Hypnobirthing is the use of hypnosis as a psychological technique applied before childbirth. The technique is used to alleviate pain and stress during childbirth, helping pregnant mothers to stay focused and calm during labour. Hypnobirthing works on the premise that fear and anxiety are the main influencers on pain levels during childbirth.
Hypnosis can help with managing these anxieties, reducing pain and discomfort levels by relaxing the client into a more positive mental association during the session.
Hypnobirthing is a natural birthing experience that doesn't require additional medications to be applied. Instead, it allows the client to stay in control of the mind and the body technique by focusing on relaxed and unstressed thoughts during childbirth.
This technique is based on the premise that childbirth is not necessarily a painful experience, and can be relatively painless from a physiological standpoint. Scientific studies have proven that a major cause of pain in childbirth is fear and psychological stress, which worsens the physical symptoms.
Thus, hypnobirthing tries to restore a more natural and relaxed process for childbirth by using hypnosis to remove the stress and anxiety from the client's thoughts. From this perspective, women are well equipped by nature to deal with childbirth and a painless process, but fear and anxiety lead to heightened physical responses, which can cause pain and discomfort.
The approach involves breathing and visualization techniques in which clients focus on positive thoughts and mental imagery of themselves having an easy and painless birth. They visualize staying relaxed in labour, thinking about their bodies in position to deliver the baby, and envisioning the childbirth to completion.
With practice, they can visualize the process in high detail with physical sensations and psychological associations, giving themselves a full mental experience of childbirth.
In addition, they practice thinking and saying out loud the key areas in building their own confidence, repeating such sentences as “I relaxing my baby relaxes”, as an example. This process is excellent in nurturing confidence and self-belief in the hypnobirthing techniques, allowing the clients to learn through repetition and practice how to stay focused through their childbirth. These ideals help to remove distractions and increase focus, making it easier to access the positive thoughts required to relax.
Mothers are at all times in total control of their state of mind when practicing Hypnobirthing. Beginning this practice early in pregnancy allows them time in mastering their art of concentration and focus through the process, working towards easier access to these positive associations during hypnosis.
Anxieties and stress can be improved by better cognitive approaches to managing these sensations, and Hypnobirthing uses a range of techniques to improve the mother's thought processes about their pregnancy.