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Some women turning to hypnosis to ease childbirth
TRANCE MAY CUT PAIN, NEED FOR DRUGS
By Michelle Guido        Mercury News      Dec. 8, 2003

 

The woman in the videotape is relaxing in a warm bath, eyes closed, almost trancelike. Soft music plays in the background as her partner pours a steady stream of warm water over her swollen belly.

She shifts and moves in the water, letting out a few uncomfortable groans. Moments later, after just a few pushes, her baby boy is born.

The perfect HypnoBirth.

It's not the stuff of television maternity ward shows, where women are often screaming and begging for drugs.

Hypnobirthing®, catching on among mainstream moms-to-be, is a wholly different way of approaching the later stages of pregnancy and birthing. Using hypnosis, deep breathing and communication with the fetus in the womb, those who have experienced HypnoBirthing® say they give birth with less pain and, often, no drugs.

"Most of the time, women don't know what to expect during childbirth, and we've been conditioned to be afraid of the pain,'' said Yvonne Schwab, founder of the San Jose HypnoBirthing® Center. "Hypnobirthing® teaches women to give birth in a peaceful way, allowing their body -- and their baby -- to do the work for them.''

The philosophy behind hypnobirthing is that when a woman is properly prepared for childbirth physically, mentally and spiritually, labor and delivery can be easier and more comfortable. Pregnant women learn not only how to hypnotize themselves, but their partners also learn how to coax them into a relaxed state by using verbal and taped messages and music.

Looking for alternatives

Many women who choose HypnoBirthing® have had nightmarish experiences in previous births and are looking for an alternative to long, painful labor using drugs that sometimes make labor and recovery worse. Others want a delivery that most closely mirrors nature.

Schwab said research shows most women who don't use drugs during childbirth recover more quickly, and their babies latch on for breast-feeding easier. Schwab's program does not prohibit drugs; that's an individual choice made by each mom-to-be. But it encourages women to be in charge of their own birthing plans and strongly discourages leaping for an epidural or pitocin injections.

When Morya Short of San Jose gave birth to her son, Tom, five years ago, she was equipped with Lamaze training and hoped to deliver without drugs. But when she got to the hospital, nurses began talking about the pain she was going to experience and the drugs she might want to help the pain. She started to get scared.

"Everyone was very keen to talk about the drugs,'' she said, and she finally succumbed.

When she became pregnant for the second time, Short was looking for an alternative to Lamaze. She found Schwab, and underwent a few weeks of one-on-one classes. When she checked herself into the hospital the second time around, she was calm. Until the nurses started telling her that she looked ``too relaxed'' and were considering inducing labor.

"They said I didn't look like I was in enough pain,'' she said. "Five hours after the labor started, there was Emma, just chubby and perfect. And I didn't need any drugs.''

Most women who choose HypnoBirthing® still deliver in hospitals, in the presence of doctors and nurses. But they operate under a completely different set of rules so they have more control over their personal birthing experience.

Modifying the vocabulary

Under the HypnoBirthing® model, all of the language associated with childbirth is changed. Instead of language that centers around pain and discomfort -- "contractions'' and "pushing'' -- these women use words like "surges'' and "breathing the baby down.'' Schwab said that for her clients, simply changing the words can change their entire mindset about giving birth.

Women are warned that their doctor might be an obstacle, and are told to inform their doctor well in advance that they are hoping to deliver without drugs.

Calming atmosphere

On a recent Monday night, three couples gathered at Schwab's home office for their last of five hypnobirthing classes. Sounds of water from a fountain and calm music filled the room.

The couples watched videotaped births, talked about their relaxation progress and participated in hypnosis exercises, some of them reclining on couches, others propped up against a mountain of pillows.

Mark and Sandra Silveira of San Jose are expecting their first child in six weeks. Sandra Silveira, a nurse at Stanford University Hospital who has worked in pediatrics, has seen many traditional births and wanted to try another way.

"The whole labor and delivery is the furthest behind in medicine,'' said Silveira, 29, adding that many of her friends are very supportive of her choice to use HypnoBirthing®. "The people who question me most are co-workers or friends who have given birth and haven't gone this route.''

She and Mark, 32, practice their relaxation exercises every night at home, and her husband said it's helping him to prepare for the birth in a calmer way.

"I'm feeling much more comfortable about this than I think I would have otherwise,'' said Mark Silveira, a project manager for a broadband company.

Kalyani Gilliam-Salman of Carmel found out about HypnoBirthing® after striking up a conversation with a couple with a newborn at a restaurant. They had gone through the process and raved about it. Gilliam-Salman, an acupuncturist, and her husband, Zaid Salman, 30, are expecting a baby girl.

"I really like the practicing of relaxation. It makes sense to me, being a body worker and seeing how we hold tension and stress,'' she said. "I hope it will be with me even when I go into labor and the tension rises.''

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