Cristina Pedroche gives birth by hypnobirthing: what is it and why is it so fashionable among celebrities

As confirmed by Lecturas magazine, the presenter Cristina Pedroche has just given birth to her first daughter. She has done it through a technique called hypnopartum, which has become fashionable among celebrities such as Kate Middleton, Jessica Alba, Megan Markle, Angelina Jolie or Giselle Bundchen. It is a tool intended to train the brain with relaxation to reduce pain during childbirth. However, What exactly is hypnobirthing? Paula Camarós, one of the first professionals who began to use hypnobirthing in Spain and author of the book “The power to create life” tells us in this interview.

Hypnobirthing: what is it

“Hypnobirthing is the process by which the woman frames the birth process as a natural, physiological and calm event. Thanks to techniques that promote the management of physical activation, muscle relaxation, fear management, tension and pain, it is promoted to arrive at childbirth in confidence and calm, open to living it in the way that the baby and the mother’s body need. Hypnobirthing favors the reduction of pain, respect for one’s own decisions and the elimination of uncertainty in the process,” explains Paula Camarós.

According to this specialist in hypnobirthing, the way in which a woman deals with childbirth is mediated by her own or others’ previous experiences, by beliefs about this process, expectations, and narratives from other births. “Coping calmly isn’t just about a woman’s job, it’s also about managing her own emotions, as well as what kind of environment she’s in to give birth,” she clarifies.

Paula Camarós explains that if the woman understands how and why she behaves as she does on the day of delivery, not only from a physical but also a psychological perspective, she increases her well-being and takes control of the process. “Not only that, but to understand to live childbirth from well-being, you not only have the tool of your body, but you also have emotional and behavioral management tools to get closer to what you want to achieve, the probability of living a pleasant experience , increases.”, he tells us.

Hypnobirthing helps manage fear

As the hypnobirthing expert explains, fear has a function during childbirth: to alert the woman that the way in which the birth is taking place is not what is convenient for her well-being and that of her baby. Therefore, one of the functions of hypnopartum is that the woman does not see fear as her enemy, but rather that she understands it. “When you understand that the origin of the fear could be in something that they have told me about childbirth or in terrifying stories about it, or that they are not listening to me or they are rushing me so that the birth is now or exactly as others want , you understand and you free yourself from thinking that you have to eliminate that emotion, moving towards another context that is more suitable for you, allying yourself with that fear”, explains Paula Camarós.

Why is it important to know how to manage fear during childbirth? According to the specialist, when she is affected by fear during childbirth, without understanding it, without having worked on it, it is the sympathetic nervous system, that is, the fight and flight system that takes the reins. This implies that the physiological systems that would favor natural childbirth are blocked or work less efficiently, tensing the muscles, slowing down dilation and making uterine contractions less productive. In this way, the woman could experience the pain more intensely and therefore impairing that the labor is calmer, faster and more pleasant.

What is hypnobirthing?

The main element that is promoted from hypnobirthing is the change of narrative regarding what is to be expected in reference to childbirth, as well as the awareness that the woman already has everything she needs to receive her baby.

For it hypnobirthing is supported by complete training that encourages the mother to know her emotions, how to accept and manage them, that you know what happens and why in your body on the day of delivery, as well as with your birth partner and health personnel. “Yes, hypnosis is also used to generate a state of deep relaxation and motivate the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, but no, hypnosis does not consist of meditating or deep breathing”, clarifies Paula Camarós.

After training, hypnobirthing can be practiced daily, alone and with a partner. In addition to applying the language and emotional management techniques in which it is instructed. According to Paula Camarós, a “specific” time of practice is not necessary because hypnobirthing makes a difference even if you choose to train a few days before your unlikely delivery date.

Benefits of hypnobirthing

“Women who practice hypnobirthing express how beyond the type of delivery that their baby has needed to be born (physiological, intervened, caesarean section), their experience is calm and wonderful. And it is that hypnobirthing favors the woman to manage, accept and enjoy everything that your body is prepared to do, allowing yourself to be assisted by those people you need, on the day of delivery, happy to welcome your baby and not fearing that moment”, points out the specialist in Hypnobirthing.