Hypnobirthing was developed in the United States in 1989 by master hypnotherapist Marie Mongan, who based her work largely on the teachings of the 20th century obstetrician Dr. Grantly Dick-Reid. The premise of hypnobirthing is that fear creates tension, and tension leads to the pain that women experience during labor. The goal is to eliminate the fear, and thus, the tension and pain.
Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis does not have to involve a stage performer swinging a pendulum before a group of volunteers. Hypnosis is actually just a very deep state of relaxation, which most people experience at some point every day: when they are daydreaming, driving on auto-pilot, or in the moments just before falling asleep. Hypnobirthing teaches mothers to enter this state of meditation and focused concentration, as and when they desire, including during labor and birth. It is this state that allows women to overcome the fear they may associate with childbirth.
Hypnobirthing techniques have been linked to lower C-section rates, shorter labors, fewer episiotomies, lower rates of chemical inductions, and a reduced need for drugs and other interventions. Women report greater levels of confidence going into their births and greater levels of satisfaction with the experience with lower rates of post-natal depression. And of course, calm and happy mothers, mean calm and happy babies.
Hypnobirthing goes hand-in-hand with care from a doctor and a hospital delivery, or care from a midwife and an at-home birth. It aims to foster mutual respect between the birthing family and their health-care provider. Doctors and families are regarded as a team, with the common goal of creating not only healthy mothers and babies, but also happy families.
However, for a growing number of women, hypnobirthing is transforming the birth experience. A relatively new technique hypnobirthing involves self-hypnosis, guided imagery and special breathing techniques to combat fear and pain during labour. In the guided sessions, women learn to trust that their bodies know how to bring their babies into the world in the calm and gentle way that nature intended.
Hypnobirthing is not a new phenomenon. The practice is based on the research of British obstetrician Dr Grantley Dick-Reid, who published the book Childbirth Without Fear in 1933. An advocate for natural childbirth, he believed that when a woman is worried or scared during labour, blood and oxygen is diverted away from the uterus, causing tension and pain. But when a woman remains calm and relaxed, the uterine muscles will avoid tension, allowing the body to produce oxytocin and endorphins, which are a natural pain reliever.
Leading US hypnotherapist Marie Mongan later took this theory and created an antenatal education programme based on self-hypnosis, the aim of which was maximum relaxation during labour and delivery. Breathing exercises have long been part of antenatal classes. Hypnobirthing takes this and adds relaxation, visualisation and mindfulness techniques to put the mother in control of what is happening to her body during childbirth.
Essentially, hypnobirthing is like meditating while in labour. It combines deep breathing, relaxation, positive thoughts and upbeat language, as well as visualisation techniques to make the mother feel confident and, ultimately, making the birthing process easier.
The thought uppermost in the minds of most pregnant mothers is usually childbirth. A lot of mothers have trouble deciding whether to go in for a natural childbirth or to take the simpler route and have themselves medicated throughout the most painful parts of the birth of their child.
Regardless of whichever option that a mother decides is the best for herself and her child, every mother must consider preparing their minds and bodies for something that is called Hypnobirth. There are a lot of questions that usually go on in the minds of a pregnant mother. Thoughts such as: So what exactly is a hypnobirth; how it is done; would this be the correct plan for me and my baby; will a hypnobirth eliminate the need for pain medications. We will attempt to answer a few of these questions with the help of this article.
Let us start with saying that Hypnobirthing is the natural reenactment of a method that has been used for thousands of years by our ancestors. According to this method, if one correctly trains the mind and and the body to let go of all the fears, stresses and tensions during childbirth, then a woman can experience a birthing experience that is free of pain and discomfort. By not focusing on the pain and discomfort side of things, mothers will be able to fully focus on bringing the life inside of them into the outside world.
For this method to work, pregnant mothers will have to take the time to learn about their bodies. During Hypnobirthing, mothers will be able to make the time to learn about their bodies apart from learning to make use of all the muscles of her body that are in use during the birthing process. The body is more in harmony when your body is in a more serene and relaxed state of mind. Hypnobirthing can teach mothers how to attain this relaxed state of mind, letting your maternal instincts take over for a birthing experience that is far more comfortable. Hypnotherapy does not mean that there will be some person who will be hynotizing you with a pendulum something! Actually you will be in a self-induced trance which will feel in some ways similar to a day dream. The trance-like state will help you to focus more clearly on your baby. Your body will be completely responsive and you will feel light, comfortable and relaxed. You will also be able to feel and understand what is going on within your body but since you have trained your mind to overcome the pain, you will only feel no more than a little bit of contractions.
A word of caution though: Although Hypnobirthing may sound like a first class birth plan to many expectant mothers who may be reading this article, it may not be the best birthing plan for you. To know for sure whether Hynobirthing is right for you, please discuss your thoughts first with your doctor. Every pregnancy is different and and the safest outcome for you and your baby may be Hypnobirth or maybe a different type of birthing plan.
After you are sure that you want to try out Hypnobirthing, the next step should be to find a hypnobirthing class that is close to you. Or you could consider hiring a hypnobirthing teacher. The most important aspect is to ensure that the person under whom you will be training has been certified by the Hypnobirthing Institute and possesses an authentic Hypnobirthing certificate. There are many Hypnobirthing teachers in Mumbai and Wellintra fitness has some of the best hypnobirthing teachers in Mumbai.
There are lots of new and interesting stuff that you and your birthing partner will be learning once you start the course. There are five Hypnobirthing classes that last for 2.5 hrs each session. The most common questions that may pop in your mind right now is: What exactly goes on in these classes? Is it only meditation that you focus on in order to induce the trance-like state that you can induce during birth? Do the classes focus on you and your baby too?
To begin with, the child birthing class will show you many things that you need to know. Apart from being able to put yourself into a self-induced trance so as to be able to give birth in a less pain-free manner, you will also be taught how to bond with your child before and after he / she is born. A Hypnobirthing instructor will show you how to perform different types of meditation such as self-relaxation, deepening, breathing techniques, hypnotic relaxation and visualization. These and other techniques help a woman tremendously when she is about to give birth. The Hypnobirthing classes will also prepare your body in a physical way with the help of massaging and toning and also light touch labour massages.
Other topics touched upon will be prenatal bonding techniques for mother and child, the history of women and childbearing, how to prepare for home birth, settling in at the hospital and also how you and your husband (and also any other children) can bond with the new baby. Hypnobirthing classes provide you lots of information that will prepare you mentally and physically for the delivery. Classes are available for the entire period of your pregnancy. For women who are approaching labour date, one-0n-one classes can also be scheduled between you and your practitioner who is teaching the class.
The Duchess of Cambridge's revealing interview is one of several steps to appear more down-to-Earth that she and the remaining royals have taken in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle scaling back their duties in January 2020. Her father-in-law, Prince Charles, also showed his more contemporary side recently by naming singer Katy Perry ambassador of the British Asian Trust charity after meeting her in Mumbai last year. Aside from making the rest of the family as relatable as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the disclosures Kate Middleton made on the podcast while promoting her groundbreaking survey called 5 Big Questions on the Under Fives, could potentially help other expectant mothers with their pregnancy woes.
So what is hypnobirthing? Middleton explained the process during her revealing interview on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast (via Yahoo), hosted by bestselling author Giovanna Fletcher. During the revealing discussion, Duchess Kate spoke openly about labor and delivery. She said the process of using mind over matter really helped her enjoy labor quite a lot. Basic hypnotherapy involves various relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques to help relax the body before and during labor and birth. There are even classes that teach participants to practice and use a combination of music, visualization, positive thinking and words and even prompts from their partners to relax and control their pain.
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