HYPNOSIS ASSISTED CHILDBIRTH
Q. You worked with a pregnant friend of mine, helping her to have a “PAINFREE CHILDBIRTH” with the use of hypnosis. She says she had a WONDERFUL birth experience. Tell me more about hypnosis....
A. Hypnosis is really a very NATURAL state of the mind. Have you ever daydreamed? Missed an exit on the freeway? Ever cried during a movie? Those are all examples of hypnosis, which you’ve drifted into, all by yourself! In fact, we believe that ALL hypnosis is really SELF hypnosis. The therapist assists you into that state, but it’s always YOUR CHOICE to decide to go there. Hypnosis is always under YOUR CONTROL. You decide to relax into that state. You also choose when to come out of that state...
Q. So hypnosis can help me to have a truly comfortable childbirth, FREE of discomfort? How can that be? My mother and my girlfriends keep telling me how painful childbirth is...??
A. The things you hear from relatives and friends are like ADVERTISING. When you hear a story often enough, from sources you feel are reputable, eventually you begin to believe it! Actually, what we know from observing so called primitive peoples, is that childbirth can be a very natural process, virtually “free” of discomfort. We see this in animals all the time. They go to a place that is quiet and secure, lie down, have their babies, and that’s it!
Q. So, part of my problem is that I’ve sort of been “brainwashed” into believing that childbirth is HARD, PAINFUL LABOR, but it doesn’t need to be so??
A. That is the way WE think about it. With the aid of hypnosis, you are able to ERASE those NEGATIVE messages and replace them with POSITIVE, SUPPORTING, UPLIFTING messages about what your birth experience can be like!
Q. So, just as hypnosis can put in the new programs people want for quitting smoking, for eating differently, for getting ride of other addictions, I can change the way I think and my body behaves about the whole birth process. WONDERFUL!
A. Yes. Whatever the issue-- weight release, smoking, painfree childbirth, migraines, depression, stage fright-- all these involve behaviors you have learned. Hypnosis provides the necessary NEW programs for your life, gently and “free from side effects”.
Q. Will I know what these new programs are?
A. Yes, of course. There is a very powerful PROTECTIVE mechanism built into your mind, so that no hypnotist can EVER put suggestions into your mind that you are not in agreement with. If a hypnotist EVER asked you for “the combination to the wall safe behind Grandpa’s picture” (as we used to see in movies!), you would either simply fall asleep, or you would wake up, look me in the eye and you’d be out the door! For this reason, we go over EVERYTHING that we plan to do, BEFORE the hypnosis starts, so that you and I are absolutely in agreement with EVERYTHING that we plan to do through hypnosis!
Q. But what if my doctor, my husband, my friends, my mother start to talk about LABOR PAINS? That’s scary! I’ve heard these stories about labor and delivery, as though childbirth were the most painful process there is!
A. Effective advertising, for sure, but we can counter that advertising with solid information about how childbirth can really be, if properly done. Your coaching, under hypnosis, will be SO STRONG that you will simply ignore those statements, coming as they do from folks who’ve been led expect labor pains, just because they’ve been told they will happen. You will know differently.
Q. Amazing!
A. Yes, as the old cowboy humorist Will Rogers once said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that can hurt ya. It’s what you DO “know “ that just ain’t so!”
Q. OK, I understand the first part of my hypnotic “coaching” is that I will learn to think differently about the whole birth process-- that it is “natural” and needn’t be the horrible process my friends tell me about. Now how will I learn to deal with any DISCOMFORT in the birth process?
A. Let’s talk about that: One of the well known benefits of hypnosis is that it can have an anesthesia effect. Hypnosis is often used in surgery to augment or actually replace chemical anesthesia. Your hypnotherapist can easily demonstrate to you, for example, how your mind can completely NUMB your hand, your arm, or any other part of your body, just by mental suggestions.
Q. Yes, I’ve seen something like this in some fun, stage hypnosis demonstrations. We can use this principle to block pain during childbirth?
A. Yes! Most importantly, the process of blocking the discomfort will be UNDER YOUR CONTROL! You will be able to choose how much or how little discomfort you wish to experience during the process. This is part of the training and coaching we provide you, well in advance of childbirth, so that when you get there and contractions start, you will know how to deal with any discomfort you experience.
Q. Is my entire body anesthetized? Like I’m completely asleep?
A. The training and coaching you will receive will allow you to choose one of three states:
The FIRST state is to “feel everything”-- no blockage of discomfort at all.
The SECOND state is to “feel NOTHING’”--all discomfort is blocked.
The THIRD state is to block sensations of discomfort from just above the breasts to just above the knees. That’s the state most women usually choose.
Q. I can learn to do this? To control the areas which do or do not feel discomfort?
A. Yes, the intent of the hypnotic training is to give YOU complete control over your “hypnotic anesthesia”, and this is not difficult for most women to learn.
Q. And this process of blocking all discomfort will be under MY control? Not controlled by my doctor, or my midwife, or my hypnotherapist, but controlled by ME! Could I even use this for OTHER aches and pains, like going to the dentist?
A. Yes. Of course, “pain” can also be a valuable indicator to you to be sure you take good care of your body, but yes, the same process can be used in the dentist’s office as well!
Q. Does hypnosis have any effect on the duration of la.. of this birth process?
A. Often it does. If you are relaxed, if your muscles and other tissues are relaxed because you’ve come to believe that childbirth is a natural process, the transit time down the birth canal may be appreciably shorter than “normal”. In fact, when you experience those first “real” contractions, we suggest that you don’t wait around too long, but pack your bag, call your husband, and move right along to the birthing place you’ve chosen. Hypnosis assisted childbirth has been known to happen in as little as an hour from the time when contractions begin. So... don’t wait around. And, you will want to alert your medical staff that you are using hypnosis and that therefore things may move more quickly than they may expect!
Q. Wow, can all this be true? Can I really have this baby as easily and as free from discomfort as all this?
A. Many, many women say, “Yes”!
Q. How many times will we meet? When do we start? How long will each session take?
A. As soon as you know you’re pregnant, there are some things you need to do immediately. As most women as vitamin D deficient, check your vitamin D level. You may not be getting nearly enough vitamin D in your prenatal vitamins. Healthy vitamin D levels are VITAL, both for the mom and the baby. Other nutrients are just as important. Eat as healthily as you can; avoid highly processed foods, go “organic” if possible. Stay away from all manmade chemicals, smoking, alcohol, prescription and street medications and any other kind of unnecessary chemical exposure.
Hypnosis training will typically take 4 or 5 sessions, about a week apart. So start soon enough so that even if the baby comes a bit early, you’ll have had plenty of time to get the hypnosis coaching you’ll need. I would suggest starting 8 weeks before the due date, just to be sure...
Each session will last about an hour, so we’re talking about 4 to 5 hours of coaching. We’re currently charging $400 for the process, including all materials.
IS IT WORTH IT? Depends on how you value the outcome: The benefits include a calmer mom, less stress on her body, almost certainly a faster recovery time, a happier, less stressed baby. And, the research suggests, when babies are less stressed in the birth process, they may even test higher on the IQ scale. Is $400 too much to pay for all of that?