Dr Mao

As a die hard Sex and the City fan, I think I know pretty much every episode word for word! (Don’t judge me). However, when I am teaching, there is one particular episode that really resonates. One of the main characters, Charlotte, is trying to get pregnant and is struggling. She decides to try acupuncture based on several people’s recommendation.

She visits Dr Mao for her first session and struggles to block out the noise. The noise on the street, the noise in her head – all those voices, opinions and chatter.

“Unfortunately, she couldn’t drown out the voices on the street. When Charlotte opened her mind to Chinese medicine, she didn’t expect a visit from the Cuban Liberation Front.
Dr. Mao.
Hello.
Dr. Mao.
I can’t get centered. Is there a quieter room?
Cuz i’m trying to relax and find my center, but I just can’t do that with all these noise.
Charlotte, the city will never quiet down.
You’re gonna have to learn to block out that New York noise and listen only to yourself.
Charlotte was beginning to think that the solution to her problem wasn’t finding her center,
but finding some earplugs.”

It’s a great scene because it really highlights exactly what hypnobirthing is trying to achieve. During pregnancy, from that first time we tell people, “We’re having a baby!” come the opinions, the advice and general noise about pregnancy and birth. We start to digest that, we start to let that form our opinion of how our birth will be. And don’t get me started on the media – One Born Every Minute, films, soaps, how many times do you see a relaxed, calm, comfortable labour and birth?

Then we get into labour and the noise is back. This is where drowning out the sounds in our head is really important and drowning out the sounds around us is equally important. Once we create the environment in which we can labour in a relaxed, intimate and quiet space we give ourselves the best chance of a comfortable birth and to experience birth in its most beautiful form. And a quiet space doesn’t mean no sound, it means sound that relaxes you, that is good for you, be that affirmations, nature sounds or a bit of Lizzo raising your vibe – whatever you need is what needs to be heard.

Hypnobirthing is the practice of drowning out the negativity and the noise, and tuning into your body. Not being consciously in the moment, going within yourself and birthing your baby.

“It turned out that Dr. Mao was a miracle worker,
Because in just two short sessions, he taught Charlotte to block out all the New York noise she didn’t need to hear.”