Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy is effective in Labour and Pain Management

The use of hypnosis in labour and delivery as well as surgery has been practiced more than a century ago by the mesmerists, Dr. Esdaile, Dr. John Elliotson, and Dr. James Braid to name a few practitioners. Hypnosis fell out of style when inhalation anesthesia was discovered and even more so when with the advent of chemical anesthesia.

For women choosing the route of natural childbirth, hypnosis is an exceptional adjunct in allaying fears and anxiety of the unknown. The state of hypnosis naturally relaxes the muscles, allowing you to work with your body to help push your baby down the birth canal. You will be able to enjoy the arrival of your baby in a non-drowsy, alert state. Your baby will also be free of any chemical side-effects to enjoy your presence during the first few magical moments after birth.

How does hypnosis and hypnotherapy help manage pain? Hypnosis alters your perception of pain. You will still feel your contractions, however, the pain or discomfort will be very diminished and tolerable. If you should require analgesia or anesthesia due to a medical emergency or at the advice of your doctor, hypnosis can still be used as an adjunct to reduce any anxiety.

There are many advantages to using hypnosis during labour:

• Reduction or elimination of fear, tension and pain before and during labour.
• You will have control of painful uterine contractions.
• Reduction of analgesia and/or anesthesia or complete elimination in motivated and good hypnotic patients.
• Decreased shock and speedier post-operative recovery.
• Lack of undesirable post-operative effects encountered with drug anesthesia
• Shortens first stage of labour by 3 hours and by more than 2 hours in later stages
• Raises resistance to fatigue, thus minimizes exhaustion.
• No possibility of harm done to the mother or baby. Research shows that less oxygen (a factor in brain damage) is supplied to fetus when drugs are administered for pain relief.

Hypnobirthing classes can be booked anytime after the 28th week of pregnancy. You will be hypnotized on the first session so that you can experience what it feels like to be hypnotized. At the second session, you will be taught self-hypnosis, which you can master well before labour begins. If you would like the guidance of a hypnotherapist during your labour, your hypnotherapist will be available for coaching.

Dr. W. Kroger (1977) comments on the effectiveness of a group of women who used hypnosis during labour:

"It is interesting to note that, regardless of the results, all but one of the [73] patients thought that hypnosis was worthwhile and a great help during labour, and all wanted to use hypnosis again for the next delivery."