What Is Hypnopartum And Why Is Its Popularity Growing More and More

One of the most common concerns of pregnant women (no matter if for the first, second or third time) is the moment of delivery. Uncertainty and anxiety can get in the way of sleep. And all this is normal, since the birth of a child is a very special moment in everyone’s life. However, in relation to this beautiful event, there are many taboos that, instead of awakening positive thoughts, cause doubts and many fears.

Today the awesome.club wants to talk about the hypnosis technique used to reduce fear, anxiety and stress in mothers-to-be by eliminating the “bad expectations” women have when giving birth.

The term “hypnopartum” was proposed by the Englishman Grantly Dick-Read in 1930, and began to be described in detail in 1942, in his book I leave without fear🇧🇷

However, the modern technique of hypnobirth was developed by specialist hypnosis therapist Marie Mongan. She explains more about the method in her book Hypnopartum: A Celebration of Life (1989). The fundamental principle of the idea comes from the belief that each woman has within her the power to use her natural instinct to give birth with joy. In this sense, the expectant mother sees childbirth in a positive way, with the certainty that it does not have to be painful.

After the development of the technique, the Institute of Hypnopartum was created, whose main objective is to promote the culture of “not being afraid when giving birth” in pregnant mothers.

This method features a series of self-hypnosis classes that teach deep relaxation and visualization skills. The idea is for the expectant mother to get rid of fears and at the same time convince her mind, through meditation, guided imagery and deep breathing, that childbirth is a life experience. In this sense, hypnosis allows the woman to feel the contractions as “uterine waves” and the act of pushing becomes “breathing at birth”.

The practice also teaches a woman to imagine positive and relaxing scenarios. For example, with the “silver glove” technique, the expectant mother imagines herself wearing gloves on her hands that help her relax and fall asleep. Then she imagines this feeling all over her arm and her hand touching other parts of her body that are also in tension.

According to Hypnopartum Institute reports, from 2005 to 2010, women who used this technique experienced less pain and spent less time in labor, as well as fewer days in the hospital for recovery.

These reports were compared with documents from the US Division of Vital Statistics, and the conclusions were as follows: of the mothers who used the hypnopartum technique, only 20% had epidural analgesia and less than 10% had an intramuscular or intravenous one. Among mothers who did not use the hypnobirth process, 76% received an epidural and 22% used some form of medication. In addition, among women who underwent hypnopartum, 17% had a cesarean section, a lower rate than the 32% of women who did not use this technique.

Of course, the success of these results depends on how women practice the technique during the first or second trimester of pregnancy.

According to a study published by the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, hypnosis is helpful in helping pregnant women during labor and the postpartum period. They came to this conclusion after analyzing 2 groups of women, one control and one experimental (with hypnopartum). Although women in the experimental group experienced pain, drug use before, during and immediately after delivery was significantly lower than in women in the control group.

Some celebrities revealed to have used the technique of hypnobirth, among them Kate Middleton, Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, Tiffani Thiessen, Busy Philipps, among others.

It is always important to mention that choosing the form of delivery depends on the woman’s body and her health conditions. Hypnopartum is just one of many assisted techniques that exist, and it is generally recommended for healthy women who do not present any real risk.

What is your opinion on this alternative to normal birth? Would you dare to try it? Do you know someone who has had this experience? Share your opinion in the comments.