Hypnosis for Childbirth

Many women are exploring the idea of using hypnosis for childbirth.

For a woman, anticipation of the birth of their child has always been a combination of joy and fear – joy at the thought welcoming their child to the world and fear of a painful and possibly complicated delivery.

Although modern care has reduced the chance of a woman dying while giving birth to an extremely low level (it was once a leading cause of death in young women), the issue of painful labor remains.

Epidural anesthesia helps but is an invasive procedure with small but real risks.  Drugs are available, but these carry the risks of side effects, especially for the baby.

Given this, it’s not surprising that there has been an interest in the use of hypnosis for childbirth.

What The Studies Show About Hypnosis For Childbirth

The good news is that lots of studies show that it works very well. 

One study of thirty unselected woman showed that 76% had a pain-free delivery with no other intervention for pain other than the hypnosis!

Many of the studies of hypnosis have a fairly small number of women, but the trends are uniformly positive and hold up in meta analysis ( a meta analysis is when researchers combine the results from several comparable studies to increase their statistical  significance and to see if any new trends emerge).

In these studies, women who learn hypnosis in preparation for pregnancy generally have shorter periods of labor and experience much less pain. 

Not only do they report that they are more comfortable, but the medical records document that they required less medication and other interventions (such as an epidural) for pain control.

Good For Both Mom And Her Baby

Very importantly, the babies tend to do better as well.

In several studies, the babies in both the hypnosis and non-hypnosis groups were generally healthy, but the newborns in the hypnosis groups tend to have higher apgar scores at birth (In case you haven’t heard of it, the apgar score is a quick assessment of a babies health at birth.  A higher number is better.)

Some of the reason the babies do better may have to do that mothers who use hypnosis require less medication during delivery. 

I have another theory. 

I think that the mental and emotional status of a mother carrying a child affects her baby.  If nothing else, a baby has to be influenced by circulating stress hormones and the mother’s pounding pulse.

Because a mother using hypnosis is much calmer and more comfortable, it makes sense that the babies experience would be better as well.

The good part about hypnosis is that it is generally recognized as safe.  And rather than being in a drug-induced haze, the mother can be fully aware during the wondrous process of the birth of her child.

Although a woman can begin to learn hypnosis at any point before delivery, most people who have experience working with women who use hypnosis for childbirth recommend starting to learn twenty weeks or more before the due date. 

How Can A Woman Learn To Use Hypnosis For Childbirth? 

A woman can learn to use hypnosis on her own, or her spouse or partner can serve as coach.  Either way it can be a good adjunct to all the usual prenatal preparation.

I've found a recording that you can access instantly that will guide you through a hypnotic session specifically designed to prepare you for a comfortable, joyous delivery.  You can find out more about it at this link:

Hypnosis for Childbirth

That recording is excellent, but it does focus only on preparing for childbirth.  You may want to go farther and learn more about hypnosis and how you can apply it in other areas of your life.

Hypnosis is an excellent skill to have for any number of other uses, so taking a more general course on will be a good idea for many women.

For example, hypnosis can help a woman return to her pre-pregnancy weight more easily. 

Also, the speech pattern of a certain style of hypnosis can be an excellent parenting tool – it can help you communicate much more effectively with your child.

This type of hypnosis was first developed by Dr. Milton Erickson and has since been highly refined.  It is now available in a course called The Power of Conversational Hypnosis.

This is a excellent course on hypnosis that you can use to help both yourself and others.  As I mentioned, it can be an especially useful parenting tool - not in the sense of overly controlling your child but of communicating effectively.

Here's a minor example. 

Imagine you walk in the kitchen and come upon your young one trying to manage the feat of getting a half gallon of milk from the refrigerator to the kitchen table.

Using your parental psychic powers, you look into the future and see milk all over the kitchen floor.

Most of us would be tempted to say something like: "Don't spill the milk".

Now, when you say that, what image do you get in your mind?  Spilled milk, of course.

In Ericksonian hypnotic terms, saying "don't spill the milk" was actually giving the child an embedded command to spill the milk since the subconscious mind doesn't register negatives.

Compare that to the statement : "Carry the milk carefully and safely using two hands".

I think you can see which way of communicating gives you the better chance of getting the outcome.

Of course that's only a very minor example of the type of thing you'll learn the power of conversational hypnosis. If you want to find out about the course, click on the image below:

The Power of Conversational Hypnosis

And if you want a hypnosis recording specifically to guide you in using hypnosis for childbirth, I highly recommend the one you'll find by clicking on the image or link below:

Hypnosis for Childbirth Recording