What is hypnobirthing and how does it work?

Hypnobirthing is fast becoming a popular method of pain relief among pregnant women. More and more women have decided to join in on the pain-free revolution and learn simple but effective ways to help them relax and enjoy the labour experience. This may seem far fetched to some, as giving birth is one of the biggest feats a human’s body can go through - mothers can feel up to 57 del units of pain, more than 10 del units over what a human body can endure. Hypnobirthing has been tried and tested to help prevent excrutiating pain and in some case prevent pain altogether, and even the most skeptical of people have come to believe in its extraordinary power of mind over body. 

Hypnobirthing itself is a birth education program that you can sign up for with a local hypnobirthing practitioners in the UK and many other countries across the world. Obstetrician Dr Grantly Dick-Read revolutionised the experience of labour with his book “Childbirth Without Fear”, published in 1942. Since then health professionals and women have taken aboard the concepts in Mr. Dick-Read’s book and have created classes to help women enjoy and look forward to their labour. 

One of the main building blocks to Hypnobirthing is fear release. Those practicing this method believe that adrenaline reduces blood flow to the uterus, when mothers become distressed and fearful during labour. The body tightens up making contractions more painful. Stress hormones stop a mother’s body from producing oxytocin and endorphins, the hormones that are meant to ease labour pains and move labour along. Women who are fearful of labour can go into a fight or flight mode, tensing up the body and slowing down the labour process. To combat this, Hypnobirthing professionals teach pregnant women a form of deep relaxation or self-hypnosis to learn how to shut out the world and remain positive. 

Positivity can have incredible powers over a mother’s birth experience and this is taught early on in Hypnobirthing education classes through the use of terminology. Painful contractions are instead referred to as “tightening” or “surges”, false labour is called “practice labour”, and pushing contractions are given the new name “birth breathing”. With these positive outlooks women will be reassured once labour starts, and understand what each stage is for. 

Learning how to visualise your baby being born and being in tune with your body are fundamentals of hypnobirthing. By understanding how the uterus functions mothers will be more aware of what is happening to their bodies during labour and will remember why contractions are necessary and what they mean. Hypnobirthing methods involve breathing techniques, visualisation, self-hypnosis and fear release. Women are taught how to focus their thoughts during the birth and how to release any anxieties they may have. Classses through this birth education program also focus on learning birthing positions to assist labour. 

Those who practice hypnobirthing believe it gives the mother an easier birth experience and helps to alleviate pain during labour. Once the mother-to-be has reached a state of relaxation and self-hypnosis they will be in control of their birth and of their bodies. Hypnobirthing specialists state that this practice doesn’t mean women will be in a trance or asleep. Instead they will be fully awake and present during the birth of their child. 

The hypnobirthing method has been proven to shorten the first stage of labour, to decrease the use of pain relief needed, to lower cesarean section rates and to shorten the length of hospital stay needed after birth. Professionals who teach these courses insist that women do not need to feel severe pain during childbirth and that hypnobirthing works as a very effective method of pain management without the need for pain relieving drugs and reducing the risk of intervention.