Giving birth is one of those moments in life when you wish you had a remote control with a fast-forward button you could press to pass through the painful bit, and then pause the scene when you’re holding your baby for the first time.
Hypnobirthing is possibly the closest we can get to this, because it takes away some of the fear of pain associated with childbirth and puts you in a relaxed frame of mind.
Simone Burke, 35, is an Australian who leads a hypnobirthing course for pregnant mums and their partners at Bodytree Studio in Abu Dhabi, over four two-and-a-half hour sessions.
“Hypnosis,” says Burke, “is a state we’re all in twice a day, right before we fall asleep and before we wake up. We need to recreate a similar quiet space in a hospital so our bodies feel comfortable, and practising relaxation exercises twice a day can help attain that state of mind.
“In the ‘upstage’ of labour, during contractions, visualise images such as the sun going higher over the horizon, or a brightly coloured hot-air balloon rising into the sky. In the downstage, think of ripples on a pond.”
The whole package
Besides relaxation techniques, the course provides information on the medical process of birthing, allowing parents to make informed choices about medication or methods of intervention during labour, and the risks, side effects and benefits. Parents are also encouraged to analyse what their greatest fears are and there is a talk on breastfeeding. And also those whose extended families are not here to help, it offers the opportunity to form new support networks with other soon-to-be parents.
Involving the fathers
Burke says she was first inspired to try hypnobirthing by her sister-in law: “She was in such a calm state of hypnosis during labour that her husband panicked and thought she’d fallen asleep.”
But the best thing about Burke’s own hypnobirthing experience, she says, was her husband’s presence. “Having the father there is such an important part of birthing. Mothers usually are not in a condition to be discussing medical terms and that’s where the father can really step up and take on that role. And, on the course, the men are the ones loving it because their wives are so calm and happy.”
The five husbands who attended one of the courses say they were initially dragged there by their wives. Matthew Dalby, 32, a British engineer who attended a course in October, was invited along to the next one to offer them his perspective of the experience.
“As a man, I was reserved on the course at first,” says Dalby. “I didn’t think I needed to be that prepared. The course turned out to be really helpful, it taught us options we wouldn’t have otherwise known we had.”
Fear no more
One of the expectant mothers on the course was Alice Carthy, 38, who at the time was 23 weeks pregnant with twins. She turned to hypnobirthing to alleviate her fears about going through the birth without her family there to support her.
“I don’t feel as scared anymore,” said Carthy. “In yesterday’s session, a doula gave us breastfeeding advice. It reassures me to know I can call her up if I’m experiencing problems later.”
Tips for expecting parents: don’t listen to other people’s negative birth stories. Also, do not watch reality TV shows about childbirth, she says. “That’s just Hollywood drama – finding the worst-case scenarios to get ratings,” says Burke, pointing out that only 10 per cent of women need medical help during delivery.
• The next hypnobirthing course at Bodytree Studio is on Friday and Saturday, and then December 19-20. From 9.30am to 12pm. For more information, visit www.bodytreestudio.com
artslife@thenational.ae
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
EMILY IN PARIS: SEASON 3
Created by: Darren Star
Starring: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park
Rating: 2.75/5
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
