Self Hypnosis Pain

In today’s society a common question I get asked when I explain what I do for a living is, “Why would anyone go natural?” To answer that question I think we need to start at the beginning, we need to go back to how our mother’s, mother’s, mother had a baby.

Let’s first start with the basics of the body during the last month of pregnancy. In the last month of pregnancy, the cervix softens and ripens like a piece of fruit. The body begins to release a cocktail of hormones that allows the mother’s body to change and open in ways it didn’t before. When a women’s birthing time begins, her uterus begins to contract, moving her baby down into the pelvic cavity and lining him/her up for the birth process. As birth progresses, the contractions become stronger, the cervix stretches and opens, and the baby moves lower and rotates, eventually moving down the birth canal. With each contraction, there is a signal to the brain and oxytocin is released. With the release of oxytocin, the contractions increase in intensity. As the contractions increase, more oxytocin is released and the contractions become stronger and more power.

When women think of natural birth they think of one thing, Pain! It is important to understand that the sensations of the contractions in labor are valuable. The positions and activities she chooses in response to what she feels actually help labor progress by increasing the strength and efficiency of the contractions and encouraging the baby to settle in and move down the birth canal. Women act in a way that helps them to feel comfortable. Their movements during birth are actually facilitating the dance her baby does to move down and out her birth canal. When the sensation is entirely removed, the feedback system is disrupted and birth can actually slow down or stop. As labor progresses more hormones are released, one of the major ones being endorphins. (and they are more potent than morphine) As a result, the positive feedback of the endorphins over rides the pain sensations that she may be feeling. When a women is allowed to labor in the manner that fits her, and she is fully aware of her body, and her body’s needs, she is much more likely to help the birth move along faster.

Years ago women birthed with other women. They were surrounded by birth, it was a normal part of life.  Women were surrounded by other women who had already gone through birth. They guided her, and encouraged her, and allowed her to be mindful of her body and the desires of her body. Over the years we lost that art. Birth become medical, more than that, it became an event we needed to be “delivered” from. We stepped away from embracing our bodies, and trusting them. Instead, we have turned to blindly trusting medical staff and drugs to do the work for us.

When a baby is born, free of drugs, they are more likely to be responsive, alert, and breastfeed easier. Babies born without drugs have faster delivery times, and the mother’s have faster recovery times.

There are many options out there for women today who desire a natural birth. As a doula, professional birth coach, I have had the pleasure of seeing these options at work. The best thing I have found that helps mother’s to have an easier natural birth is Hypnosis. Hypnosis for childbirth is a growing trend because it allows the mother to move around and talk while staying completely comfortable in hypnosis. Women are learning how to have their minds work for them while birth, rather than against them. While using Hypnosis for birth, women are calm, focused, and in-tune with their bodies. They learn to trust their body and its ability to birth their baby.  I have had the wonderful pleasure of watching women become mothers, while deeply relaxed in Hypnosis.

A few years ago I was attending a birth, and that mother was using Hypnosis for birth. I watched how her birth was so drastically different from all the others I had seen. After supporting this woman through one of the most amazing births I had ever seen, I set out to learn more about the method she had chosen for her birth. I learned about Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis course, and I was sold. The Course taught mothers how to trust their bodies, as well as how to produce real, medical Hypno-anesthesia. These mothers were approaching their births with confidence and empowerment. They had easy, comfortable, and in some cases completely pain-free childbirths.

Benefits of using hypnosis for childbirth: * Fewer drugs or no drugs at all means less risk of side effects on mother and baby. * Shorter labors – resistance of the birthing muscles as a response to pain is minimized or eliminated. * An awake, energized mother, due to total relaxation throughout the birthing process. * A calm, peaceful birthing environment. * Breech and posterior babies can be turned using hypnosis. * Fewer interventions and complications during labor. * Babies who are better sleepers and nursers due to fewer drugs in their systems.

A few things to remember about Hypnosis:

* All hypnosis is self-hypnosis; the hypnotherapist is only the guide. A person chooses to enter into a hypnotic state, stay in and come out at will.* Approximately 90-95% of the population can be hypnotized. Willingness, belief and motivation have great influence over hypnotizability. * During hypnosis you are neither asleep nor unconscious, and will always “come out” when you wish. * Stronger-minded and stronger-willed people are easier to hypnotize; not the other way around as is usually assumed. * You cannot be made to divulge information or do anything against your will while in hypnosis.

*Hypnosis is not Satanic or religion-oriented at all, just a way to direct your inner mind toward the positive.

If you are interested in Hypnobabies® Classes in your area, please visit

www.Hypnobabies.com

There are other Birth Hypnosis courses to take, including the Leclaire Method.

www.leclairemethod.com