A recent article in "The Practising Midwife" commented on the usefulness of being able to incorporate Hypnosis into Midwifery. It warns of women consulting hypnotherapy practitioners who have no formal training in obstetrics and who are unaware of the techniques and processes of modern midwifery. "Such practitioners may create unrealistic expectations in women, creating problems rather than alleviating them". I can tell you from first hand experience that this can lead to numerous difficulties, having cared for a number of women in labour let down by hypnotherapy practitioners with insufficient knowledge of birthing who have built unrealistic (and sometimes dangerous) expectations of birth, creating conflict between the birthing woman, her birth attendants and midwife. Not a picture wholly conducive to the atmosphere of relaxation, mutal respect and confidence required for women to birth comfortably and calmly!
Consequently, the ability to utilise my Midwifery skills and knowledge has always been paramount to my Natal Hypnotherapy practice. Unlike HypnoBirthing (which is a very specific technique), Natal Hypnotherapy allows me to incorporate my numerous Midwifery skills and extensive knowledge and experience, ensuring that I am able to use the most appropriate and efficacious techniques for each individual. In this way, women can achieve the best possible outcome for them and their baby - and this is most likely to be a natural birth. But if events take a different course, they are still able to manage them confidently, calmly, effectively and appropriately, still gaining a positive experience of birthing, whether it be in hospital or home, with or without an epidural, vaginally or by caesarian section. Being able to explain and understand pregnancy complications is important for women who already have underlying issues with their health or pregnancy and this knowledge has enabled me to help women to adapt their hypnosis to their specific circumstances and situations and to explore ways of optimising their chances of having a positive birth experience adapting their birthing environment / hypnosis script to empower them to take control of thier experience. This is the point of hypnosis for birth - giving women confidence to take control of the experience, empowering them to make the right choices for themselves and their babies and to have a good birth experience, whatever, wherever and however. The lower rates of intervention, less need for drugs, less postnatal depression and higher rates of normal spontaneous birth and higher APGAR scores for their babies are the wonderful "side effects" of Natal Hypnotherapy!!!