Hypnosis & Childbirth
From a very early age you have expected to feel pain during childbirth. The Western worlds way of thinking about childbirth has reinforced that belief for centuries. In the days of Queen Victoria's reign the expectant mother could not fail to be terrified of childbirth due to the risk of death, infection, and the certainty that it was going to be horrendously painful.
Florence Nightingale
The famous nurse established schools of midwifery, raised funds for the introduction of wards that had proper sanitation, and ensured that properly trained doctors were assigned to maternity wards. With this quickly came another problem, over-enthusiastic use of anesthetics, resulting in every woman being administered high doses of drugs and babies routinely pulled from the birth path with crude instruments. No wonder birth was seen as a life-threatening and painful experience.
Hypnosis for a comfortable, relaxing, and easier birth
Thankfully things have moved forward since then, however the expectancy of pain is still there, accepted as being the norm. It doesn't have to be, and many women are now exploring the use of hypnosis for a calm, relaxing birth. Those that have used hypnosis during the labour and birth speak of a beautiful experience, a complete connection with their baby all through the birth process. This is in sharp contrast to other births were the mother has been administered heavy doses of drugs and pain killers to the extent that they loose touch with the birth experience.
Artt Therapy introduces new hypnotic training for expectant mothers
Alan has recently developed a short course for expectant mums-to-be in response to clients who were looking for such a service. The short course can be tailored to the individual needs and speed of learning.
The course includes the following :
> Relaxation techniques.
> Re-education of the clients subconscious beliefs about birthing.
> Guided imagery practice, and and it's use during labour and birth.
> Self Hypnosis including production of analgesia..
> Use of relaxation CD at home to reinforce skills.
The mum-to-be will immediately feel the benefits of this course. Better sleep, reduced stress levels, and a baby that already knows what relaxation means! Many mums who have used self hypnosis have reported their babies as being calm and peaceful from the first few days of birth.
When should I start
Alan recommends 10 - 12 weeks before the baby is due. This allows ample time for learning, and of course leaves plenty of time for you and the baby to enjoy the relaxation that you will experience. It is also beneficial to teach the prospective father or birthing partner a few techniques to help mum during the labour and delivery.
Self Hypnosis - Not just for the birth but for life!
The techniques you will learn especially self-hypnosis will be there for you to use not only for childbirth but for life. I am sure you can envisage just how useful self-created analgesia could be for other surgical procedures or dental work in the future. Once baby is born the relaxation techniques will allow you to make the best of every opportunity to catch up on some deep refreshing sleep, while at the same time always be instantly alerted to baby's needs.
You may like to visit Alan's blog page to see any related media items for this topic.
