Childbirth & Hypnosis
Several years ago, a mom-to-be called the office, asking if I would help her with childbirth preparation. As no one had ever asked me, I was breaking new ground. I told the client that I was a newbie to this area of practice, but that I enjoyed developing new skills. I did some research on strategies, and off we went. Since that time, I have seen a small number of pregnant women and their partners to help with childbirth preparation. I have to say that this is a joyous part of my practice. Most of the time when I work with people, we end the working relationship and I generally don’t hear from them unless they need additional help. In this case, however, I get birth announcements and baby pictures! More rarely, parents bring the new baby to the office – that is really special!
How can hypnosis help?
The general approach is to help with the overall worries about labor and delivery, with a special focus on being able to modify the sensations of childbirth. Many moms want to minimize the use of pain medications at the time of delivery, feeling that this is better for them and for their babies. Research done in other settings bear out what I hear from my childbirth clients: they feel more in charge, more comfortable, and kept the use of medications to a minimum.
What’s the process?
I like to see couples at about the start of the third trimester. With experience, I have come to spread out the intervention over 3 sessions:
session 1 – general orientation & introduction to hypnosis
session 2 – focus on comfortable labor and delivery
session 3 – final adjustments and preparation for your new baby
Details
Each session is about 50 minutes in length. We audio record the hypnosis, and send a digital sound file to your email account [I can also provide a CD-R if you prefer]. I’ll encourage you to practice as much as needed to build responsiveness and confidence in hypnosis supporting your comfort in labor and delivery. This group of sessions, combined with your pre-natal care, will help you approach childbirth with more confidence – hypnosis serving as another tool to bring with you on the journey. I offer an all inclusive price for the three sessions: $295
Call us with your questions – 402.334.1122