Birth Hypnosis Practitioner Training

This month I completed Birth Hypnosis Practitioner Training facilitated by Anna Urbanski of Opening to Life. The course provided me with skills and resources to support a pregnant/birthing mother into a state of deep relaxation with the intent of moving past the conscious part of her brain to her primal brain (a process which naturally occurs, on account of the hormonal cocktail, at birth). As one of my classmates stated "it's a lovely complement to a woman's natural hormonal state during pregnancy and birth", as opposed to something artificial or imposed upon her.

Our course materials defined hypnosis as:

"[A] means of inducing a level of consciousness that is characterised by relaxation and suggestibility. The purpose of hypnosis is to provide a means of bypassing the critical mind and accessing the non reasoning, suggestible subconscious. The purpose of hypnotherapy is to assist the client, through guided imagery and visualisation, to bring about a desired change in behaviour or thought."

In the case of birth, the desired behaviour or thought is a peaceful and natural labour, fostered by a deep trust for the birthing process. Trust in birth may not be something the mother possesses on account of the fear-driven maternity system. For Western women who are very used to using their conscious minds, the idea of letting go of that consciousness and surrendering to the primal nature of birth can be daunting. Birth hypnosis offers women a method of engaging with the unfamiliar experience of by-passing the thinking brain. Ultimately birth hypnosis is the practice of deep relaxation, and regardless of the intent, any deep relaxation a pregnant or birthing mother can get is beneficial (the positive suggestions about trusting birth included in the CD and scripts is a bonus!).

Initial Reservations

Initially I had reservations about hypnobirth and calmbirth approaches to labour because of the messages I had absorbed from society about hypnosis (and this was something discussed throughout the course with Anna and classmates). I was concerned that the aim of using hypnosis during birth was to escape or avoid labour, that it might set women up with an unrealistic expectation of what childbirth will feel like and may put pressure on women to achieve a pain free labour.

While I believe that pain free labour is possible the aim of birth hypnosis is to birth without fear of the natural process. A woman may be able to interpret the intense sensations of childbirth as pleasure rather than pain (or "sensations" rather than "pain"), but this does not mean the labour experience will be sensation-free, un-intense, or numb. And the aim of birth hypnosis is not to enable a mother to numb herself to birth, but to practice deep relaxation in order to welcome the intensity of labour without fear.

I have observed an attitude among some advocates of hypnobirth and calmbirth that if a woman who uses these techniques still experiences pain in labour she has somehow failed and should have practiced the skill more diligently during pregnancy. What I really loved about Anna's approach was that she sees hypnosis as a tool (to use or discard) to aid the natural birthing process, and in particular the peaceful, trance state, caused by endorphins during first stage.

Appealing Aspects of the Training

Anna highlighted that hypnosis for birth is not something a practitioner does to the woman she's serving. Rather, it comes from within the woman and the practitioner acts as a facilitator (just as she is present to the mother during birth, she is present to the mother during the hypnosis practice and birth preparation, but it is the mother who does the work). Anna liked to use the analogy of a personal trainer for fitness. While a personal trainer may be supporting and encouraging an individual in improving her fitness, it is the individual who does the training.

Something that really appealed to me about Anna's course was the emphasis she places on supporting the mother and her partner to become empowered participants in the birth hypnosis process. The practitioner really acts as a guide, introducing the family to the new tool, teaching them how they can use it to suit their needs. By the time of the birth it is just another coping strategy the couple have practiced and developed throughout pregnancy to make the birth their own.

The materials provided to practitioners enable us to support the birthing mother's loved ones in becoming her birth hypnosis facilitator over the course of four sessions. In the final session the couple create their own script, taking ownership of the process and tailoring it to their personal desires.

Course Materials

• Information about the anatomy and function of the uterus
• Information on different breathing techniques to optimise relaxation
• Teachings of Grantly Dick-Read, author of "Childbirth Without Fear", in particular his work on "The Fear, Tension, Pain Syndrome"
• Sarah J Buckley MD's article on how nature's hormonal cocktail works during labour
• Outline of topics and activities to cover at each of the four (1 hour) sessions
• 2 mini non-birth meditation scripts
• 1 "soft breathing" technique script
• 1 "surrender breathing" technique script
• 1 birth hypnosis "for partners" script (for the mother to read to her partner to help prepare him or her to be her ideal support person during labour)
• 1 birth hypnosis "releasing fears and old beliefs about birth" script
• 1 "touch relaxation" script
  
• 1 template for couples to use to create a personalised "special place" script
  
• "Trusting Birth" CD of Anna reading another birth hypnosis script
• A copy of "Childbirth Without Fear" by Grantly Dick-Read

I'm now looking forward to sharing my new skills and materials with soon-to-birth families and enjoying the deep relaxation that comes with listening to Anna's "Trusting Birth" CD.