In a recent wide-ranging interview about motherhood, Kate Middleton opened up about her parenting style and experience with hyperemesis gravidarum during her three pregnancies. The pregnancy complication consists of severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, feeling faint and possibly dehydration, according to WebMD.
Kate admitted she wasn't "the happiest of pregnant people" due to hyperemesis gravidarum. She also added that, though he wasn't physically suffering the symptoms like she was, Prince William struggled with a sense of helplessness during his wife's illness. "You know, William didn't feel he could do much to help and it's hard for everyone to see you suffering without actually being able to do anything about it," she explained.
In order to combat severe anxiety, especially surrounding food, during her pregnancy, Kate turned to hypnobirthing during her pregnancies. "It was through hyperemesis that I really realized the power of the mind over the body because I really had to try everything," the Duchess of Cambridge explained. "I saw the power of it really, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick. And actually I realized that this was something I could take control of, I suppose, during labor. It was hugely powerful."
According to Mayo Clinic, hypnobirthing is a technique of self-hypnosis and relaxation geared at reducing fear, anxiety, and pain through a combination of breathing, meditation, visualization, positive thinking, and sometimes music. Kate explained that there are different "levels" to hypnobirthing, though she didn't go into much detail about her own personal practice. "I'm not going to say that William was standing there sort of chanting sweet nothings at me," she said. "He definitely wasn't! I didn't even ask him about it, but it was just something I wanted to do for myself."
As a result of her use of hypnobirthing during her difficult pregnancies, Kate revealed she was actually able to enjoy labor. "Actually because it had been so bad during pregnancy, I actually really quite liked labor," the Duchess said. "It was an event that I knew there was going to be an ending to."
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