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When Anna Wall realized she was in labor with her son Luke, the 29-year-old first-time mom in Austin, Texas focused her breathing until she had hypnotized herself into a state of deep relaxation. Her eyes closed, she remained in deep hypnosis until delivering her baby 10 hours later.

Wall says even the last 45 minutes of vaginally delivering her 9 1/2-pound baby involved no screaming or pushing. "I kept breathing deeply and just felt my body move the baby down. And then he literally slid out," she recalls.

She credits her calm, unmedicated childbirth to hypnobirthing, the increasingly popular mind-body technique among parents seeking a natural birthing experience with more patient control and less pain than existing methods.

Publicized by celebrity moms like Jessica Alba and Tiffani Thiessen, self-hypnosis in childbirth has been around for centuries, according to experts. However, only in the last three decades have classes begun to develop under different programs such as "HypnoBirthing - The Mongan Method," "Hypnobabies," "The Leclaire Hypnobirthing Method," and "Hypbirth."

Fear during labor activates our primal fight-or-flight mechanism, causing stress hormones called catecholamines to slow down digestion, make the heart speed up, force blood to the arms and legs, and ultimately deplete blood flow to the uterus, creating uterine pain and hindering the labor process.

According to Mongan, who is a hypnotherapist and hypnoanesthesiologist, it is physically impossible for the body to be relaxed and in fight-or-flight mode. By replacing fear with relaxation, a different set of chemicals come into play: oxytocin, labor hormones called prostaglandins, and endorphins combine to relax the muscles and create a sense of comfort.

With the help of a course book and hypnosis CDs, Wall and her husband learned breathing and visualization techniques. She was taught to envision an easy birth, with her cervix opening wide, allowing the baby to come out effortlessly.

Every day, they practiced affirmations like, "I relax and my baby relaxes," and "My baby is the perfect size for my body." Her husband later repeated those key phrases to her as he coached her during labor.

"Hypnobabies" trains mothers to self-hypnotize with their eyes completely open during the process, says Carol Thorpe, one of its hypnotherapist doulas. Thorpe says the course also provides comprehensive childbirth training beyond self-hypnosis.

"There's something that's gentler that is not there with the Bradley method," she says. "It's harder to watch Bradley patients, knowing that their pain management is not as effective," says Weihs, a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Nurse-midwife Megan Sapp, CNM, FNP, says her Maryland-based practice sees about 40% of patients using hypnobirthing, another 40% using the Bradley method, and the rest using other methods including Lamaze, meditative calm birthing, Birthing from Within, and more.

Regardless of the specific hypnobirthing program, there is always the possibility that things don't go as planned during labor, says David Keefe, MD, professor and chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University's Langone Medical Center.

"It's very safe," he says. "However, the key to a successful natural childbirth is having the attitude that you're doing this for yourself, not to please anyone else, and if you can't continue with it for whatever reason, there is nothing wrong with quitting," says Keefe, who is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Keefe says that expectant moms using hypnobirthing should choose a doctor who fully supports the method, and he recommends the delivery take place in a hospital with rapid access to emergency C-section facilities and a neonatal care unit in case of complications.

"This was by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," says Wall, who admits she did feel intense pain during childbirth, though it was not sharp. "But my experience was perfect. People see my son at the grocery store and say what a peaceful baby he is, and I feel hypnobirthing contributed that to him."

You know having a baby will be life-changing, so you might be preparing yourself by attending classes and Googling just about everything to do with childbirth. You might also be thinking about alternative pain relief methods and labour techniques, like hypnobirthing.

This preparation tries to give pregnant women a positive view of birth and the belief that childbirth does not have to be painful. The aim is a shorter, more comfortable, easier labour, with less need for intervention or pain relief (Madden et al, 2016).

Women's experience of labour pain can vary in intensity; but fear, tension and anxiety can worsen it (Catsaros, 2020; RCM 2014) and the mental and physical activities practised through hypnobirthing can lessen this.

It improved women's emotional experience and outlook towards birth with less anxiety, increased satisfaction, fewer birth interventions, more postnatal wellbeing and a better childbirth experience overall (Catsaros, 2020). Other research has found that self-hypnosis promoted 'feelings of calmness, confidence and empowerment (Finlayson et al, 2015).'

Practitioners say hypnobirthing can create an altered state of conscious awareness (Madden et al, 2016). Hypnobirthing involves learning techniques that you can use in preparation for and during labour like:

A common misconception about hypnobirthing is that women lose control of their thoughts and actions in a hypnotic state. In fact, women who learn hypnobirthing use it to be less aware of external stimuli. They also learn to have a more focused attention and responsiveness to verbal or non-verbal suggestions. The idea is that these suggestions might make her feel safer, more relaxed and comfortable, and give her some relief from her pain (Madden et al, 2016).

So women who use self-hypnosis during labour are fully in control and aware of what is happening to them and to those around them. What hypnobirthing actually aims to do is help a woman focus and enhance her birthing experience.

All of our articles have been thoroughly researched and are based on the latest evidence from reputable and robust sources. We create our articles with NCT antenatal teachers, postnatal leaders and breastfeeding counsellors, as well as academics and representatives from relevant organisations and charities.

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I saw the power of it, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick, and actually I realised that this was something I could take control of during labour.

Hypnobirthing aims to reduce fear, pain and anxiety during childbirth. It involves learning calm breathing techniques, some deep relaxation, guided mediation, visualisation, positive suggestions and affirmations.

Historically, women have been supported and comforted by other women during labour and birth, including in traditional Aboriginal birthing practices. Women would support other women by performing special songs, chants and rituals to ease the birthing process and make the woman feel safe and calm.

Other strategies women can also use alongside hypnobirthing include having a continuous support person for labour and undergoing combined complementary therapies, such as yoga, acupressure and learning breathing techniques, in preparation for birth.

A 2016 Cochrane review examined the effectiveness and safety of hypnosis for pain management in labour and birth. The review examined nine studies of varying quality which included just under 3,000 women.

Hypnobabies is a method of hypnobirthing and childbirth preparation that teaches medical-grade hypnosis techniques, imagery and visualization to re-train the inner mind. Hypnosis in childbirth helps to lessen or eliminate discomfort and fear from the birthing experience. With adequate preparation, and in the absence of complications, our Hypno-students can experience calmer, more comfortable, shorter and easier births.

Home Study Course is a 6-week childbirth hypnosis course. This means that it takes 6 full weeks to learn and practice the medical-grade hypnobirthing techniques. We recommend starting a course at 28- 30 weeks in your pregnancy.

I used Hypnobabies in my second birth, and it was truly the reason that I achieved the birth that I wanted. I am excited to share this tool with people who want to approach their birth with intention and trust.

British obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read first wrote about this tension back in 1944 in his book Childbirth Without Fear6 . He believed there was a connection between fear and pain, and that promoting calm confidence was key to a more gentle and positive birthing experience.

Another important technique in hypnobirthing is practicing self-hypnosis to foster a calm, tranquil environment before bedtime. This involves repeating self-affirmations as a way of rewriting your subconscious beliefs about birth. Expectant moms can also work with a certified hypnotherapist or take classes 7 to learn these skills since they can take weeks or months to master.

No matter whether things go according to plan or not during your labor and delivery, hypnobirthing is a way to help you concentrate entirely on your body and your baby and to have an experience that feels joyful, sweet, and empowering.

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