Hypnosis and Childbirth
How does hypnosis aid natural childbirth?
Hypnosis is increasingly being used to help women give birth with
the minimum of pain, medical interventions and pain medication.
And 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. So why should
this be?
Natural childbirth: Body and mind working together
These days, the ‘mind-body' link is well established. Everyone knows
that what you think can affect the way you feel. This is a relatively
recent development however, and it has not penetrated into some
recesses of the healthcare profession.
Everyday mind-body interactions
Everyone has experienced being startled - the heart starting to
pound, a funny sensation in the tummy, even tingling in the limbs.
Of course, this is 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. And this is the point: even the imagination
can cause the body to respond.
(In fact, the body can respond before you even become aware of what
you are scared of, but that’s another story!)
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.
So the point is, the mind affects the body.
A natural childbirth will take place when the mind, and therefore
the body is relaxed and comfortable as possible. Anxiety gets in
the way of natural childbirth processes.
Next, Hypnobirthing Benefits


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