I love Wimbledon. The tradition and etiquette, the strawberries and cream, the pimms and the hats – it’s a true sign that summer has arrived. I’m not normally a big sports fan but the psychology involved with this game fascinates me and I’m always struck, year after year, by the similarities between Wimbledon and HypnoBirthing… Let me explain:

• Choosing a positive approach

The CBT therapy I trained in is philosophically stoic, it is based around the fact that you cannot always affect what happens to you, but you have freedom in life to choose the attitude you take to the things that happen. An athlete can be supremely physically prepared, but if their mind is not right then they will not perform to the best of their ability. With HypnoBirthing we recognise that we always have a choice as to whether we think positively or negatively. We learn to think, talk and feel positively about birth, this leads to an increased chance of a positive birth experience.

• Repetition, repetition, repetition

One of sports psychologist Donald MacNaughton’s laws of performance is the necessity of creating a “positive vibe”. "Success breeds success through the positive feelings and dopamine/endorphines released with victory, which mean you feel good and stronger and this transfers into how you play on the court. The cliche is that winning becomes a habit but this is also true. We want to do more of what we enjoy, so we train more and our skills improve,” he has said. 

By re-creating a positive experience in the mind, athletes gain increased confidence, improved motivation, better skill learning and reduced anxiety. Sports psychologist Heaney says positive self-talk, either thoughts or spoken out loud, can aid recovery by helping athletes develop a positive attitude towards recovery and rehabilitation; while athletes need to reduce their arousal levels through relaxation strategies and increase them through ‘psyching-up’ strategies. These, Heaney says, can include controlled breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, vigorous activity or listening to upbeat music.

Sound familar? Of course it does – that’s HypnoBirthing!

• Staying in the moment

A tennis player plays the game point by point, never dwelling on what went before and not thinking too far into the future. Similarly a birthing mother will do well to focus on one surge at a time. Here’s a great article shared by one of “my” mums recently about taking birth a wave at a time.

• Focus and minimise distractions

“When my mind’s clear, I can go on the court and play, not worry about anything else,” Murray has said.

Every player talks about focussing only on themselves, not their opponent. They’re able to blocking out the crowd when serving for the big points.

A birthing mother naturally tunes out the world around her during an undisturbed birth. Hypnobirthing teaches how to focus your attention and block out distractions. Preparing with your birthing partner means they can act as a buffer between a mother and the outside world, dealing with any questions, providing and protecting your safe space.

• Relaxed body

Alexis Castorri, a sports psychologist who has worked with both Lendl and Murray recently said: ‘The mind and body work together, so we devise a system that progressively relaxes and then sharpens the focus in preparation for competing.”

A relaxed body and focussed mind is exactly what a hypnobirthing mother develops. Whilst a lot of the “HypnoBirths” on youtube can make it look like she’s asleep, a birthing mother is focussing on her breathing, her visualisations, her affirmations, whatever helps her ride each surge whilst allowing the muscles to work in the way in which they’re designed.

• Anchoring the positive

The most common anchor you’ll see on court is the fist pump. After every point won a point a player will pump their fist, feeling the moment and anchoring the positive into the body. In our Hypnobirthing classes we discuss anchoring feelings of calmness, control and safety into your partners touch, be that holding your hand, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder or back or stroking you gently. This becomes an unconscious trigger to help a birthing mother focus and let go.

• Hydration is key

Nadal may need his water bottles to face the court end he’s playing but everyone knows how important it is to keep hydrated. Dehydrated muscles simply don’t work. The first thing to go in my ‘on call bag’ as a doula is bendy straws… They allow you to drink when in any position so if you’re lying down or flopped over your birth ball you can still keep topped up. Just remember to go to the loo regularly and keep the bladder empty so baby has a clear path when they’re ready to descend 😉

• Snacking for energy

A 5 set tennis match requires energy. Childbirth requires energy. Having a snack bag ready for both mum and birthing partner is important. Protein bars, granola bars, fruits, nuts, seeds, frozen grapes have been popular with “my” mums, I always have a jar of honey on me, just in case mum doesn’t fancy eating. 

The ONLY complaint over ever heard about a birthing partner is around them eating something noisy and smelly during labour – a woman’s senses are heightened during birth so partners, avoid pickled onion monster munch!

• Primal screams

Yes sometimes the ladies singles matches sound rather rude, there’s grunts and groans coming from the men. Similarly a birthing mother can turn to her primal self and the sounds that accompany that. Some are quiet like cats, others roar like tigers. Both are good. The important thing is that a woman feels unhibited enough to do as she feels.

• Battling yourself

There can come a point in a match when commentators will talk about a player “battling themself”. We’ve all done it, got caught up in our self talk (which is more often than not negative and unhelpful), and not performed as well as we’d like. Grounding ourselves in the moment with the breath and using affirmations means we can refocus, bring our nervous system back to balance and make calm, informed decisions if needed.

• Feeding off the crowd / coaches confidence

Players will often look to their team in the players box for encouragement. The energy from the crowd can focus a player to believe in themself. Similarly the calm confidence emanating from a mindful birthing partner helps a mother focus and believe in herself. One of the most common things I hear is “I couldn’t have done it without him”. HypnoBirthing teaches a partner how best to support a birthing mother and they have an integral role in helping their baby come into the world safely and calmly.

• Defying all the rules

Every year there’s at least one shock in the first week of Wimbledon. An unseeded player will knock out a seed, maybe even one of the top four will be knocked out! 

Similarly every Hypnobirthing teacher will have innumerable stories of women whose baby’s birth defies expectations. Two hour labours… a first time mother going from 4cms to birth in an hour, unassisted births and maybe the most common occurence I experience and yet is still surprising to a lot of people – first time parents being calm and confident at the birth of their baby; imagine that!!!!

There you go, why Wimbledon is a lot like HypnoBirthing. Anyone for strawberries?? 🙂