Home HypnoBirthing® How Hypnosis Eases Childbirth
Pekin, Illinois |
Monday, March 14, 2005 |
New childbirth method touted
By Laura Turner Times correspondent
Screaming, pain, agony, ordeal.
These aren't words describing the latest popular horror movie. They are images many Americans relate to birth.
Pekin Hospital recently hosted a clinic that offers a more positive approach to bringing a baby into the world.
"Women have been taught to believe that birth must be painful. It doesn't have to be that way," said Cindy Grgurich, certified hypnotist and HypnoBirth® counselor.
Grgurich spoke Saturday at Pekin Hospital to about 18 local nurses and doulas (persons trained to give support and guidance to birthing mothers) on HypnoBirth®, an alternative birth method that uses relaxation and imagery to bring desired results. It asserts if you believe birth can be painless, it will.
"HypnoBirth® is a rewarding, relaxing, stress-free method of birthing. It returns women to an art of birthing that allows her to summon her natural birthing instinct," Grgurich said.
In addition, HypnoBirthing® can reduce the need for chemical anesthesia and bring about more rapid and easier postnatal care. By imagining birth positively beforehand, it can help eliminate the fear/tension/pain cycle that often accompanies birth.
"HypnoBirthing® helps the mother be relaxed so she can have a more pleasurable birth. It can be a very enjoyable bonding experience for couples," Grgurich said.
Pekin Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology nursing director Bonnie Cox says it's another tool in giving women the birth they want.
"It empowers women to have the birth of their dreams," she said.
Julie Carlton of Washington knows first-hand the benefits of HypnoBirth®.
After a long, painful labor with her first child, she wanted a different way of doing things with her second pregnancy. A friend told her about HypnoBirth®.
"It was like the difference between night and day," Carlton said. "I focused on a gentle labor, and that's what I got. I was more in control."
HypnoBirthing® also helped Carlton eliminate almost all birth pain. "I felt contractions. They were not painful, but intense during active labor. It was uncomfortable, but not painful.
Easier, more natural."
Crowning did hurt, she said, but attributes the pain to coming out of her hypnosis at that point and delivering an 11-pound baby. She said it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
"I'll take 5 minutes of 'ow" over 24 hours of 'owâ'" she said.
Carlton "was so amazed" by her HypnoBirth® experience she now teaches it.
In addition to being a doula and holding two master's degrees in counseling and public health, she is a HypnoBirth® certified educator.
Pekin Hospital is currently undergoing a $1.4 million renovation of the birthing wing, adding three new labor and recovery suites and a hydrotherapy tub for relaxation and pain relieve during labor, according to hospital marketing director Melodie Mendenhall.
Training staff in HypnoBirth® is another step toward a goal to be the area leader in birth options.
"Pekin Hospital is going to be a Mecca for women who want alternatives and support in feeling they have power during birth," Cox said.
The hospital is working towards "Baby Friendly" status, a designation conferred by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
Only 42 hospitals in the United States have Baby Friendly status, said Cox, with St. John's Hospital in Springfield the area's closest. There are 10 steps to certification, including on-site inspections.
Cox, a nursing PHD and certified midwife since 1987, has made it her mission to make Pekin Hospital No. 1 when it comes to childbirth.
"I think Pekin Hospital has one of the best OB departments in the country. I have dedicated myself to raising the standards," she said.
For more information, go to www.hypnobirthing.com; www.newlifetherapies.com
This article has been edited to show the Registered Trademark designation for HypnoBirthing®
http://www.pekintimes.com/articles/2005/03/08/news/news1.txt
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