HypnoBirthing helps you see birth differently. You’ll learn how your uterus, hormones, nervous system, pelvis, baby, breath, mind, and environment all work together. You’ll learn what can interrupt that process, and what can support it.
This course is part childbirth education, part nervous system practice, part partner preparation, and part deep emotional rehearsal for birth.It gives you practical tools, but it also gives you a new way to understand yourself.
All that we cover:
1. How birth actually works
Before you can trust your body, it helps to understand what your body is doing.
You’ll learn about:
how the uterus works during labour
the role of oxytocin, endorphins, adrenaline, and relaxation
how the nervous system responds to safety, stress, fear, and support
how baby moves, rotates, and works with your body
why birth can slow, pause, or intensify
what helps the body soften, open, and progress
This is often where people have the first big “aha”: birth is not random. Your body and baby are in constant communication.
2. Breathing techniques for each stage of labour
You’ll learn the three core HypnoBirthing breathing techniques and when to use them.
We’ll practice:
calm breathing for relaxation and nervous system regulation
surge breathing for the thinning and opening phase of labour
birth breathing for the birthing phase
how to use breath when things feel intense
3. Relaxation, self-hypnosis, and pain-relieving tools
Hypnosis in birth is not about losing control. It is deep relaxation, focused attention, and practice helping your body release fear and soften tension.
We’ll explore:
guided deep relaxation
self-hypnosis for birth
fear release work
birth rehearsal imagery
pain-relieving hypnosis techniques
visualization and affirmations
creating a “return to calm” reflex
This is one of the most important parts of the course. You are not just learning about relaxation — you are practicing it, week by week, so your body knows the way back.
4. Labour positions, movement, and comfort measures
You and your birth companion will learn practical ways to support comfort, progress, and baby’s descent through the pelvis.
We’ll cover:
labour and birth positions
movement for comfort and progress
positions to support baby’s rotation and descent
light touch massage and hands-on support
comfort measures for intensity
how to rest when labour slows or pauses
how to work with your body rather than against it
So you can work with your body and baby not against them.
5. Partner and birth companion support
A huge part of this course is helping your partner or birth companion know what to do. Not just “be supportive” in a vague way — but how to actually support you with their voice, hands, presence, advocacy, reminders, comfort measures, and calm.
Your birth companion will learn:
how to support relaxation practice
how to use touch and positioning
how to help cue breathing and calm
what to say when things feel intense
how to protect the birth environment
how to advocate without taking over
how to stay grounded during decision points
Birth support is a skill. This course gives your companion a role, tools, and confidence.
6. Interventions, choices, and self-advocacy
This course is not about pretending birth always unfolds one way. We talk honestly about common decision points so you feel less caught off guard.
We’ll explore:
induction and augmentation
due dates and post-dates conversations
monitoring, cervical checks, and hospital routines
epidurals, cesarean birth, and changing plans
how to ask better questions
how to use decision-making tools
how to create flexible birth preferences
how to work with your care team while staying connected to your values so you feel like an active member of your birth team
7. Bonding, emotional preparation and postpartum
This is probably the thing that is most missing in prenatal preparation. Birth preparation is not only about what your body will do. It is also about your relationship with your baby, your identity as a parent, your fears, your hopes, and the emotional threshold you are crossing. Birth is not the finish line.
We’ll make space for:
bonding with baby during pregnancy
visualizing birth in a grounded way
noticing fears or limiting beliefs
preparing for the first hour after birth
early breastfeeding basics that work with newborn physiology
newborn sleep and normal newborn behaviour
emotional recovery and fourth trimester support
You are not only preparing for labour. You are preparing for a major life transition and deserve the space to explore all of the complicated feelings.
What’s included:
Your registration includes:
Live weekly sessions with real-time feedback and practice
Email support between classes if questions come up
Facilitated deep hypnosis for fear release, rehearsing for the birth you want, pain relieving hypnosis techniques, and relaxation
A private 30-minute session closer to your due time
Parent Course Materials: workbook, textbook, guided audio tracks, and evidence-based handouts about common interventions and options
Exclusive resources: relaxation & fear-release scripts, comfort guides, birth preference templates, and a pregnancy and postpartum resource directory
Possible in-person practice session - Depending on timing, weather, and location, an optional in-person practice session may also be offered.
Who’s it For:
This series is a good fit if you are:
expecting your first baby and unsure where to start
birthing again and wanting this experience to feel different
carrying fear, anxiety, or a previous difficult birth experience
wanting your partner to feel confident and involved
hoping to reduce unnecessary interventions while staying calm if interventions become needed
wanting practical, evidence-informed mind-body tools for birth and early parenting
Ideal time to start is 20 - 32 weeks, though accommodations can be made if you’re closer to term. The program is designed for you and your birth companion to take together.
A note from Molly
What I love about HypnoBirthing is that it gives people a different way to see birth. Instead of only asking, “What could go wrong? And how can you get through it” we also ask:
What helps birth work well? Honestly, that kind of support changes everything.
That is the heart of this work: knowledge, practice, support, self-trust, and a deeper relationship with your body as you prepare to meet your baby.
“I felt so much more empowered this time having all that knowledge. I feel like in my first birth, birth happened to me. And then I birthed my second baby.” - HypnoBirthing Mom
How to Join:
I’m currently opening up spots for an August group. Groups are intentionally small, usually 2–4 couples, so there is space for questions, practice, and personal support.
If this feels like the kind of preparation you’re looking for, save your spot.
Not sure if this is the right fit? You’re welcome to book a free 20-minute consult — I’d love to connect.
Have questions? Check out our FAQs
Can’t make this group? Add your name to the interest list for future dates.
Questions? Email Molly at molly@embodiedbirth.ca. For updates and tips, follow me on social media.