Hypnobirthing, part II

The term "hypnobirth" catches people off-guard, and it's all because of that 'hypno' prefix. As soon as people hear that, they instantly think of hypnosis shows and magicians making people quack like ducks or other random things. The truth is, hypnotherapy (of which hypnobirth is a specialized branch) is a completely legitimate brach of psychology that teaches people that their mind has incredible power to affect their body. In Eastern cultures, the acceptance of the mind's power is no big deal--hence the reason things like yoga and meditation are such a big part of their philosophies and religions. All hypnosis is is harnessing your thoughts and focusing them in a particular direction.

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. No one can "hypnotise" you without your permission, because you are the one who has to do all the thinking! It's also not some weird form of voodoo where you're opening yourself up to demons or spirits or anything like that. A hypnotherapist merely guides you through what you're to think about, depending on what it is you want to accomplish, and you focus your thoughts according to what your goal is.

I actually practiced self-hypnosis without realizing back in July. I had to fly to Denver for a conference, and I was terrified, because not only did I have a layover in Phoenix, which meant I'd have TWO take-offs and landings to deal with, but I had to do it all without my trusty Dramamine, which I've been taking whenever I fly for the last 25 years. For the week before the flight I was convinced I'd be a puking mess for the three hour journey, but on the way to the airport my mom suggested I do some deep breathing while waiting for the flight. Deep and focused breathing is an integral part of hypnotherapy, along with visualization, which I started doing while I waited for the flight. I imagined myself calm on the plane, relaxed and peaceful with my Walkman playing my favorite CDs, and visualized myself not even noticing the take-off and landing. And what was the outcome? I never once felt nauseated, never once felt jittery or nervous, and when I landed in Denver (amidst a thunderstorm, even!) I felt GREAT.

Hypnobirth instruction starts with relaxation, because a relaxed body is the key to a pain- and stress-free birth. (And I know you're reading that "pain-free" part with a dubious expression on your face, but it's true!) When you get super-stressed, like many women do during labor, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode and drains blood away from non-essential organs. The uterus is considered non-essential because it's not going to help you get away or fight, so stressing during labor actually deprives the uterine muscles of the one thing they need most to function with top efficiency. when you're relaxed, your uterus gets all the blood it needs to properly function. The relaxation techniques they teach you help you not only to be relaxed, but to also focus your thoughts, because your mind can't get anything done when your throughts are all scattered. (Can I get an "Amen!" from those with ADD?) Your mind is key in attaining the pain-free part of a HB birth, because your mind actually has the ability to change the way you perceive things.

Think about Navy SEALS and others who are trained for high-risk missions. They receive training in dealing with torture in case they get captured, and part of their training is in pain management: changing the way their mind and body perceives what is happening to it. They don't feel the pain of a beating the way we would, because they know how to talk themselves into feeling something else. HB teaches that you can perceive what you feel during birth as numbness, tingling, pressure, or just a general sensation.

The last element of HB is recognizing that your body knows exactly what it's doing when the time comes to give birth. It doesn't need you grunting and pushing to help--in fact, by doing so you actually override the body's own natural birthing process and make things more difficult and painful for both you and the baby. In HB you "breathe the baby down," which consists of...breathing. That's it! A quick, deep breath in and a slow, even breath out allows the body to do what it needs to do. THAT'S IT. The typical HB birth takes 4-5 hours from start to finish, as opposed to the 8-24 hour births you so often hear about. Why? Because you're providing the uterus with the blood it needs, you're not tensing up and slowing down the process, and you're working with your body as opposed to trying to commandeer the process.

I'm sure you can see now why I'm so excited about this! Even though it's my first birth experience, I'm SO looking forward to it--I'm not nervous, not scared, not worried, because I trust myself to be able to utilize the skills HB is teaching me to achieve a beautiful birth. I hope this post helps shed some light on this whole HB thing and convinces some people to look into it for their own births. I'd love to hear from anyone who has POSITIVE birth experiences using HB, and anyone with questions--but those of you who feel compelled to "talk some sense into me" or "give me a dose of reality" please keep your opinions to yourself. Every story I hear becomes part of my mental portfolio of expectations--help me fill it with good images!