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Tuesday October 14, 10:48 AM
Hypnobirthing gaining popularity
A practice that teaches pregnant mums to transcend into self-hypnosis
during labour is gaining popularity in Australia, according to a
practitioner of the craft.
Hypnobirthing, a natural birthing system based on hypnosis, is being
sought out by more Aussie mums-to-be, according to Melbourne
hypnobirthing practitioner Diane Gardner.
Ms Gardner, who stumbled upon the hypnotic birthing method when her
eldest daughter fell pregnant, will demystify the practice at a
Melbourne parents expo later this week.
Ms Gardner trained in the practice through an American organisation
and has been teaching pregnant Australian women how to self-hypnotise
during labour for three years.
"We teach mums how to put themselves into self-hypnosis ... then they
have a much easier, more comfortable labour," Ms Gardner said.
"We teach them how to give themselves a cue that allows their body to
relax.
"At no stage do they black out; they are fully aware of what's going
on.
"We just instruct certain parts of their body to relax -- the areas
used for birthing.
She said Australian females were socially conditioned to expect birth
to be painful.
"The hardest thing is de-hypnotising women out of that fear.
"If you look at third world countries, they don't have pain in
childbirth.
"They squat down and birth their baby and off they go.
She said Australian women were increasingly opting for drug-assisted
or caesarean section births to avoid the anticipated pain.
But she said hypnobirthing offered a pain-free alternative without
the medical complications that drugs or caesareans could raise.
And she said the hypnotic birthing practice was gaining popularity in
Australia, with at least six practitioners instructing pregnant women in
Melbourne, and others along Australia's east coast.
"I've been teaching for three years and I'm seeing the most profound
results.
"I'm probably getting at least one phone call a day. Once mums went
out there and started giving birth through hypnobirthing, the word
started to spread.
She said the concept of hypnobirthing had its roots in early studies
by English obstetrician Dr Grantley Dick Read in the 1920s.
"He wanted to know why some women came into the hospital and gave
birth to their babies with no stress and others came in screaming out of
control.
"The ones that gave birth easily allowed their bodies to relax.
"The others were so fearful of their birth that their bodies were
taut and that tightness meant they experienced pain.
Ms Gardner said as well as the reduced risk of medical complications
for the mother, hypnobirthing offered a stress-free start to life for
the new born.
"The benefits are having a very relaxed mother, a very relaxed, very
serene baby who hasn't had a traumatic birth."
A display on hypnobirthing will form part of a parents, babies and
children's expo to be held in Melbourne from Friday. | 