“And the key to that positive experience comes from people learning about and using the resources they have within.”

These are the words of Southern Highlands midwife and “calmbirth” instructor, Peter Jackson.

Mr Jackson has combined his medical knowledge as a midwife and nurse over the past 38 years with an understanding of subconscious mind work to develop the calmbirth method of childbirth preparation.

Now retired from the hospital system, Mr Jackson spent 17 years working as a midwife at Bowral Hospital.

His subconscious mind work research was inspired by leading practitioners around the world, including the pioneering work of English obstetrician Dr Grantly Dick Reed, who identified the Fear, Tension, Pain Syndrome in the early 1900s.

“Dr Reed recognised that with fear came increased tension and increased pain - it is a vicious cycle and a predictable sequence of events happening within the human body when you enter that cycle,’’ he said.

“The calmbirth technique is about empowering women during child birth to use the skills they already have within them - to avoid the fear, tension, pain cycle.

“It is about taking the trauma out of the birthing experience.

“This can be achieved with improved breathing techniques, the use of imagination, and creative visualisation and relaxation methods.

“Given the right preparation, many couples have the knowledge and skills to birth their babies naturally and to look upon their care givers, such as midwives and doctors as a safety net, available for support and help if needed.”

Mr Jackson said he began to investigate subconscious mind work in 1994 and trained in clinical hypnotherapy.

For the full story see the Southern Highland News, Wednesday, July 23

jackie.meyers@ruralpress.com