A calming and gentle birthing technique is the secret behind Kate Middleton's rosy glow, a Kiwi birth educator has said.
HypnoBirthing International spokeswoman Dr Vivian Keeler confirmed that the Duchess of Cambridge used hypnobirthing techniques like self-hypnosis and visualisation for her first two labours and believed that she would have used it for her third birth also.
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Hamilton HypnoBirthing practitioner Kahrina Richardson put Middleton's amazing appearance down to her having a positive, empowering labour.
"She didn't just look fresh, she looked happy," Richardson said about Middleton.
"That was not the look of someone who'd been through a horrific experience. That was look of a couple who had been through a euphoric experience.
"We believe that's how birth should be."
HypnoBirthing is a method of birthing that is based on the belief that all babies should come into the world in an atmosphere of gentleness, calm and joy, regardless of the path.
Richardson said, during Middleton's preparation for birth, she would have learnt how to reach deep levels of relaxation (self-hypnosis) and how to stimulate her body's own ability to produce endorphins which block pain. A relaxed body and mind during labour results in less pain and shorter labours, often resulting in the mother feeling euphoric and energised after birth, Richardson said.
After a difficult first birth Richardson was introduced to HypnoBirthing and had a more enjoyable second birth because of it. For the last two years she has been running courses for expectant mums and their partners.
She explained that the practice was all about eliminating fear of of childbirth through education then teaching relaxation, visualisation, breathing, posture and massage techniques.
"A lot of women are extremely afraid of childbirth due to Hollywood's dramatic representation. People are afraid of pain and not being able to cope.
"If you can relax your body and work with your body you're not fighting against the muscles trying to do their job."
Women might visualise a balloon slowly expanding and then letting go during a "surge" - that's the term used for contractions in HypnoBirthing. This, accompanied by a breathing technique, helps the mother to be to go with the contraction, rather than fight against it, Richardson said.
"If you're relaxed, letting your body do its job, then it actually shortens labour as your organs and muscles are getting enough oxygen."
The three main breathing techniques used in HypnoBirthing are the calm breath, surge breathing and birth breathing.
Calm breathing is to get into a relaxed state and involves slowing your breathing by breathing for four counts in and eight out. Surge breathing is a really long deep breath the same length in and out. Birth breathing involves "breathing down" and visualising your baby dropping down into the birth canal.
"HypnoBirthing is all about a very gentle second stage labour with no coached pushing. In normal birth we recommend that the mother very gentle eases baby out into the world and is not told when to push because the body has natural expulsive reflex. In theory you should not have to do any forced pushing because your body does it for you," Richardson said.
Auckland birth practitioner Winter Green, 74, also believed women taking control of their birth was a good thing. She believed birth was frequently framed as a passive concept - something that just "happens" to a woman - but it needed to be viewed as an activity every pregnant woman has to do. Women should therefore look at ways to upskill themselves before birth.
Green is preparing a proposal to the Ministry of Health for a two-year trial. If it goes ahead around 150 midwives would encourage the women they work with to learn skills and note them down at each appointment from 24 weeks gestation.
These skills would include stretching, meditation, breathing, softening and internal relaxation skills, posture and position, yoga, father identifying sounds and facial expressions to read the birth and HypnoBirthing.
"When women have skills they recognise what's happening to them internally and with skills they choose to cope and manage to deal with to work through and to feel in control," Green said.
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