What is HypnoBirthing? Does it work?
Is the excruciating birthing experience an inexorable ordeal for those intending to walk the motherhood path?
We have discovered that childbirth need not be as agonising as we have been socialised to think. Just like in other animal’s, the human body knows just what to do to bring forth a baby in the most natural, peaceful and beautiful manner.
HypnoBirthing was developed by Marie Mongan and was first described in her book, HypnoBirthing: A Celebration of Life (1989). The ideas behind this method of childbirth education started with Mongan’s own childbirth experiences.
Hypnobirthing comes from two words, hypnosis and birthing. As the words suggest, there is a massive element of self-hypnosis, in labour and childbirth.
This involves training the mind to believe that a woman’s body has the ability to bring a baby into the world in a calm and gentle manner without the need for any pain relief or medical interventions.
This is not to say that hypnobirthing equates to painless birthing, but in consideration of the psychological and physical wellbeing of the mother, newborn and birth partner, a hypnobirthing course prepares the mother to accept and embrace whatever childbirth brings in a confident and empowered manner and of course, every birthing parent is different, and if special circumstances arise, they may well lead to pain (which is the body’s way of alerting you to the fact that there is something wrong). In the words of the founder, Marie Mongan: “We do not promise a pain-free or painless birth. We say easier, shorter, more comfortable. But there are many, many who do birth painlessly. I was one of them. I never felt a smidgen of pain.”
Hypnobirthing courses places emphasis on special breathing, relaxation, visualisations, meditative practice, nutrition and positive body toning.
When using HypnoBirthing techniques, you will experience birthing in an atmosphere of calm relaxation, free of the fear that prevents the muscles of your body from functioning as nature intended them to. In this calm state, your body’s natural relaxant, endorphins, replaces the stress hormones that constrict and cause pain.
Based on the work of a British obstetrician called Dr Grantly Dick-Read who, after witnessing three painless childbirths, came to realise the huge role that fear plays in birth. The fear-tension-pain syndrome was discovered! When you understand how to activate your parasympathetic nervous system and deactivate your sympathetic nervous system, your labour and birthing journey is made easier. Through a well-thought-out programme of deep relaxation, special breathing techniques, visualisations, affirmations, and education, HypnoBirthing prepares a birthing couple – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – for an easier, more comfortable birth.
