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• The Capital Newspaper
• Body and Soul Magazine

Self-hypnosis May Help Remove Fear From Birthing Process

This article was featured in an August 2005 issue of The Capital

BY THERESA WINSLOW, Staff Writer

KIM O'BRIEN's mission is to take the labor out of labor. She wants to maximize comfort and minimize pain in natural births. The Crownsville resident runs Annapolis HypnoBirthing®, which teaches women techniques of self-hypnosis to take the fear out of the birthing process. Ms. O'Brien's instruction enables women to achieve a state of deep relaxation through special breathing, imagery and massage from their birthing partner, which helps release endorphins.

"It's so wonderful to do something you're so passionate about," said Ms. O'Brien, who is going into her fourth year as a HypnoBirthing® instructor and has taught over 100 couples. "I get a lot of satisfaction (from it)."

Much of her instruction is about education, on birth itself and women's bodies. Part of the process of removing fear is using a different vocabulary.

For example, contractions are called surges and labor is called birthing or the birth process, while pain is referred to as pressure or tightening.

The hypnosis portion, she said, isn't about mind control, but more like achieving a state of mind over matter. She calls it "meditation with intention." Her classes typically run for five weeks and she urges moms-to-be to practice each day.

Although it's not as well known as other birthing techniques, HypnoBirthing® seems to be catching on in the county. Anne Arundel Medical Center started offering classes a month ago and there are other practitioners in the area as well.

"I've had people go through complicated labors without any medication," said Elizabeth Lasner of A Conscious Choice in Severn, who has been teaching HypnoBirthing® for about six years. "You'd be amazed."

Juli Butler of Odenton, a labor and delivery nurse at AAMC, took classes from Ms. Lasner and used the technique for the births of both her children. Ms. Butler now is among three nurses certified in HypnoBirthing® at the hospital.

"I have full confidence that every woman out there has the ability to mentally prepare for childbirth," she said. "For all intensive purposes (when I had my children), I appeared to be resting peacefully, so when it was time for the babies to come, they came out easily."

While the women who use the technique are deeply relaxed, they aren't so tuned out that they're unaware of their surroundings. They can respond to questions, Ms. O'Brien said.

"There's nothing I would change," said Cara Bergman of Severna Park, who gave birth to her first child with HypnoBirthing® 13 months ago. "It was just wonderful. That's what I want to give to anyone pregnant (the same experience). To me, there's nothing greater in the whole wide world."

Ms. Bergman said that instead of being tired after labor, she was energized.

"I felt like I wanted to do it all over again!" she said.

Babying Her Clients

The light in Ms. O'Brien's home office is dim and soft music plays as she instructs her clients to close their eyes and start breathing deeply.

"Place your awareness on your breathing," she tells them.

"Breathe fully. Breathe easily … All your tension is just drifting away. With every breath you take, you relax more and more …"

It was part of an exercise about eradicating fears about giving birth or other issues in their lives. The four people in the room were either sitting or lying down throughout the exercise and remained silent, appearing to be completely immersed in the task. All open their eyes in unison after a half-hour and look alert.

"I thought if nothing else, it was going to lead to a more relaxed, fearless birth process," said Tina Dickey of Arnold, who attended the class with her husband, Jim. She is expecting her second child at the end of the month.

Ms. Dickey didn't use HypnoBirthing® for her first child six and a half years ago and said the experience was stressful and left her exhausted. A while after, her sister told her about HypnoBirthing, and she signed up for the course with Ms. O'Brien.

"It's working well," Ms. Dickey said. "Usually at this point in pregnancy, I have problems sleeping. I'm more relaxed (and) I feel much more prepared."

Heather Smoll of Cape St. Claire is taking the class with her mother and said practicing the skills has given her a lot of comfort as the due date for her first child looms. She found out about HypnoBirthing® at her birthing center and said she knew it was for her.

"I think it's awesome," said Ms. Smoll, who practices diligently. "The philosophy is totally up my alley - peace and calm. Just letting it flow and letting it go."

Before Ms. O'Brien led the group in the exercise, she discussed a birth plan - which details what they want and don't want on the day of delivery - with her clients.

"If you want to have a natural childbirth, you have to have a plan," Ms. O'Brien said. "It's your body; it's your choice.

Neighbors Kathryn and Dan Hope dropped in during class. They had daughter Charlotte 10 months ago using HypnoBirthing® and related their experiences. Ms. Hope weathered three days of labor using the technique.

"I wouldn't have made it without it," Mrs. Hope said. "They kept telling me I should be in more discomfort than I was in. It kept me calm and relaxed."

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Better Birthing

This article was featured in the August 2002 issue of Body & Soul Magazine

Doulas and HypnoBirthing® techniques are helping moms-to-be take a more natural, less painful route to having a baby.

BY VICTORIA PALMER

WHEN Alexandra Gormley, age 32, was pregnant with her first child, she complained that her obstetrician treated her as though she were just another item on his to-do list. And he wasn't doing anything to soothe her nerves about her impending labor. Gormley anticipated bright lights, cold stirrups and pain at the large Los Angeles hospital where she was scheduled to have her baby. She knew she could ask for an epidural anesthetic to ease her labor pains, but she didn't want to take drugs. There must be another way, she reasoned -a way to rely more on her own body and less on medical interventions. After discussing her concerns with several new mothers, Gormley and her husband, Steve, decided to hire a doula, a professional birthing coach, to help with the birth.

Christine Napper, age 29, of Leroy, New York, was anxious about her labor, too. She worried that she might not be adequately prepared when it came time for her to give birth. Her physician, Lome Campbell, M.D., recommended HypnoBirthing® and coached Napper and her husband, David, in its techniques to eliminate her fears and reduce her pain.

In 2000, more than 4 million women gave birth in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The majority of those women chose to have their babies in a traditional hospital setting with an obstetrician in attendance. Nonetheless, a growing number of pregnant women, like Gormley and Napper, are taking a more natural route. The American College of Nurse-Midwives, with 7,000 members licensed to practice in all SO states, reports that nurse midwives-who focus on the needs of the pregnant woman and her family- now attend at 10 percent of all births in the United States. In lieu of hospitals, women are opting to have their babies at birth centers, home- like facilities that are often equipped with comfortable bedrooms, bath- rooms, kitchens and living rooms, and may be large enough to accommodate an entire family. Lamaze training, home births, water births, acupuncture for pain relief-these are just a few of the innovations that are allowing women to regain a measure of control over their bodies and their birth experiences. Here BODY & SOUL takes a look at two options that are gaining in popularity: doulas and HypnoBirthing®.

Doulas: Advocates for Moms-to-Be

In ancient Greece, the doula was the favorite female servant who helped in childbirth. Today doulas have evolved into professional birthing coaches-who are trained to provide emotional, physical and informational support before, during and just after pregnancy. Generally, a family or couple meets with a doula in the last trimester to discuss birthing techniques such as breathing and positioning, and postnatal concerns such as breastfeeding. She does not duplicate the services of doctors and nurses but rather collaborates with them in order to assure that the mother has a safe and satisfying birth experience. For example, if a doula detects a problem during labor, such as a baby in a breech (feet-first) position, she alerts the appropriate medical staff.

Demand for doulas has been increasing, thanks to clinical studies showing that women with doulas have 50 percent fewer cesarean sections, a 25 percent reduction in length of labor, 40 percent less use of the labor-inducing drug Pitocin and 60 percent fewer requests for epidurals. Fewer medical interventions also mean lower expenses, which is driving the creation of in-house doula programs at hospitals. According to Jennifer Nunn, president of Doulas of North America-one of the largest doula training, certification and membership organizations in the country- the organization had fewer than 100 doula members when it started 10 years ago; now there are more than 4,000.

The Gormleys' doula, Los Angeles- based Harinam Khalsa, proved invaluable throughout the birth. When labor began, Khalsa met the couple at the hospital. Doctors and nurses changed shifts, but the doula never left. As Gormley's labor pains intensified, Khalsa encouraged her to trust her body. Khalsa also made sure the mom-to-be was in control, intervening when a nurse "went ballistic" over Gormley's request to use the bathroom. "I was attached to all these monitors, and she didn't want me disrupting anything," Gormley explains. To avoid problems, Khalsa accompanied her. When it was finally time to push, the doula stepped aside and let husband Steve act as birthing coach. Shortly afterward, their son Zachary was born. "My doula's focus was always on me and my family;' says a content Gormley. "My needs were more important than hospital procedure.

Linda Hamill, age 32, of Poughkeepsie, New York, wasn't so fortunate when she delivered her daughter Ashley in 1999. Doctors administered an epidural early, and while the drug's numbing effects reduced her pain, they also slowed her contractions. (Research suggests that in addition to slowing down labor, epidural medication may remain in the baby's system for up to six weeks after delivery; this may affect the baby's ability to "latch on" during breastfeeding.) Eventually Hamill had to have a cesarean section. Afterward, healing was slow, and she could barely maneuver her own body, let alone care for Ashley. For her second pregnancy, Hamill and husband Jeff hired Jennifer Rush, a local doula. When contractions began at 4 A.M. one morning, Hamill was ready to head for the hospital. But Rush soon arrived, determined that labor was in the early stages and advised staying put. At one point, she suggested a bath. "For one hour," Hamill recalls, "Jennifer poured hot water over my shoulders. I was so relaxed I barely felt any discomfort." At 8 A.M., the couple and Rush drove to the hospital. Already eight centimeters dilated, Hamill asked for an epidural; two hours later, her second daughter, Emily, was born. "Jennifer's voice helped me relax and focus," says Hamill. "If I had known how close I was to the end, I'm sure I could have gone without the drugs."

A doula's job is not to discourage medical interventions, but to help clarify the risks and benefits for a pregnant woman. "We live in a technological world;' says Donna Basiliou, a doula in Boston. "Epidurals and inducements are typical but not always necessary. My job is to remind each woman that she is in control of the process. I tell her to relax and trust what is natural. After all, it's her birth, it's her baby, it's her body."

HypnoBirthing®: Easing Fears and Pain

Comfort is not a word often attributed to childbirth, but as Marie Mongan writes in Hypnobirthing: A Celebration of Life, "When the mind accepts the belief that without complication, birthing proceeds naturally, no pain exists and no pain is experienced." In other words, if a laboring mother's mind is free of fear, pain can be reduced or even eliminated. Mongan developed HypnoBirthing® in 1989, based on the pioneering work of English obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read. Dick-Read postulated a fear-tension-pain feedback loop between a woman's mind and body that produces oxygen deprivation in the uterus and painful, inefficient contractions. By relying on her natural instincts, he claimed, a woman might short-circuit the loop and experience childbirth calmly, comfortably and safely.

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