The Hypnobirthing Podcast

Claire Fulton is a qualified doula, hypnobirthing teacher, and author who runs The Nurture Nest. Her podcast has been named the number one hypnobirthing podcast by Mother & Baby magazine, and with over 2 million downloads worldwide, the audience agrees. The show focuses squarely on hypnobirthing techniques and building a positive mindset around birth. Each episode features either an educational segment where Claire explains a hypnobirthing concept in practical terms, or an interview with a parent sharing their positive birth story. Claire's interview style is notable for how little she interrupts -- she asks a question, then genuinely listens, letting the storyteller guide the narrative. Guests describe home births, water births, hospital births, and cesarean births, all through the lens of staying calm and feeling in control. The show also includes guided meditations and relaxation exercises designed for use during pregnancy and labor. These are popular with listeners, though some have noted that advertisements can interrupt the flow of meditations and birth stories without warning, which is worth knowing if you plan to use them during actual relaxation practice. Claire is UK-based, so there's a British perspective on maternity care that provides a useful contrast if you're mostly familiar with the American system. The practical techniques she teaches -- breathing exercises, visualization, understanding the fear-tension-pain cycle -- are applicable regardless of where you're giving birth or what kind of birth you're planning. If the idea of approaching labor with calm confidence appeals to you more than anxious over-preparation, this podcast is built exactly for that mindset.