Hypnobirthing: Hypnosis to ease labor pain in women

“We believe that every woman has within her the power to call upon her natural instincts to bring about the best possible birthing for her baby and herself.”

-Marie F. Mongan

Recently, I participated in a psychology exhibition where I was assigned to explain about Hypnobirthing to college students. The students who visited were all from non-psychological background, and for most of them the only reaction after listening to my explanation was that of awe! They just couldn’t believe it! And this can be generalized to a majority of people living in India.  I wrote this post to create a little awareness about Hypnobirthing among my Indian readers with a hope that you'll share this awareness with others and help in popularizing this as an effective alternative of conventional epidurals.

Hypnosis typically involves pushing an individual into altered states of consciousness to bring about desirable changes in psycho-physical system. Natal hypnotherapy (or hypnobirthing) is an application of Hypnosis wherein deep relaxation and the power of subliminal suggestion is used to help the mother cope with the fear, anxiety, physical pain that’s always the part of pregnancy climax. A large number of women in the west are now turning to hypnosis to ease the pain of labor, alleviate stress, and cope up with the post-traumatic episodes of childbirth.

While there are so many researches out there that attest the benefits of hypnosis for childbirth, many people seem to be quite skeptical of using it. The name ‘Hypnosis’ invokes a mental imagery of a psychic performer swinging a pendulum before you, asking you to concentrate on it and telling that you’re getting sleepy. Rumors fly that people undergoing hypnosis become so vulnerable to subliminal suggestions that they perform embarrassing acts in front of a large number of people upon suggestion without even being aware of it. While those things does happen in stage hypnosis (with a little bit of exaggeration of course), they’re inclined towards entertaining audience; the real therapeutic hypnosis is nothing like that. In natal hypnotherapy, women are taught to hypnotize themselves through deep breathing, visualization, and affirmations, and use it to ease their pain and anxiety during birthing themselves.

According to the Hypnotherapist Melanie Jade, “Hypnosis is a wonderful tool for childbirth. There are different options of putting it to use, but one that is very popular involves using hypnoanesthesia. Instead of traditional anesthesia, you use the power of your mind to numb parts of your body so you don't experience pain. It takes several sessions because you learn how to do it yourself during the delivery.”

There are many methods used to induce trance in hypnobirthing, among which a method called ‘Mongan Method’ is considered to be the most effective. According to the website hypnobirthing.com, the Mongan method is a simple, straightforward program, thoughtfully developed over the years to remind mothers of the simplicity of birth itself. The advantage of Mongan method is that the birthing women do not need interventions and procedures in the form of a complex set of exercises and scripts to prepare themselves for comfortable birthing. By working on a few simple techniques, mothers are able to train their minds and prepare for an easy vaginal delivery.