Shadowing Practice: Why birth doesn't have to be painful || Hypnobirthing - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hi, I'm Siobhan Miller.
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Hi, I'm Siobhan Miller.
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I'm the founder of the Positive Birth Company.
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I'm a hypnobirthing teacher and mum of three and I am on a mission to make hypnobirthing more accessible for everyone.
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Today I am here to tell you that birth doesn't need to be painful.
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So pain, what is pain?
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Pain is a message to your brain to say something's wrong and it needs to stop.
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So if you might have broken your leg or burnt your hand
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or there might be a stone in your in your shoe,
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you're going to to get a message to your brain to say something's wrong this hurts
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and it needs to stop now if you're in labor
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and your muscles are doing this and you're in labor
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and you're birthing your baby why would there be a message to your brain to say this needs to stop
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because that would be completely counterproductive we need to birth our baby
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so it would be completely unhelpful
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if the message our brain was getting was this is painful
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and needs to stop it's not designed to be that way
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Labor is fueled by a hormone called oxytocin and that is our feel-good hormone.
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So labor is designed on a chemical hormonal level to feel good and our muscles are designed to do their job perfectly.
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And the reason why women experience pain,
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because they do, a lot of them do say labor was painful and they're not lying,
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is because something was going wrong and the brain was getting that message.
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Now what commonly can happen is the uterus muscles,
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which like any muscles in the body,
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require a blood supply and lots of oxygen to be able to do their job.
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If that blood supply gets reduced the muscles are going to start to struggle.
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Now I just want you to put your arms straight up in the air for a minute,
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straight up in the air and I want you to clench and unclench your hands,
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just pretend that hand now is the uterus muscle
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so that's doing its job and it's surging away
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and I want you to just try and do that for just for some time maybe a minute.
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Very soon that's going to become more and more painful.
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At first it's easy but very quickly it's going to start to become painful your hand's going to slow down.
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The reason for that, keep going,
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the reason for that is that the blood is draining from your arm because obviously you're going against gravity,
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the blood carries the oxygen so there's less oxygen getting to the hand
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and without the oxygen the muscles are finding this is difficult.
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So around about now you're going to start to feel it aching,
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your brain is getting that message
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that something's wrong the hand is basically crying out for oxygen
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and within one minute that's all it takes is you can feel a noticeable difference it's really uncomfortable
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so now apply that to your uterus muscles when they're doing their job
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if they haven't got enough oxygen they're going to start to struggle
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and they're going to start to do this
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and it's going to start to hurt
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and the brain is getting a message saying this is painful
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and needs to stop because I don't have enough oxygen here
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so if you can ensure that you're relaxed and all the blood will go to the uterus and you're breathing,
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you're using a lovely breathing technique,
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you're bringing all that oxygen in and it's being sent to the uterus muscles,
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they will work as they're designed to.
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They will work like this,
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nice and smoothly, it will be muscles working out so it can be quite intense but it doesn't need to be painful.
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There is a difference between exercising and working out and knowing
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that you're working at full capacity and something being painful and knowing that that's wrong and needs to stop.
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Labour should fit into the first camp.
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Labour is your muscles working out,
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it can be quite tiring,
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it can be quite intense but it doesn't need to be painful.
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If you like this video please don't forget to hit subscribe and check out the rest of my channel.
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If you're interested in hypnobirthing classes then please visit www.thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk I'll link to it below
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and you can also get a free Positive Affirmations mp3 to download on the website.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by engaging with the transcript of a YouTube video titled "Why birth doesn't have to be painful || Hypnobirthing." This video discusses the concept of pain during labor, emphasizing that understanding the physiological aspects can help alleviate fear and discomfort. By focusing on key vocabulary and phrases from the transcript, you will enhance your listening comprehension and improve English pronunciation, enabling you to articulate these complex ideas in your own words. This lesson is designed to deepen your grasp of conversational English while providing practical insights into the experience of childbirth.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Pain: A physical sensation that signals to the brain that something is wrong.
  • Oxytocin: A hormone responsible for feelings of pleasure and is crucial during labor and childbirth.
  • Uterus: The female reproductive organ where a baby develops during pregnancy.
  • Blood supply: The circulation of blood that provides oxygen to the muscles.
  • Relaxed: A state free from tension or anxiety, which is essential during labor.
  • Breathing technique: Specific ways of controlling breath to promote relaxation and oxygen delivery.
  • Surge: To increase suddenly, often used in the context of contractions during labor.
  • Muscle function: The ability of muscles to work effectively, crucial for laboring women.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning from this video, consider using the shadowspeak technique. This method involves listening closely to the speaker and mimicking their words in real-time. The speaker in this video maintains a calm and reassuring tone, which is important for conveying the message of a positive birthing experience. Begin by watching the video without attempting to speak along, allowing yourself to absorb the content first. Once you're familiar with the material, play the video again and practice shadowing the speaker.

Start with short segments to avoid feeling overwhelmed, and gradually increase the length as you grow more comfortable. Pay attention to the rhythm and intonation of the speaker, as these elements are vital for effective English speaking practice. This will not only help you improve English pronunciation but will also enhance your ability to express complex ideas confidently. Remember, the key is repetition—the more you practice, the more natural it will feel to articulate your thoughts.

Using this engaging approach helps you learn English with YouTube effectively while gaining valuable insights into childbirth and labor. Happy practicing!

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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