People Around Town: Kim O'Brien

Annapolis native Kim O'Brien is a true innovator in the fields of natural childbirth and parenting, with a strong following of hundreds of local families whose lives she's helped to enrich.

O'Brien, a former advertising salesperson, became the first certified HypnoBirth educator in Anne Arundel County nearly 10 years ago. HypnoBirthing is a natural method that works to alleviate the fear of childbirth pain through calming and deep relaxation techniques.

How did O'Brien go from selling radio commercials to teaching natural childbirth?

"My husband and I had just started our family and I was interested in a new career path that would also allow me to spend my days at home with my kids," said O'Brien. "We were watching Dateline and there was a segment on something called HypnoBirthing. I was fascinated and began to search locally for someone in that field but there was nothing. So, I set out to learn all that I could through classes and research."

O'Brien became certified both as a hypnotherapist as well as a HypnoBirthing practitioner. She founded Annapolis HypnoBirthing to help local expectant mothers experience natural, drug-free childbirths. She explained that the natural tendency of an expectant mother is to feel tense about the fear of birth pain. This tension causes the body to tighten during contractions and actually leads to more pain.

In contrast, hypnotherapy teaches the mother and her coach to focus on breathing and relaxation techniques that help clear the mind and calm their bodies. If you really get it right, the brain will release endorphins to counteract the pain. O'Brien said HypnoBirth mothers usually feel just slight pressure to a totally pain-free experience.

It was through her work with expectant families that O'Brien saw a need not being fulfilled and started Nesting magazine.

"I was noticing that my clients would spend a ton of time before and after each class comparing notes," explained O'Brien. "There was a need for everything to be compiled into one complete resource guide for young families so I started another company called Feather Publishing. We began Nesting magazine a few years ago when our youngest started school."

Nestingis published six times per year with 12,000 copies distributed free in medical offices, exercise and yoga studios, supermarkets, and daycare centers throughout Anne Arundel, Howard and Queen Anne's counties. The content is supplied almost exclusively by stay-at-home moms who double as freelance writers with O'Brien heading up the sales efforts.

"We have great articles that are full of good info and are fun to read too," said O'Brien. "It's great to be able to connect moms and dads with the things they need."

So, what's next for this busy mom and entrepreneur?

"We're working on a business model now to be able to franchise Nesting to other markets," said O'Brien. "I'm ecstatic to be right here, doing what I'm doing, and I'm hoping that the magazine can help parents all over."