HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method
HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method is both a philosophy and a tool for natural childbirth. Developed by Marie Mongan, a hypnotherapist and mother of three, in the late 1980’s, HypnoBirthing provides tools for deep relaxation that counter fears around childbirth. It is the fear that causes pain in childbirth. That one realization can change everything for you as you approach your birthing.
The main tool you learn in a HypnoBirthing class is self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is accomplished by listening to a CD every night before falling asleep, or at another time convenient to you during the day. It is the continuity that is important. It is so easy to do this and so effective for creating change and increasing confidence and calm. These are the conquerors of fear, the cause of pain in childbirth.
Along with self-hypnosis, you learn ways to encourage a natural childbirth. One way is by learning different birthing positions. By walking or sitting upright, you encourage your body to move the baby down using gravity. It’s also helpful to learn natural methods of encouraging labor to start as opposed to resorting to chemical inductions from the start. It is with the knowledge of all of your options that you make the wisest choices for yourself and your baby.
Benefits of using self-hypnosis for childbirth:
- Labors tend to be shorter which makes it more manageable.
- Mother’s fatigue is reduced as a result of shortened labor.
- The need for medication is greatly reduced or unnecessary as calmness encourages the body’s endorphins to kick in.
- Birth is gentler for the baby.
- Babies are calmer as they enjoy the calm of their mother under self-hypnosis.
- Non-medicated mothers and baby’s bond easier after birth.
- The healing process is quicker after a natural birth, than after a C-section.
- Birth companions feel more a part of the birthing process as they understand their role.
* See chart for benefits
It is a wonderful feeling to trust your caregiver, your support people and yourself to know what to do in childbirth. Through the skills you learn in a HypnoBirthing class, you can approach your birth with confidence and know that you have done all you can to encourage a gentle and natural birth.
