Hypnosis during child birth seems a little weird to me. Seriously. Maybe I am a skeptic but I am not really sure someone would be able to talk anyone out of labour pain.

They say that to be hypnotised, you have to open your mind to it. I guess it’s fair to say that I am pretty closed minded on this issue – like staring at a swinging watch is going to stop pain… sure – although anything that claims to inhibit the agony of labour does deserve some consideration.

When it comes to the idea of hypnosis in birth I can’t help but imagine a ‘Worm Tongue from Lord of the Rings’ type scenario, whereby Mr Hypnotists speaks soothing words into my ear and in so doing,  takes control of my mind in a bid to further some hidden agenda – steal my baby perhaps. Who knows?

Yes… yes… perhaps a tad dramatic and over-imaginative. What can I say? Fantasy is my fiction of choice.

I have since come to learn that hypnotherapy, as a pain management technique, is not the hifalutin mumbo-jumbo that I mistook it for.

Let me introduce you to Natal Hypnotherapy; an affordable, portable, personalised, birth support and therapy toolkit for parents-to-be that provides a comprehensive way to train the mind and body to fully prepare for labour.

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My baby arrived two weeks before her due date – much to my surprise! I thought first babies were usually late. Well, apparently not in my case.

I had been really lazy about writing my birth plan in that all-important birth note book given to me by the midwife, so when I had ‘a show’, and knew D-Day had arrived, I grabbed my birth book and quickly filled in my birth plan… and then, much to my husband’s horror, ran to the bus stop to hail a bus that was threatening to drive right past.

The point: I probably should have been a tad more organised.

Practical Parenting & Pregnancy offers five useful birth plan tips for parents-to-be:

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Looking to get pregnant this year? If your answer is “yes”, you are one of many according to ‘How-to’ video website Videojug.com, which has seen a huge 288% increase in the overall number of people viewing its ‘How to Get Pregnant’ video during the first month of 2011 compared to the same period last year.

A city by city comparison of traffic to the film for the same period shows Brummies and Londoners are the most focused on getting pregnant, with views up in these cities up 400% and 268% respectively.

Videojug’s figures correlate with the latest Information Resources (IRI) data which shows that in the last two years, demand for pregnancy testing kits across all UK retailers has risen 31 per cent, with 3.5 million sold in 2010 alone.

Could 2011 be a Baby Boom year?

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One of the coolest things about being pregnant is being able to hear the heartbeat of the little being growing inside your belly.

It is a sure sign of life and is something to be treasured. Thanks to the gift of modern technology, Mums and Dads are now able to hear their baby’s heart beat from the comfort of a home environment, from as early as ten weeks.

What? you say. I promise, it’s true.

The Hi Bebe Fetal Doppler is a device often used by midwives. It can be rented from around £9.95 per month and purchased for prices ranging from £69.95.

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Every woman is aware of the fact that with pregnancy comes weight gain; some of us obsess over every extra pregnancy kilo and others of us reach for a third cookie, an extra chocolate, another chip without batting an eyelid.

But what is considered an ‘okay’ amount of weight to gain?

Well, there are no official guidelines for weight gain in pregnancy but gaining between 22-35lb is considered normal – and here’s where it all goes:

Around 7lb 7oz is your baby

* 14lb is maternal stores in preparation for breastfeeding (fat, protein and nutrients)

* 4lb is increased fluid

* 2lb is your womb

* 2lb is amniotic fluid

* 2lb is breast enlargement

* 1lb 7oz is the placenta

Most of your weight gain will occur later on in your pregnancy.

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