Can HypnoBirthing take the pain out of labour?

It sounds like the answer to the prayers of countless mums-to-be: giving birth with hugely reduced pain but without the need for invasive pain relief drugs

That’s the promise of HypnoBirthing, a belief system which claims not only to significantly reduce labour pain, but to induce such a state of calm that women actually welcome each contraction.

And if you feel sceptical about these claims, so much the better. According to HypnoBirthing advocates the more cynical you are, the more likely you will be to benefit from the techniques.

That’s not all that HypnoBirthing promises. Its fans say it can also reduce the need for technological assistance; significantly shorten labour; encourage breech babies to assume the correct position; and even aid postnatal recovery.

Reducing fear-tension-pain

HypnoBirthing teaches women self-hypnosis techniques, including simple relaxation and breathing methods. This is supposed to eliminate what’s known as the “fear-tension-pain syndrome” before, during and after the birth. This syndrome, so the thinking goes, occurs when a woman is frightened of giving birth. Fear makes her muscles tense up, causing her to fight against her body and nature, which would otherwise do most of the work to push the baby out. So labour becomes more difficult or grinds to a halt completely, making the mother even more distressed. Thus a cycle of fear, tension and pain is created.

HypnoBirthing aims to stop this cycle before it begins and keep the woman confident and calm throughout labour and birth. One of the ways it seeks to do this is through simple self-hypnosis, although it stresses that women will be alert and fully in control throughout the birth.

The origin of HypnoBirthing

English obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read came up with the concept of HypnoBirthing in the 1920s after a woman who had turned down chloroform, the common pain relief of the time, when giving birth, said to him: "It didn't hurt. It wasn't meant to, was it, doctor?"

Intrigued by this seemingly painless birth, Dick-Read went on to study birth as a natural process. His landmark book on the subject, 'Childbirth Without Fear', was published in 1933. He gained a following in England, but it wasn't until the late 1940s and early 1950s that his teachings found a wider and more receptive audience in the United States.

In 1989, Marie Mongan, an American counsellor and hypnotist, published her book: “HypnoBirthing: A Celebration Of Life", which was based on Dick-Read’s principles.

Mongan founded the HypnoBirthing Institute, and today HypnoBirthing is taught in more than 20 countries.

"Superbly effective"

One practitioner is Katharine Graves, an advanced hypnotherapist, craniosacral therapist and nutritionalist. She is also a doula, having trained under Michel Odent, the leading obstetrician who developed the concept of water births.

Katherine describes HypnoBirthing as “superbly effective”.

“It’s based on the premise that if some women can give birth painlessly, why can’t all women,” she says. “The reason for that is fear. If you’re afraid, you tense up, your muscles don’t work as well and you feel pain, and then you’re in a vicious spiral.

“As long as you have fear, having a good birth is almost impossible.”

Katharine, left, a mother-of-four, believes popular culture is largely to blame for women’s fear of childbirth. “We are programmed for that fear from a very early age. Every book, every television programme and every film depicts someone screeching and writhing in agony as they give birth.”

But for the women who undergo Katharine’s two-day HynoBirthing classes, it’s a very different story.“Midwives are constantly telling me that they can't believe how calm women who have taken the course are. We’ve had first time mums giving birth in three hours without any pain relief or drugs.”

And fathers and birthing partners will also benefit from the course, says Katharine.

“You get fathers coming along with great reluctance, thinking they’re going to see some weirdo hypnotherapist. But they soon realise there’s a great deal they can do to help.”

This includes helping the woman focus on the visualisation techniques they have learned on the course; and assisting her in maintaining her sense of space, something which Katharine says is crucial.

“Being observed is a key fear trigger - that's why a wild animal will freeze if it senses someone is watching them. An animal goes off to the darkest, quietest most secure place to give birth, while humans generally go to the least quiet and dark place - a hospital.

“The women's partner can help keep her in a secure environment where she feels happy in her own space. They can stop well-intentioned family members invading her space or medical staff asking too many unnecessary questions. This will help her enjoy a positive, calm experience."

"My amazing HypnoBirth"

Following a two-day course at the HypnoBirthing Centre in London, Trudy gave birth to son Nicholas without any chemical pain relief and within minutes of arriving at hospital. She describes the experience as "incredible".

Read her story here

Contact

Katharine Graves runs HypnoBirthing courses at several locations across London and also in Banstead, Surrey. A two-day course costs £295. Visit www.thehypnobirthingcentre.co.uk for more details.

For courses nationwide, visit www.hypnobirthing.co.uk