HypnoBirthing
Childbirth According to Mother Nature
Childbirth is not supposed to be a traumatic and painful experience. It is true that it is a very serious matter, bringing life into the world, but fortunately nature has designed us to do just that. If we look to the animal world, we see quiet, unassisted, seemingly easy births. It seems so natural! Anyone who witnesses a relaxed and well-prepared human mother can attest to the fact that we, too, can give birth quietly and easily the way nature intended. One can see videos of these births and learn how to do it at a HypnoBirthing Childbirth preparation class.
What is HypnoBirthing?
HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method is as much a philosophy as it is a technique. Mothers are not be in a trance or sleeping, rather are conversant and in good spirits, totally relaxed and fully in control. The concept is not new, but is a renewal of birthing as it existed in the past and was recaptured in the work of Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, an English obstetrician, who forwarded the concept of natural birthing and wrote Childbirth Without Fear (1944).
The method teaches how women’s bodies are designed to give birth. The muscles of the uterus work in harmony to open the cervix, then to move the baby down to crowning and eventually help the baby to emerge. It is taught that the autonomic nervous system plays a significant role and that fear of childbirth actually creates the conditions one wishes to avoid —pain, long and uncomfortable labor, medical interventions and even fetal distress.
Couples learn how to achieve physical and mental relaxation by releasing fear, by breathing in harmony with the working uterus and by stimulating the production of endorphins, the body’s own natural relaxant. Nature also provides an amnesiac state that relaxed mothers will naturally fall into as labor progresses in an undisturbed birth, taking them deeper into the birthing energy and to a connection with the baby. The right (feminine/creative) side of the brain takes over and birth happens with little fanfare or fuss.
Creating the Right Birthing Environment
A calm birth environment is crucial to allow mothers to go within and allow their birthing instincts to work. Mothers must feel safe, confident and protected. To create such an environment, experts tell us that any stimulation of the left, thinking, side of the brain should be avoided as it can create inhibitions just as it would during any other sexual experience. Suggestions are: silence, dim light, comfortable temperature, privacy, and a non-threatening environment.
“It's amazing how light the mood was when such a heavy thing was happening”, says one mother about the moment just before the baby crowned. The midwife had told her she might feel burning and that it might hurt and she replied in a serious voice "No, it doesn't hurt." Then her companion told her she was doing great “, and “there was laughter in his voice”.
In summary, HypnoBirthing not only drastically reduces the pain of labor and childbirth, but it almost always eliminates the need for drugs and reduces the need for caesarean or other doctor-controlled birth interventions. It speeds recovery time, allowing for better and earlier bonding with the baby, which is vital to the mother and her child and the bond between them. With HypnoBirthing, women have the opportunity to create for themselves a peaceful birth and to give their babies a great start on life.