FAQ: What makes Hypnobabies so successful?
The main element in Hypnobabies that is responsible for creating an easier, more comfortable birth experience is … deep, somnambulistic HYPNOSIS.
In Hypnobabies, we use a very deep form of hypnosis which takes students far beyond deep relaxation and breathing techniques. Hypnosis actually conditions the mind, through prior training, to convert birthing sensations from painful sensations to comfortable, sometimes pleasurable ones. Normal birthing sensations are still experienced by our students; pressure, stretching, pushing, and tightening, as well as the movements of the baby, and they can be experienced with less discomfort by using medical-grade hypnosis techniques.
The main way that hypnosis is used successfully in Hypnobabies is through post-hypnotic suggestions. These are the suggestions for easier, more comfortable birthing which are embedded into the mind so deeply that with the use of one hypnotic cue word during childbirth, their effects are instantly available. They must be repeated (compounded) during Hypnobabies hypnosis practice many times for the best effect. In order to create profound physical comfort and the deepest relaxation in the body as well as a calm, confident attitude, our Hypno-students reach a hypnotic state called somnambulism and listen to their Hypnobabies scripts and audio tracks repeatedly, and as directed.
Somnambulism (the literal definition is “sleep walking”) is a very deep state of hypnosis where the person looks as if they are sleeping, and they may even breathe heavily as if they were asleep, but they are not asleep. They are as relaxed physiologically as when they are sleeping but can still be very aware of what is happening around them (IF they want to be!). It is in this deep state of hypnosis that the inner mind is so accessible that Hypno-anesthesia can be created. With the practice and use of specific hypnotic suggestions for the lessening and/or altering of physical sensations, even surgery can be performed comfortably without medications in a somnambulistic state. Childbirth can also be a more comfortable experience by using somnambulistic hypnosis techniques; the ones that are taught in Hypnobabies.
There are two more elements that assist with making childbirth easier and more comfortable:
- Profoundly Deep Relaxation: The muscles of a birthing body, especially the ones around the baby must be completely and totally relaxed so that they can work efficiently and without any added discomfort from the Fear/Tension/Pain response. Hypnotic relaxation practice is essential and is practiced well by each Hypnobabies student. This is one of the reasons we do progressive relaxation inductions, and in every Hypnobabies hypnosis script, audio track, cue and technique, deep hypnotic relaxation is practiced so that it becomes a completely automatic response for our students as soon as they engage their hypnosis. Hypnobabies hypnosis training instills automatic conditioning for instant and very deep total body relaxation, therefore it is our hypnosis that creates deep relaxation.
- Fear Clearing Sessions: Through hypnotic suggestion, our Hypno-students are gently guided to release fears and concerns and counteract the effects of a lifetime of not-so-encouraging expectations about childbirth. Every birth story pregnant people read, see on TV or in the movies, or listen to during others’ stories about their own birth experiences, helps create their belief system about the process of birth. Hypnobabies Fear Clearing sessions help expectant students and their Birth Partners to let go of prior cultural conditioning, and to transform fears or concerns they may have about childbirth into a sense of confidence and happy anticipation for their baby’s birth. Releasing fears about birth and the resulting stress reduction, helps our students’ bodies to relax and function well, to enjoy restful sleep and to actually enjoy their pregnancies.
Hypno-students must practice their hypnotic cues and techniques on a daily basis until the baby comes to create an easier more comfortable experience for everyone involved. They simply have to do their “hypno-homework” every day. This hypnosis practice is actually the easiest thing our students do during their pregnancies; getting into a relaxed position and, with our soft, binaural beats music playing in the background, they allow themselves to float away into a wonderfully deeper mental and physical state…all while listening to hypnotic suggestions (gentle mental directives) for an easier, more comfortable birth. Hypno-practice is a gift they give themselves while pregnant that pays many dividends during birthing!
