Did the Duchess of Cambridge use hypnosis for birth?

Well there has been a lot written about the Duchess of Cambridge using hypnosis techniques for the birth of her son. Interestingly, these were written before the birth and nothing yet has emerged afterwards, if it ever will. I hope she did take the time to learn the techniques on The Birth CD programme, all of then can help to contribute to a positive and calm experience for the mother, a calm baby and also to aiding recovery afterwards. Certainly the duchess looked marvellous the day afterwards when she showed off her new son to the world.

More happy customers

It's Friday afteroon and I have just opened my emails to find the following: "Dear Helen, I just wanted to say thank you. I am 39 and had been trying to conceive a second child for 2.5 years, including 1 failed iui and 1 failed ivf and was at the point of throwing in the towel when I read about your ivf belief cd. Over the years I have tried everything (reflexology, acupuncture, yoga) but nothing seemed to help. I bought your cd and decided to give it one last chance and I can honestly say that it transformed my ivf experience. This time I remained calm, kept occupied with other things and stayed off the fertility forums which I found hugely stressful yet addictive. It has been a much more successful cycle resulting in 5 5-day blastocysts and I am delighted to say that I finally tested positive. I cannot recommend the ivf belief cd enough. Thank you." How lovely to have "transformed" someone's experience into something positive. I feel really humble.

Work work work

I am being a "self-starter" today, as on many other days. I am busy creating another CD for publication. Originally I thought I'd just rattle it off and get myself into the studio but it's proving more complex than I thought. Much thinking time required as the languauge has to be spot on let alone deciding exactly what content to use, in what order, how to structure it AND what to leave out.

This one is all about hypnosis for childbirth. It is incredibly powerful, helpful, useful and something that most mothers would benefit from. I have GOT to get it right!

New IVF CD in Production

My new IVF CD is currently being produced. With eye-catching design by Create a Brand again, it is going to look as wonderful on your shelf as it is effective. But it won't be on your shelf! It will be playing on your CD player, computer or mp3 player.

I have some excellent reviews from the pre-production version and it contains tracks that I have been using in my practice for several years. If you want an easier, calmer IVF treatment cycle and you can't get to a therapist directly, this CD is a must-buy.

Look out for it on my site and on Amazon within the next week.

Hypnotherapy in Rugby is where it's at

And finally I am about to start working in Rugby. It's been a while in coming but had been on the cards for some time. I will be working with therapist George Houguez at Trance4mation http://www.trance4mation.co.uk

George is an experienced hypnotherapist and instructor at the London College of Clinical Hypnosis. He has been in Rugby for some years and has an abundance of experience. Between the two of us, you'd be unlucky to find an issue that we haven't come across and treated successfully. There will also be a greater range of appointment times because if one of us is not available at times to suit you, then it's likely that the other one will be. So if you're needing or wanting hypnotherapy in Rugby, call us.

There is also a super group room that will be perfect for birth hypnosis group sessions. Hypnobirthing coming to Rugby too!

Hypnosis is better pain relief for birth than pethidine

I always felt this instinctively but now there is some research to back it up

If you click on "research to back it up" above, you will open the web article about the research. Here is the link in full: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20101010/Bathing-better-than-pethidine-as-pain-relief-during-labor-Survey.aspx

Hypnosis for birth, or "hypnobirth" classes are run at my clinic in Northampton. Click on my website for full details and look on the blog for the next course dates

Hypnosis CDs

My range of hypnosis CDs is coming along very nicely. The first one, The Bump CD, is available on Amazon and on my own website. That one is used to aid relaxation in pregnancy, bonding with your baby, helping you to have a confident pregnancy and start to promote feelings of confidence for the birth. It is selling really well on Amazon already. So well in fact that I may have to do another production run soon.

I was in the studio last week, recording the next in the Belief Bump Baby series. This next one is all about support to IVF treatment. I was really pleased with the way that recording session went. The tracks are perfect and the sound quality is fantastic. When you add Nick Willis's beautiful music to the background, you end up with a very high quality product indeed.

It won't be available until after Christmas but watch this space - Helen McPherson Hypnotherapy CDs are going to be very popular!

New openings

Yes, HQ has a lot going on. I heard this week that I have been accepted as a Faculty member of the Institute of Clinical Hypnosis (ICH). I will be running a course next year instructing other therapists in hypnotherapy for fertility.

It's a huge and growing market, rater sadly. 1 in 6 couples in UK has trouble conceiving and 1 in 10 couples has fertility treatment. There are thousands of IVF treatments carried out in UK every year and 1.5% of babies are born as a result of IVF conceptions.

Hypnotherapy has a huge part to play in helping people overcome psychological barriers to conception and also to provide positive emotional support whilst a couple is goingthrough IVF. Even if the therapy does not result in a pregnancy, the benefit of hypnotherapy during the treatment is to help a couple cope far more easily with its stresses and strains.

So, not only am I going through surgery myself, developing courses and marketing material for hypnotherapists, I am also putting the final touches to my next commercial CD. The one for pregnancy relaxation is already available on Amazon and should be joined by the IVF Companion prior to Christmas. How can I ever fit my clients in?!

Radio Gaga

Well my heavens, what a busy week I am having. Not only have I finished my tax return report for my accountant way ahead of Christmas, let alone ahead of January, AND achieved one of my stated goals for the year... Phew! Sorry I am going to have to draw breath here.....

I was so proud of the tax return. It hangs over me from before its even the beginning of the new tax year! During my goal setting exercise in January, I stated that I wanted to submit my information by the end of May. Well I did in fact achieve most of it by then but then I left the remainder, and left it and left it. Until Now! What a massive relief.

And what else? Well... this afternoon I have had my Pregnancy CD accepted by a local retailer, which I am totally chuffed about. If you are in the know, it is Pink & Blue Baby World online and in Daventry, Northants.

And... I was on local radio today, talking about hypnosis for fertility. It started with an interview with the Chair of the Gamete Donation Trust as she has come out today saying that sperm donors should be paid more than women who donate their eggs. I was then asked to comment on her position. I did of course remain neutral but was able to plug my business a little. Thinking about it now in the cold light of day I don't think men should be paid more. It is less risky to them and despite the fact that this LauraVitjens thinks it takes 30 visits to a fertility clinic to donate sperm, actually it doesn't take anywhere near that many visits. And there are no risks to a man's health from doing it either.

So there you go, I am "off the fence"

And don't think that feritility issues affect "other people" either. It is a growing and silent epidemic. 1 in 6 couples has difficulty in conceiving and 1 in 10 couples has treatment for it. Everyone knows someone that has had IVF treatment or other fertility treatments, even if you think you don't.

Belief, Bump, Baby - More tiny feet!

No, not for me!

Another client is pregnant! I sent her a pre-conception hypnosis CD to use prior to starting her IVF treatment cycle and wouldn't you know it, 5 weeks later she is pregnant.

I am finding it hard to keep my feet on the ground - jumping in the air with joy for these couples is the best! I feel so happy it's like I am celebrating my own good news. (Quite apart from the fact that these couples have saved thousands of pounds that would have been spent on IVF treatments)

"Belief Bump Baby" is how I describe my services for fertility, pregnancy and birth - and beyond. Not only hypnosis, I start at the very beginning with fertility counselling. If you don't know whether to see a doctor, if you think you might be too old, if you don't know how to access fertility treatment, how to pay for it, where to go, I can help.

If you don't know how to interpret test results, can't decide which treatments to have, I can help. Do you need lifstyle and nutrition advice? Just ask.

If you are grieving over past losses, if you are holding onto fear of pregnancy or birth there are a myriad of techniques I can use to help you overcome the past and reach the state of parenthood that you want.

No one can promise you a pregnancy but we can help to make it a reality for you.

And then I am uniquely able to help through pregnancy and birth, teaching you techniques to enhance confidence, baby-bonding and have a happy and comfortable birth experience.

It is probably the best part of my job. Helping somene to quit smoking feels good but the work I do with fertility and pregnancy clients has to top it for feel-good factor.

The Patter of Tiny Feet

I have been so excited and busy with moving to Willow Tree that I have forgotten to post some very exciting news.

Not for me, but a client with "unexplained infertility" is now pregnant! After just 5 sessions, she conceived around the time of the 6th session, with no extra help from the fertility clinic. And this from a standing start of her and her husband being extremely depressed and upset and grieving when they first came to see me.

I feel so proud and privileged to have helped this fantastic couple. A very happy 9 months is what I now wish for them

*Beaming* :O)