I’m having a doula for my birth and she’s mentioned the possibility of hypnobirthing. What do you think of it? Should I try it?
Answer: I’m an advocate and yes, I think you should find a practitioner to talk to. Hypnosis is a powerful, natural and safe state of profound relaxation that you allow yourself to enter. You remain in control.
Body and mind are intrinsically linked. If the mind is able to imagine being in control and having a calm, normal and natural birth, free of fear and tension, imagining becomes what you actually experience. Hypnobirthing can be useful by:
- Helping to visualise what labour will be like for you
- Empowering you to trust in your body and to have the birth you, and your partner and your baby would like
- Giving you a sense of control, by knowing what will happen next
- Eliminating fear of the unknown and releasing any feelings of anxiety you may have about the birth
- Imagining the birth going smoothly, easily and naturally, with a wonderful reward – the birth of your baby
- Visualising you bonding with your partner and baby and recovering rapidly after the birth
- Rehearsing how it will feel to breastfeed your baby
I’m in favour of hypnobirthing because it has been shown in research studies to have great benefits to mother and baby. Births tend to be shorter and less painful. There’s less use of painkillers, medical interventions are fewer and complications less frequent.
By Miriam Stoppard, The UK’s most trusted childcare expert
Follow Miriam on Twitter.
