Frequently asked questions

Hypnobirthing is a practical method using relaxation, breathing, and visualization techniques that help you approach birth as calmly as possible. It's not a new-agey trick, but grounded in how your nervous system works during labor.

Most couples start between weeks 20 and 30 of pregnancy, leaving enough time to practice before the due date. Further along? Get in touch, an adapted program is often still possible.

We'd love that, but it's not required. The course is specifically designed to prepare you together, including your partner's role during birth. Prefer to come alone or with someone else who supports you? That's fine too.

Yes. The techniques are useful in any setting, at home, in the hospital, during a spontaneous birth, or a planned procedure. It's mainly about a sense of calm and control, whatever the birth looks like.

You learn relaxation, breathing and visualisation techniques, and you gain insight into what happens in your body during birth. We also practise positions, the role of your partner, and making choices at the moment something is suggested. You go home with workbooks and recorded meditations to practise with.

A regular antenatal course focuses mainly on information: what happens and what to expect. With hypnobirthing you get that information too, but you also practise actively with relaxation and breathing, and with how to use them when things get tense. Your partner learns what he or she can concretely do.

Especially then. Fear makes your body tense, and tension makes a birth harder. In the course we look at where that fear comes from and you practise techniques to bring your nervous system to rest. I do not promise the fear will disappear, but you will have something to work with.

Yes, and it happens regularly. We then take plenty of time for what happened last time, because it is often still in your body. A private course is sometimes more comfortable for that than a group. If you notice more is needed than a course, I am glad to think along about where to turn.

No. Hypnobirthing is about relaxing and about making choices, not about a particular outcome. The techniques work just as well with an induction, an epidural or a caesarean. A birth that goes differently than hoped is not a failure, and your preparation has not been for nothing.

Yes. With an induction, an epidural or continuous monitoring, breathing and relaxation keep helping you, perhaps even more than otherwise. You also learn to ask questions about what is suggested, so you understand what is happening and can take part in the decision.

Then you choose it, and that is fine. Pain relief is not a failure, and hypnobirthing is no promise that you will do without. What you have learned stays useful: breathing helps while an epidural is placed, and relaxing still helps afterwards.

The group course has a maximum of 7 couples, so there's enough space and attention for everyone.

Regular courses are in Dutch. Once a quarter we run the English-language PUUR Zwanger Birth Course, and a private course in English is available on request. From 2027 the Birth Course costs € 335 per couple, including a vegetarian lunch, from 10:30 to 16:30.

A group course runs with a minimum of 3 registrations. You'll hear no later than two weeks in advance whether it's confirmed. If it doesn't run, you'll get a full refund or can move free of charge to another date.

We'll look for a suitable solution together, such as a 1-on-1 catch-up session or joining a future course. See also our terms and conditions.

Far more than watch. Your partner learns how to help you relax, which touch and words work, how to keep the room calm, and when it is right to ask the midwife something. That also gives your partner something to do at moments that otherwise feel powerless.

Yes. That is possible in the group and in a private course. You can also bring someone else who will be at the birth: your mother, a friend, your sister. Whoever will stand beside you is welcome.

If you want time between sessions to practise, the group course of four Tuesday evenings fits well. If you prefer to go through it in one go, the one-day or two-day course is nicer. If you would rather not be in a group, or there is something you want to take your time over, the private course suits better. If you are unsure, just send a message.

In Utrecht at Heppienest on the Maliebaan, right in the city centre, and in Bilthoven at MIKA Yoga & Coffee on Emmaplein, a minute's walk from the station. The private course can also take place at your home.

The group course (4 evenings) and the 2-day course cost €375, the 1-day course costs €335 including lunch (courses in 2026 are still €310), and the private course €549. Check current rates and dates on the courses page.

An increasing number of supplementary insurance plans cover part of a pregnancy course. Check with your own insurer beforehand, conditions vary by policy.

Via the 'Register' button next to your chosen course on the courses page. You'll receive a confirmation with further details afterward.

Yes. The conditions for this, including any costs, are described in our terms and conditions.