The UK government is conducting one of the largest studies around medical hypnosis this year. For this, 800 pregnant women will give birth under self-hypnosis. The study is being conducted to avoid women asking for expensive painkillers during childbirth. Women under hypnosis also need less counseling, according to The Sunday Times. The study should answer the question of how women can give birth with as little pain as possible without painkillers.
Painkillers
There are a number of ways to combat pain during childbirth. Puff heavily, squeeze your partner's hand, get a massage or ask for an anesthetic. In the Netherlands, you are entitled to pain relief during childbirth, unless there are medical objections, of course. However, painkillers are not always without risk. They can get to the baby through the umbilical cord and affect the child's breathing.
So what if you are scared to death of needles or just really want to do it without medical means? Then giving birth under hypnosis might be an option.
Relax
Self-hypnosis requires training under professional guidance. Women learn to tolerate pain to the best of their ability. This makes them less afraid of the pain which makes them more relaxed. Once they master the skills, they can put themselves under hypnosis when labor begins.
One drawback is that you never know how a delivery will go, and circumstances may prevent you from achieving hypnosis. 'The idea is to allow women to do the work themselves,' said Professor Soo Downe of the University of Central Lancashire. 'If the results are promising, we're thinking of offering free training courses around hypnobehavioral collapse.'
(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)
