All about HypnoBirthing

There are so many different options for child-birth classes out there, it can be overwhelming to decide. I remember the first time I was looking through one of my pregnancy books at some of the different options and feeling burdened by the amount of research I would probably have to do in order to make the best choice. However, one day one of the awesome woman I walk dogs for recommended HypnoBirthing to me. She said that she had needed to use medication for her first baby but really wanted a more pleasant and natural birth experience for her second and that HypnoBirthing helped her succeed (she is a physician, which makes me hold her opinion in even higher esteem). Admittedly, my initial thought was that HypnoBirthing involved having someone come into the hospital room with you, waving a stop watch in front of you sending you into a hypnotic state during which you would birth your baby. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical. But then I did some research about it and was surprised to find that HypnoBirthing, or the Mongan Method, actually went hand and hand with what I already imagined my ideal birth situation to be. I ended up not needing to do lots of research on all the different child birthing methods because HypnoBirthing just seemed to make so much sense to me, I couldn't imagine trying any other method. Fortunately, Robbie agreed with me whole-heartily.

So what the heck is HypnoBirthing? Marie Mongan, the person who came up with HypnoBirthing, describes it best:

HypnoBirthing is as much a philosophy of birth as it is a technique or method for birthing. The basic tenet of the program is that childbirth is a normal, natural and healthy function for women. As such, birth can be accomplished gently and calmly for the very large number of women who are not in a high-risk situation.

Like the bodies of our sister creatures in nature, the bodies of healthy pregnant women instinctively know how to birth, just as their bodies instinctively know how to conceive and how to nurture the development of the babies they are carrying. HypnoBirthing helps mothers align with their own innate capacity to be able to give birth gently, comfortably, powerfully and joyfully. 

A HypnoBirthing mother learns to embrace her body's innate knowledge of birthing, to relax into her birthing process, working with her body and her baby. She trusts that each knows how to do its job. She wants this experience to unfold naturally without interruption. In doing this, she eliminates fatigue and shortens her birthing time. The result is a truly rewarding and satisfying birth experience, with the entire family, including the baby, being awake, alert and calm, yet energized (Marie Mongan, Hypnobirthing, the Mongan Method, 2005).

What truly convinced me that HypnoBirthing could work, that people can have relaxed and relatively painless natural births, was reading the chapter about how fear affects labor. I am going to include bits of her explanation here, because she just explains it so well:

Your uterus is perfectly designed to assist you to birth your baby. When we understand the way in which the uterus functions naturally when unencumbered by fear, the concept of easier, more comfortable childbirth immediately becomes obvious, and therefore, attainable.

There are three layers of muscle in the uterus. The two layers with which we will be concerned are the outer layer, with muscles that are vertical (aligned up and down with your baby), and the inner layer, with muscles that are horizontally circular (surrounding the baby). 

The circular muscles of the inner layer are found in the lower portion of the uterus. They are thickest just above the opening (cervix). In order for the outlet of the uterus to open and permit the baby to easily move down, these lower, thicker muscles have to relax and thin. The stronger muscles of the uterus are vertical fibers, with a stronger concentration at the top. They go up the back and over the top of the uterus. As these muscles tighten and draw up the relaxed circular muscles at the neck of the uterus, they cause the edges of the cervix to progressively thin and open. In an almost wavelike motion, the long muscle bands shorten and flex to nudge the baby down, through and ultimately out the uterus.

When the laboring mother is in a comfortable state of relaxation, the two sets of muscles work in harmony, as they were intended. The surge of the vertical muscles draws up, flexes and expels; the circular muscles relax and draw back to allow this to happen. The cervix things and opens. Birthing occurs smoothly and easily.

The negative physical effect of fear on labor can be traced to the function of the body's Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS is the communication network within our bodies. Its main function is to interpret messages it receives, determine what action should be taken as a result of the message, and then immediately communicate that directive to the other systems of the body. There are two subsidiary systems with the ANS-- the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic systems.

The Sympathetic system is triggered when we are stressed, frightened or startled. It instantly creates the 'fight, flight or freeze' response within the body. It closes arteries going to to organs that are not essential for defense. It prepares the body to deal with emergencies and danger.

The Parasympathetic system keeps the body and mind in a state of harmony and balance. It maintains the body functioning in a state of calm, slowing the heart rate, reducing stimulation, slowing the firing of harmful neuropeptides, and, in general, keeping us in a state of well-being.

How does this relate to birthing? The Sympathetic part of the nervous system responds, not just to actual threats, but to perceived threats. In other words, the negative messages that a mother constantly receives are processed as being real. Over time, these negative messages become part of her relief system and compromise her body's chemical balance on a regular basis. They affect her emotional state and that of her pre-born baby. When the mother approaches labor with unresolved fear and stress, her body is already on the defensive, and the stressor hormone, catecholamine, is triggered. Her body is sent into the 'fight, flight or freeze' response.

When circumstances are such that neither 'flight or fight' are appropriate, as in the case of labor, the body naturally chooses the third option: 'freeze.' Since the uterus has never been designated as part of the defense mechanism of the body, blood is directed away form it to the parts of the body involved in defense. This cause the arteries going to the uterus to tense and constrict, restricting the flow of blood and oxygen. With limited oxygen and blood, the lower circular fibers at the neck of the uterus tighten and constrict, instead of relaxing and opening as they should. The upper vertical muscles continue to attempt to draw the circular muscles up and back, but the lower muscles are resistant. The cervix remains taut and closed.

When these two sets of muscles work against each other, it causes considerable pain for the laboring mother. The situation can also have an adverse effect on the baby. The upper muscles push to expel, forcing the baby's head against the tightly closed lower muscles that refuse to budge. In addition to the pain that this causes for both mother and baby, labor can be drawn out, or it can even shut down.

HypnoBirthing teaches you how to identify emotional stress before and during labor and how to release it. You will learn how to bring yourself into a deepened relaxation. When you are free of fear, you can achieve a relaxed state from the very onset of labor. Verbal and physical cues that you and your partner have practiced will help you to maintain a state of calm from the very start, as constricting hormones (catecholamine) are overridden by your body's natural relaxants (endorphins) (Marie Mongan, Hypnobirthing, the Mongan Method, 2005).

Robbie and I have had three HypnoBirthing classes so far, and they have been great. We spend a lot of time going through different breathing techniques, visualization techniques and other relaxation techniques that we are supposed to practice throughout the week so that we are able to bring ourselves instantly into a state of deep relaxation. We also talk about things we should be doing to maintain healthy pregnancies, discuss ways to bond with our babies, and hear birth stories/watch women giving birth so that we start to get rid of haing the preconception that giving birth will hurt. We are each given a CD to listen to: one track has birth affirmations (basically you listen to how you and your baby are healthy and you are built to have a wonderful, natural birth over and over) and the other track is for relaxation. I usually listen to the birth affirmations when I am driving in the car, and I listen to the relaxation part of the CD either before bed or when I take a bath. It's really very pleasant homework.

What I think is really cool about HypnoBirthing is how it flows so naturally from my yoga practice. In yoga, we always practice having relaxed breathing, no matter how strenuous the pose. We learn how important it is not to tense muscles in your face, otherwise your whole body will reflect that tension. We learn to find peace within ourselves despite the distractions in our minds and in our surroundings. The skills I have been learning regularly in yoga are exactly the same skills I need to find deep relaxation in HypnoBirthing. Plus, the skills I am acquiring in both yoga and HypnoBirthing are beneficial in everything I do in life. These skills are helping me to be a more peaceful and happy person. I love it, and I know my baby must love it too. For more information about HypnoBirthing, check out this website: http://www.hypnobirthing.com/default.htm

To end a very long, but hopefully very informative post, here is a video of a giraffe giving birth. I only hope that I will be as calm and relaxed when I birth my baby.