Strep B and Natural Delivery

Hypnobirthing Instructors are an interesting mix of Midwives, Doulas, Hypnotherapists and mums who have used hypnobirthing themselves. This means that when you choose your practitioner they will be much more knowledgable in certain areas. As a hypnotherapist I am able to give really deep insight into the process of hypnosis in birth and am able to do additional work with mothers on turning breech babies or managing high blood pressure for example.

However I'm not a midwife or a Doctor, and whilst I learn basic antenatal care as part of my training, I always prefer to refer medical questions back to the parents caregiver. Most of the mums who do come and see me are well instructed in natural childbirth anyway and are surprising adept at seeking out sometimes bizarre remedies for things that crop up during pregnancy.

With the Mongan Course I feel that the parents are expecting a full antenatal proramme and so often ask probing questions about the medical aspects of birth which I'm not always equipped to answer. For this purpose Mongan practitioners have the "Nest" - an online forum where they can ask questions of other practitioners all over the world which makes for fascinating stuff. Hypnotherapists give advise on he hypnotherapy aspect and midwives and Doula's give reassurance on the medical questions that arise.

Recently I had a questions on Step B come up and thrush during pregnancy. I learnt some interesting things about Strep B and Thrush - most importantly I discovered that there is research to prove that waterbirths can actually reduce the risk of infection, so I can reassure mums that they are able to have a waterbirth if they need to take antibiotics because of Strep B and provide them with medical evidence so that they can challenge their caregiver.

These are some of the natural suggestions to get rid of Strep B

• Drink lots of Aloe Vera Juice
• Drink lots of Cranberry Juice
• Eat raw or picked Garlic
• Put a clove of garlic on a piece of string or smother a tampax in raw garlic and put it in your vagina (Garlic has been shown to get rid of Strep B)

If you are going to try some of these, make sure you speak to you medical caregiver before doing so who will be able to give you advise.