Expectant couples that choose the HypnoBirthing method are committed to the idea of having a ‘non-medical’ birth.
By Lisa Stout, R.N. Princeton HealthCare System
For many expectant mothers, the idea of giving birth can often be frightening and overwhelming. We have all heard stories from friends and relatives about how painful, unpleasant and agonizing delivering a baby can be.
Yet it doesn’t have to be that way. The truth is that women’s bodies were made to give birth. We were having babies long before there were hospitals and epidurals and caesarians.
Today, more and more women are choosing a technique known as HypnoBirthing as a way to overcome their fears and anxieties about childbirth and have a positive birthing experience.
HypnoBirthing is a practice that focuses on relaxing the mind and body. When women enter labor in a state of fear, a fear-tension-pain cycle begins, causing the release of stress hormones and inhibiting the release of the hormones needed for birthing.
Reframing the thought process of birth using the HypnoBirthing techniques allows the muscles to do their job and ease the baby through the birthing process in a calm and peaceful manner.
When you fear something — whether it be childbirth or other stressful events — your muscles tighten, your body clenches up and stress and pain can set in. When this happens, it’s impossible for your muscles and other parts to work together and do what they’re programmed to do.
A form of self-hypnosis, HypnoBirthing uses visualization and breathing practices to help the expectant mother to condition her mind and body to achieve a relaxed state of being.
Developed 18 years ago by New Hampshire hypnotist Marie Mongan, HypnoBirthing is taught around the world by more than 1,700 doctors, nurses and midwives who are trained and receive certification from Mongan’s HypnoBirthing Institute.
In HypnoBirthing classes, women are taught to visualize the petals of a rose gently opening to help them positively picture what is happening while she is giving birth to her baby. They also may focus on the colors of the rainbow and positive experiences associated with each hue.
Women and their birthing companions also learn verbal affirmations to repeat out loud and in their minds during the birthing process and are instructed in three different breathing techniques: sleep, slow and birth. In addition, expectant couples are taught light-touch massage, which releases endorphins, hormones that create a euphoric feeling and act as natural painkillers.
HypnoBirthing also removes the negative connotations too often associated with the terms used to describe the childbirth process.
• Instead of labor and delivery, we say birthing.
• Instead of dilating, we say opening.
• Instead of hurt and pain, we use the terms pressure and sensation.
There are also no coaches in HypnoBirthing. Instead, we rely on birthing companions.
While HypnoBirthing enables women to reach a deep level of relaxation, it does not produce a trance-like state of deep sleep. Women remain fully aware and conversant, their experience similar to the relaxed concentration felt when lost in a good book or daydreaming.
HypnoBirthing is a philosophy as much as it is a practice. Expectant couples that choose the HypnoBirthing method are committed to the idea of having a “non-medical birth.” This does not mean having the baby at home without any doctors or nurses available. What it does mean is that a couple prefers to minimize the amount of medical attention during the birth unless it becomes necessary.
The HypnoBirthing method enables the mother, the birthing companion and baby to truly be the stars of the show.
More than 90 percent of women using the HypnoBirthing method reported feeling very healthy after the birth, according to statistics from the HypnoBirthing Institute. Since energy is not expended while fighting against pain, the level of fatigue experienced after the baby is born is reduced, and many HypnoBirthing moms report having shorter labors.
In addition, the institute’s statistics show that nearly 60 percent of women reportedly deliver their babies without the use of pain medications of any kind.
HypnoBirthing classes are offered by Princeton HealthCare System through its Community Education & Outreach Program. Those interested in registering for the five-week course may call (888) 897-8979 or visit www.princetonhcs.org/calendar.
University Medical Center at Princeton was ranked among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for maternity care services for the second year in a row by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company. Among other the features, the medical center was recognized for its comprehensive maternity education and support.
Lisa Stout, R.N., is a certified Hypnobirthing instructor with Princeton HealthCare System.

