Planning for calm and relaxed childbirth.
When you have your baby with Hypnotherapy for Childbirth, you will not be in a trance or asleep. What you will experience is similar to daydreaming or focusing like that which occurs when you are engrossed in a book or film.
You will be conversant, happy and totally relaxed, but fully in control. Awake throughout, you will be aware of your birthing waves and your baby's progress. You will experience birthing in an atmosphere of calm relaxation, free of the fear that prevents the muscles in your body working in their natural way. In this calm state your body's endorphins replace the stress hormones, leading to natural childbirth.
Hypnosis and Childbirth
While no one should claim that hypnosis can create pain free childbirth, several landmark studies show significant improvement for women who learn self-hypnosis before giving birth.
Natural childbirth: When the body and mind are working together.
Today, the mind-body link is well established. We know that what you think can affect the way you feel. I am sure that you have experienced being startled - the heart starting to pound, a funny sensation in the tummy, even tingling in the limbs. This is, of course, an automatic response to a perceived threat, the threat doesn't even have to be real, as long as you think there is a threat, this is enough. This is the important point because the mind can cause the body to respond.
The adrenaline released at this time is a fast-acting and powerful hormone that activates this fight-flight mechanism in the body, causing blood to flow away from the main organs to the limbs, stopping digestion and causing the heart to beat faster. It belongs to a group of hormones called catecholamines that help to keep the body on a high state of alert.
The mind affects the body.
A natural childbirth will take place when the mind, and therefore the body, is as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Anxiety gets in the way of natural childbirth processes.
- A mother who regularly rehearses being relaxed during childbirth greatly increases the chances of being actually more relaxed during the birth. This allows good blood flow to the uterus, reducing pain from cramping, and maintains the production of oxytocin, giving the body the message that it is safe to give birth.
- She has access to real skills that she can use during the birth to reduce her pain levels and put her more in control of the birth process.
- The relaxed state stimulates her body to release endorphins, nature's painkillers.
Mothers who learn how to activate the calming side of their nervous system have the best chance of a safer, shorter, more relaxed and enjoyable natural childbirth with less pain.
Anxiety affects the uterus and increases pain.
If we are faced with a real threat then fear is a perfect response but if this system is activated by anxiety during childbirth it causes the uterus, which is engorged with oxygenated blood, to suffer cramp due to lack of the essential nutrients and oxygen as the blood is drawn away.
In addition, if the mind believes there is a threat it will decrease the production of oxytocin, the hormone that produces contractions, so labour slows down to prevent the baby being born when the environment isn't safe. High levels of emotion such as anxiety also hinder the birth process.
Deep relaxation through self-hypnosis produces a calm and happy state which when used during childbirth helps the birth process to progress naturally. A relaxed mind tells the body all is well.