[photo credit: http://www.birthwithoutfearblog.com ]
It’s always amazing to me how quickly something is pushed into the limelight when someone famous talks about it. Kate Middleton is considering a hypnobirth. It’s allllll over the news, and suddenly hundreds of thousands of news sources are talking about hypnobirthing. Which is really pretty awesome, if you think about it. Most of the images of birth we see are of screaming women begging for epidurals (ahem…which was me during my birth…) while people rush around frantically to catch a baby that is about to come flying out. It is great that the image of something a little more natural and peaceful is now taking the lead, at least temporarily.
So, what exactly IS hypnobirthing?
Well, it has nothing to do with a pocket watch dangling in front of your face, I can tell you that much.
“HypnoBirthing is a childbirth method that focuses on preparing parents for gentle birth. In HypnoBirthing classes, you will learn proven techniques in a well-thought-out program of deep relaxation, visualization, and self-hypnosis,” according to hypnobirthing.com. Women who choose hypnobirthing practice throughout their pregnancy by listening to tracks whose aim is to help them get into a deep relaxation. The tracks use calming music and sounds, and repetitive vocalizations to help the laboring woman go inside of herself to focus on labor and delivery. Women are not unconscious, and in fact train themselves to be able to go in and out of their hypnotic state at will, as they need to.
Like any coping mechanisms a woman might employ during labor, hypnobirthing does NOT mean she will have a painless labor and delivery. Some women do report having a less painful delivery, or one that they are more easily able to handle, but deep relaxation alone will not take away all of the discomfort of childbirth.
Hypnobirthing also doesn’t promise that you will have an intervention-free delivery. In fact, hypnobirthing techniques can be used while getting an epidural, or even having a cesarean delivery. The practices can help a woman feel more in control of a situation in which many women would feel very out of control.
What are the benefits of hypnobirthing? There are quite a few, but the biggest one that most websites tout is the elimination of the fear/tension/pain syndrome, which makes sense. Basically, when we experience fear, we tense up, and pain gets worse. Think about when you get a shot, for example. You know it’s coming, you tense up your arm, and it hurts ten times more than if you relax and keep your muscle soft. If women tense up during labor, contractions feel worse, and are harder to handle. We tense up when we’re afraid, so if we can prevent the fear of childbirth and the fear of contractions, we can help ease the pain of labor and delivery. Another benefit is the reduction in anesthetic or narcotic pain relief. The majority of women who use hypnobirthing report feeling more in control and less pain, and so fewer women ask for medical pain relief. If this is something you’re hoping for in your labor and delivery, you might want to give hypnobirthing a try!
There are a few different ways a mom and her partner can learn about and practice hypnobirthing. The most hands-on way is through taking a class. There are hypnobirthing practitioners all over the world! The most popular hypnobirthing classes are from HypnoBabies. If a class isn’t your thing, though, you can also buy the CDs and practice on your own. In fact, if you join their website, you can download two of their Mp3 tracks for free to try out before you purchase the bundle (yay for free stuff!).
If Kate actually does decide to go for a hypno-water-birth like she says she is considering (Go Kate!), I’m sure we’ll hear even more about it in the months to come.
Have you ever tried hypnobirthing? What was your experience?
The Water Cooler 