Childbirth is currently associated with pain, almost as a logical cause and effect relationship. Any mother could explain her story and how painful her birth was and many of us have heard of that woman who was convinced to give birth without an epidural and who ended up begging her.
It is for this reason that the epidural has gained good reputation over time, to the point of receiving the adjective "blessed." However, over time, some of the risks of it have also been known, since the epidural can generate some disruptions in the delivery process.
In order to prepare mothers to live the birth in a more pleasant and less painful way than trying to have a vaginal delivery without epidural and with the intention of avoiding the risks of it, there are alternatives that must be taken into account, for example relaxation and hypnosis techniques in childbirth, known as HipnoBirth, which we will talk about today, in an interview, with Vizcaino Pillar, psychologist, president of the National Association of Prenatal Education and professor of HipnoNacimiento, which we can see on the left of the image together with the participants of one of the workshops he teaches with the Doctor in psychology and psychotherapist Sandra Cuadrado.
There are women who have real panic to the pain of childbirth, however there are authors who say that childbirth should not really hurt, does childbirth hurt?
Giving birth doesn't have to hurt. Nature has prepared us for birth to be a peaceful and harmonious event. In our western society the belief that childbirth hurts is deeply rooted. Changing this belief is the first thing to do. It is necessary to investigate what is the origin of fear in childbirth, know that it has not always been this way and if there is pain to know what is the cause. I think it is interesting, to give more depth to the answer, to take a tour to know when the fear of childbirth arises: In Greek schools, for example, it was not mentioned that there was a relationship between childbirth and pain unless there was a complication. Decrees were enacted for several centuries in order to isolate women at the time of delivery, since children were considered the result of sin. The women were alone at that time, they could not be treated by anyone and when they had complicated deliveries they suffered a lot. As it was considered that the important thing was to save the baby's life, the mothers were made an incision without any contemplation and without considering their sufferings, with which the mother faced that event thinking that if it was complicated she could reach To die. Until the 18th century, doctors were not allowed to assist mothers, but the problem was that the maternity units lacked hygiene, so infections were easily transmitted. In 1890 important changes in the obstetrics began and the hygiene and the use of anesthesia was generalized. After this and other similar experiences he studied the question for many years and formulated the theory that in the absence of fear the contractions that cause the pain disappear. He called it the "FEAR-TENSION-PAIN" syndrome and observed that if fear was eliminated, tension was eliminated and consequently pain. In 1933 he wrote a book on Natural Birth, but he did not get much success (pioneers are not always well received). Marie Mongan, founder of HipnoNacimiento knew the theories of Dr. Read that confirmed her own intuition that nature had done things very well and with her third child in the 50s she could live that experience completely awake, conscious and calm when normal at that time were ether cones such as anesthesia, leather straps, etc. In 1989, when her daughter was waiting for a baby, she decided to use her knowledge of hypnotherapy and developed a program that would allow her to give birth consciously, free from fear and in harmony with nature. That's how the HipnoNacimiento was born. According to Marie Mongan:
At the beginning of the 20th century, the English obstetrician Dick Read studied for many years because there were women who felt pain and others did not. He had a first painless delivery experience when he attended a humble woman in a London neighborhood. Read tried to put on the ether mask to anesthetize her, as she always did, but she refused. After having his son in his arms he asked her why she had refused to use anesthesia and she replied: "It didn't hurt, doctor, did it have to hurt me?"
We believe that every woman has within her the power to appeal to her natural instincts to achieve the best possible way to give birth to her baby and herself.
You mean with all this that giving birth hurts because women are afraid?
Sure. The point is that it can be a conscious or unconscious fear, which depends on several factors. The fear of childbirth is in our subconscious programming, but it can come out.
Could you explain a little about what HipnoNacimiento consists of?
We can say that it is both a method and a philosophy of birth. Part of the idea that birth is a family and non-medical event, in which the main protagonists are the Mother, the Father and the Baby. Except in very special cases. It promotes the teaching of self-hypnosis techniques that allow the mind and body to work harmoniously. It is a program of between 5 and 6 sessions that teaches how to give birth in a state of deep relaxation, which includes a part in which the emotional liberation of previous fears, thoughts and attitudes is worked, because we know that emotions play a key role in this event.
Once the 5 or 6 sessions are done, is the mother ready?
The mother needs to repeat during some months of her pregnancy the training guidelines in breathing, relaxation and hypnotic deepening that will program her subconscious mind in a positive way towards the birth of her baby. The great day in which she gives birth to her body, her heart and her mind will work in total harmony so that, fully aware and awake, she accompanies the birth of her baby and her partner can guide or accompany her during this process of which she will be a part.
Is the father also participating in the story?
Yes, the role of the partner or companion is promoted as well as the bond with the baby, which is created throughout pregnancy with the baby. Thus babies feel accompanied by their parents and their arrival in the world takes place in a safe, calm and trustful environment.
As a summary, could you list the advantages of HipnoBirth?
When you say wave, do you mean shrinkage?
An important issue in HipnoNacimiento is the change of language. The usual language conditions us, since it brings to our mind a series of images. Before the word contraction, we all feel tension, instead the word wave, which is how the contractions feel, like waves rising and falling, causes us other images. Saying "wave" evokes good feelings and our body reacts differently.
I have the feeling that in Spain we are very skeptical about these methods ... Is there data from any other country where these techniques are used?
Skepticism comes to us from what has been transmitted to us about hypnosis, from what we have seen in the movies, etc. Hypnotherapy is very well considered in many countries as healing techniques, such as uninhabiting therapy, etc., but in our country it will be a known method when its positive effects can be verified and it has no side effects. Currently, HipnoNacimiento is taught in 34 countries of the world and in England, for example, it is offered by social security, since they have seen that it is effective and reduces many costs.
The image that we usually have all of hypnosis is the "one, two, three, sleep!" That we saw so much on television. Is there any of this in these techniques, or is the mother aware at all times of what happens?
This is one of the wrong questions we all have. The mother is aware at all times, she learns everything that happens around her, she can leave that state at any time she wishes. We live the state of self hypnosis in many moments of our daily lives.
For example?
The moments before falling asleep, are a state of self hypnosis or when we are driving and suddenly we arrive at the place without almost realizing the journey, which has become very short. We cannot say that we have not been aware, because if we had not arrived without incident, we were simply absorbed in our history.
How is the birth of a mother with the technique of HipnoBirth? -
I think the best example is the testimony of Sandra, who is an instructor like me in the method and who has recently given birth to her baby using the HipnoNacimiento.
My name is Sandra Cuadrado, I am a doctor in psychology and a professor of HipnoNacimiento. Two months ago I was lucky to live from my own experience what I teach: I gave birth to my son Salvador with HipnoNacimiento. I would like to say that HipnoNacimiento fundamentally changed the birth experience for both me and the baby. The preparation of the previous months allowed that when the waves began (contractions) I would automatically enter a state of relaxation and calm very pleasant. This is one of the surprises that the mothers of HipnoNacimiento take. At the time of birth it is not necessary to use the techniques learned, just accompany the process with breathing. The body responds to the hypnotic programming practiced daily during the previous months and you just have to be surprised by the calm and serenity that invade us.The process began at eleven at night when I went to sleep, the first four hours I was in bed, relaxed breathing and sleeping while receiving the waves, my husband slept peacefully beside me. At that time we called the doctor to inform him, but in reality I felt so much confidence in myself and the baby, that I would have given birth alone, this is one of the effects of HipnoBirth: it returns the trust to the mothers.
At half past five in the morning the doctor arrived, he didn't touch me or talk to me, he only saw that the baby was fine with his doppler (fetoscope). Hours passed, I moved to the couch, unlike the birth of my oldest daughter, where I had been going up and down stairs and exercising enough during the process, now all I wanted was to be calm in a position as relaxed as possible. Noticing that the doctor was not impatient for my autonomy and stillness, and that I did not require an exploration to know the centimeters of dilatation, I was smiling inside because I knew everything was going perfect.
The twelve hours of the birth process we dedicated ourselves to communicate with Salvador, we talked to him, we supported him and we said words of encouragement and affection. And it is that when the mother is well, calm and relaxed, she stops being the protagonist, we could all pay a little more attention to the baby that needed us so much and we noticed how she responded to our words and requests.
Dad was present throughout the birth, quiet, loving, making me suggestions of calm and relaxation, touching me to help me release endorphins as we had learned. At 9 in the morning the membranes (I broke the bag) broke off in an intense breath, and soon I felt like pushing my baby, but it seemed that even the baby had to descend a little more so I decided to get into the bathtub. It was two hours that passed like five minutes, in HipnoNacimiento we also teach the distortion of time. They were intimate moments with my partner and my baby, where I connected very deeply with Love and I felt happy because I sensed the closeness of my son.
Indeed, at two hours my baby was ready to be born, I got out of the bathtub and squatted I breathed three times deeply down, not pushing sharply but breathing intensely but gently, and my baby descended, my husband received it and we hugged three, I couldn't believe how easy it had been. The intensity of the process lived from the deepest relaxation I had known had been like magic. My body the next day was full of energy, there was no physical or mental exhaustion, and with my one-day baby in my arms I wanted to run away to tell the news that it can give birth calmly and painlessly.
We are grateful to Pilar for having attended to us by talking about a subject as exciting as this, in which we learn that Women have the capacity and power to connect with themselves and their instincts to make childbirth a special, unforgettable moment.
