EXPECTANT parents in North Essex are among the first in the country to be offered hypnobirthing courses on the NHS as the practice soars in popularity.

This and the fact the results are speaking for themselves with mums reporting it really does help keep them calm and able to cope better with pain, mean it is fast replacing the traditional pre-natal classes.

Although it has been around since the 1980s, when it was popularised in America, it is only in the past few years it has begun to really take off.

The number of couples taking hypnobirthing courses has risen 14 times over in the past four years and hypnotherapy practitioners report receiving more enquiries than ever from interested mums-to-be.

Colchester General Hospital, which now has the highest number of trained hypnobirth teachers in country, says only six couples took the course when it was introduced there in 2012.

Teri Gavin-Jones, specialist midwife and hypnobirth trainer for the hospital, says this number has now risen to 84 a month, which is around a quarter of women giving birth at the hospital.

It is so popular it is now being offered as standard education, meaning there is no added fee to take the course as there once was.

Teri explains: “We started to get more and more women asking us for it and they would turn up and say they had done a private hypnobirthing course and this was the plan they wanted to follow in labour.

“Because it was not offered in hospitals then, they had been to a private practitioner, who are not necessarily trained midwives and are not medically trained.

“There is nothing wrong with that but we did not know what they were saying to them and then we had to try and implement it with the mother.

“So we thought we needed to send some of our midwives to be trained in hypnobirthing, so they could work with the mothers who had done these courses.

“That was in 2011. We then started to offer our own in-house hypnobirthing course for mums and dads at a cost of £250,” explains Teri.

But with the practise rapidly increasing in popularity and more and more expectant mums opting to take the course, the decision was made to offer it as part of the ante-natal service.

Not least because the results were speaking for themselves.

Teri says: “Last year we decided to make it free because the results were significant. We were hearing such great things about the benefits of using the methods we no longer felt we could ask people to pay.

“It opened the floodgates and we are now running 12 groups a month.

“At the moment there are no spaces on courses until November because we are so booked up but we are trying to make sure every mum who wants to do a course gets a place on one.”

Hypnobirthing uses relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques to alleviate pain during the birth process.

Experts say hypnobirthing, which is suitable for first-time mums and mums who’ve had kids before, can help with anxiety.

Teri, who has trained teachers for mid Essex NHS, Ipswich, Kent and Chichester and Worthing, says you can begin classes at any stage of your pregnancy.

She said: “Typically, we see women at the hospital at about 30 weeks. Hypnosis relies on practice and repetition. The more frequently the techniques are used, the better the outcome.

“The sooner women attend a course and begin the practice the more benefit she will receive in labour.

She explains hypnosis can occur during the day when the mind relaxes and your subconscious, that deals with change, takes over.

“For example, you might be say at your computer and your mind might wander for a minute and you drift off, that is hypnosis.

“We might call it a daydream. In labour we are trying to achieve being in that zone.”

Hypnotherapy harnesses the power of positive language, with methods designed to induce deep relaxation.

The methods include breathing techniques, visualisation, and positive thinking, which aims to lower anxiety, stress, fatigue and fear – all of this helps lessen pain.

The course helps educate mums-to-be on what happens to the body during labour and encourage them to have the confidence and control needed to have the best birth possible.

Teri adds hypnosis is used to induce a deep relaxation in the pregnant woman, and her partner, if she has one.

“When the woman is relaxed, her brain wave pattern moves from beta – fully alert, through to alpha – restful, into theta – hypnosis.

“During theta, the mind is much more receptive to suggestion. So, even if the conscious brain believes that birth is painful, the subconscious brain can alter that thought pattern.”

And she says partners have also found it has been hugely helpful in educating them on how to help their loved one as they go through labour.

“It means they can be far more involved in the process. They learn about how to make the room a comfortable environment, about hormones and also massage techniques.

“We have found that even when a mum does not have a perfect birth, as things do not always go on plan, and they have ended up having to have a caesarean section, for example, they have used the techniques to remain calm and this has helped them be aware throughout and engaged with the arrival of their baby.”

The Pros
- Reduces pain and length of labour.
- Reduces your need for medication and intervention.
- Increases your chances of a faster recovery.
- Makes babies calmer at birth.
- Can make breastfeeding easier.
- Fewer cases of post-natal depression.
- Babies are more alert and have a higher Apgar score.
- Highly beneficial for relaxing mums during caesarean sections.

The Cons
- Perception is that not everyone can do it.
- It takes months of practice, preparation and dedication.
- Birth is unpredictable and you may not get to use the technique unexpectedly.
(Courtesy of Living and Loving)

  •  Teri has also co-written a book, with Sandra Handford, just published by Routledge, called Hypnobirth: Evidence, Practice and Support for Birth Professionals.