Hypnobirthing

An introduction

Hypnobirthing - an overview
Origins
Core Beliefs
Hypnosis
Benefits
Evidence
Organisations
Related Therapies

Hypnobirthing - an overview

HypnoBirthing is a method used to assist mothers to give birth naturally, managing the experience without the use of drugs or other medical interventions. It is usually taught over a short training course to a woman during pregnancy, and uses a system of relaxation exercises and

Origins

The method is originally based on the work of British obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read, and distilled into a system often known as "The Mongan Method" by Marie "Mickey" Mongan, the founder of The HypnoBirthing institute.

Core Beliefs

HypnoBirthing relies on a few core beliefs:
- That severe pain does not have to be the natural accompaniment of child birth.
- That the fear of labour is as much the cause of pain as the process itself.
- That the process of childbirth is natural and potentially joyful.
- That the human body is well attuned after millions of years of evolution to natural child birth.

Hypnosis

Proponents of Hypnobirthing say that hypnosis is a slightly misleading term, as the the process is more a full Natural Childbirth programme. It includes relaxation exercises, visualisations, breathing exercises,

Benefits

Benefits claimed by Hypnobirthing include:
- Breathing exercises that actually help the process of giving birth (not panting or hyper-ventilation)
- The ability to relax during the process of child birth, staying calm and in control whatever else is going on around you.
- Reduced need for medication and intervention.
- reduced risk of needing an episiotomy during child birth.
- Confidence while dealing with medical staff - making your own decisions during labour.
- Techniques to introduce labour naturally when going past the estimated due date.
- The ability to release fears about the childbirth process.
- A quicker and less painful childbirth.

Evidence

Most of the evidence for hypnobirthing is anecdotal, with large number of mothers expressing delight in their child birth process, how quickly it went, how easy it was, and how they want to repeat the process. The conventional medial establishement does not yet appear to have fully endorsed hypnobirthing. Although there have been extensive discussions about the inrorporation of some kind of childbirth hypnosis programme by the British National Health Service, though no tangible evidence of this endorsement has yet appeared.