What is hypnosis for labor?

 

Hypnosis is a state of deep mental and physical relaxation that enables the hypnotized person to focus intensely on a thought or feeling, blocking outside distractions. In this state, proponents say, the mind is more open to suggestions that change our beliefs and behavior. When a woman prepares for childbirth with hypnosis, these suggestions aim to replace fear and expectations of pain with confident expectations of a safe, gentle, even comfortable, birth.

​

Getting hypnotized doesn't involve a sinister man swinging his pocket watch in front of your eyes, telling you you're getting sleepy. In the most popular hypnosis for childbirth programs, women learn to hypnotize themselves, using techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, and affirmations or hypnosis scripts. For example, a woman using this technique may concentrate on the sound of her deep breathing, taking her further into a hypnotic state, and visualize her baby easing downward with each breath.

In childbirth hypnosis sessions, women and their partners are also taught a new vocabulary to describe labor and birth, to break the traditional association of birth with pain. For instance, women may call a contraction a surge or refer to dilation as blossoming.

​

While the idea of entering an altered mental state gives some people goosebumps, hypnotists say we all experience this state in our everyday lives. Daydreaming, being deeply engrossed in a book or movie, or driving someplace and having no memory of the journey when you arrive are described as examples of the hypnotic state.

​

​

How does hypnosis for labor work?

Hypnotists give several explanations of how the process works. One theory holds that when a woman feels fear during childbirth, her body releases stress hormones that trigger the body's "fight or flight" response. This causes muscles to tighten and interferes with the birthing process. By training the subconscious mind to expect a safe, gentle birth, they say, women can avoid going into the fight-or-flight state, allowing for a smoother birth.

​

Our Hypnotist Charbel Ramia is specialized in Hypnosis for Pain and Chronic Pain Control and he is ready to work with your Doctor to help you.