Learning to birth with hypnosis—especially for first time moms—means learning to birth without fear and pain. The first goal in the process is to overcome the fear of childbirth that has been embedded in each woman's consciousness, a natural consequence of cultural conditioning. Probably from before a woman has even thought about having a child or becoming pregnant she has been taught to believe that childbirth will be the most painful experience of her life. This is what we call being negatively hypnotized. This is not to say that giving birth is easy, it certainly is not—it probably will be the hardest work a woman will ever have to do with one of the most sensitive parts of her body—that is why it is called “labor.” However, it can also be one of the most fulfilling, wonderful and ecstatic events in a woman’s life, one that can impact many aspects of her life for years to come. How a woman gives birth can have a powerful effect on many aspects of her sense of self, her feelings of self confidence and personal power, her feelings toward her body and new born; and her feelings toward her sexuality as well as the resumption of her sexual life with her partner.

Learning to birth with hypnosis can do more than just teach a mom to approach labor without fear. It also teaches her to relax and divert her attention away from each contraction. There are many false impressions around birthing with hypnosis because of the numerous commonly held misconceptions that exist about hypnosis itself. As a practitioner and teacher of the hypnotic process, I know from personal experience that many people who could benefit from the technique stay away from it because they do not understanding how hypnosis really works. Hypnosis is a heightened state of focused concentration. It is a natural cognitive function and something we experience every day when our attention is so completely absorbed on one thing that we are able block out all other distractions. It does not have anything to do with one person having power over another, which is the most common misunderstanding of hypnosis. Rather, the technique enables the person using hypnosis to have more power over his or her own body or behavior since all hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis. It is a tool, taught by the hypnotist to the client that inherently empowers the individual using it. When used in childbirth it enables the laboring mother not only to relax her body but also to determine what she would like to feel with each and every contraction, which I will refer to as a “surge.” For example, instead of tensing her body with the onset of each new surge she relaxes her body and experiences it as a sensation that she has chosen and has previously rehearsed in self-hypnosis training. She may wish to experience a surge as a sensation of pressure, or a pulling up or stretching, but not pain. In addition, when using hypnosis, time can be condensed. Moms that birth with hypnosis, are trained to experience each new surge as lasting no longer that 15 or 20 seconds.

Hypnosis is an active, conscious and mindful process, one that can be learned with training and practice. Through this process the expectant mom learns to over come long held fears that have become a part of her consciousness and that are reinforced daily by the comments of well-meaning friends and family. These comments help to maintain the negative hypnotic spell that fuels the worry. After the learning the “fear release technique” the mother is asked not to listen to any more negative stories, stopping however politely or impolitely, the next negative birthing story that comes her way. She and her partner are given the opportunity to incorporate the fear release technique into there at home practice.

One of the most central components of learning to birth with hypnosis is that it strives to raise your consciousness in a positive way about what you are about to experience. To empower the birthing mother and her partner through knowledge and thus enable them to make choices about what they would like this experience to be. To accomplish this, information is provided to help make knowledgeable choices about where and how this very personal event will take place. The hospital, birthing center and caregiver will have their own agenda and it has become more and more important in today’s controversial birthing climate for a mother and her partner to be aware of that agenda and to have carefully prepared one of their own. A necessary part of a positive birthing experience and one in which self-hypnosis will thrive is to have control over the birthing environment such that it provides for a sense of peace and safety. As such, part of training to use self-hypnosis in birthing is to help the expectant mom and her partner to prepare a “birthing plan” that can be discussed with the caregiver in order to secure an environment that will enhance this process. As a resource to help our class participants prepare their “birthing plan” we rely heavily on the information provided us through the Maternity Center Association, an organization that has been devoted to helping women make informed decisions about pregnancy, labor and birth for over 100 years. 2

This substantiated by Sears, William, M.D. & Sears, Martha, R.N., The Birth Book, Everything you Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth, see, The Sexuality of Birth, pg 149.

2 (See Your Guide To Safe and Effective Care During Labor and Birth, Maternity Center Association, 281 Park Avenue South, 5th floor, NY, NY 10010, Website: www.maternitywise.org. Email: info@maternitywise.org

Articles on HypnoBirthing and Natural Childbirth:

Research on Effects of HypnoBirthing on Labor & Delivery

Overcome the Fear and Pain of Childbirth Using Hypnosis

How to avoid Episiotomy

Potential Risks of Epidurals

What you should know about Cesarean section