Hypnosis in childbirth

March 04, 2012

De Britse overheid voert dit jaar een van de grootste studies rond medische hypnose uit. Hiervoor zullen 800 zwangere vrouwen bevallen onder zelfhypnose. De studie wordt uitgevoerd om te vermijden dat vrouwen tijdens hun bevalling om dure pijnstillers vragen. Vrouwen onder hypnose hebben ook minder begeleiding nodig volgens de The Sunday Times. De studie moet antwoord geven op de vraag hoe vrouwen met zo weinig mogelijk pijn kunnen bevallen zonder pijnstillers.

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)