Is birth uncomfortable? Or even painful? What do you think?
Birth in History
Thousands of years ago women had their babies naturally, easily and quickly, and were honored as “givers of life”.
In 1891, Dr Jonathan Dye wrote about “Easier Childbirth“ and Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, author of “Childbirth without Fear”, introduced the concept of natural birthing in the 1920s. Both pondered why obstetric literature is so barren of suggestions for the prevention of pain in labor, and instead, so much more focused on successful accomplishment of labor. Both recognized the debilitating effects of fear upon labor outcomes.
Dr Dick-Read for the first time stepped back and just observed, when a birthing lady in a hovel in England innocently asked: ”It doesn’t hurt. It’s not supposed to, is it, doctor?” The second birth he witnessed was in a trench during war, and the third woman birthed leaning against a tree trunk in Africa. He began to question what these simple, uneducated women had in common: it was what they were NOT bringing to their births that allowed them to birth freely and without pain or trauma. They all had NO FEAR.
In the 1940’s Dr. Robert Bradley became a natural childbirth proponent, coming to many of the same conclusions that Dr. Grantly Dick-Read had, and during the 1950’s, Dr. Ferdinand Lamaze witnessed painless births in Russia.
In the late 50s and early 60s, when all women were generally anesthetized, Marie F. Mongan, founder of HypnoBirthing®, gave birth to 4 babies without medication and without any pain and declared: “My dream is that every woman, everywhere, will know the joy of a safe, satisfying birth for both her baby and herself - one she’ll not need to forget.”
My experience
In 1989, 1990 and 1992, I gave birth to my wonderful 3 boys - naturally, easily. Actually, they just "plopped out"
After becoming a Hypnotherapist and later also certified in HypnoBirthing®, I understood the connections of the mind, how words, stories, experiences can affect our lives, and how much the collective belief of birth being something to be scared of, actually does create this fear and even pain.
Women are being hypnotized by family, friends and care providers with all of the things that can go wrong during birth. It sometimes seems as if the more drama is put into a birth story, the more heroic the mother appears. Media supports those stories and advocates the rights and possibilities that women have to ease their pain during birth. Our fast-paced time-management makes scheduled births appear convenient! This becomes so deeply embedded in the subconscious mind, that mind AND BODY believe it, and act upon it. And as anything that we repeat over and over again, we become better at it - it becomes an automatic response from our subconscious mind, and we don't even know why we react this way. So when a girl is taught from earliest childhood not to look forward to giving birth, and this is repeated over and over throughout her life, she will experience exactly this, although she might want to experience it differently.
The same thing happened to me..... but, fortunately, the "hypnosis" I received from my mother was what she had experienced: "You just plopped out - The doctor wasn't even there - when he came, I was taking a shower!"
Yes, and this is exactly what i experienced - my babies "plopped out"! I did't take a shower, but I was fit to do whatever I felt like afterwards.
Our body - a perfect creation
Our body is perfectly designed to function. All natural and normal muscle actions, such as walking, raising your arms above your head, or the beating of your heart muscle do not hurt - unless the muscle is injured or malnourished. From the second of conception, our female body knows how to handle this miracle of life - the right hormones are secreted at the right time, the nourishment and support of the baby during pregnancy are ensured, the cartilage of the cervix softens, the ligaments become more flexible, and much more… At time of birth, the cervix has stretch receptors in it that signal the brain to release endorphins - the body’s natural morphine, and our body-own oxytocin will finally support the uterine muscles to naturally expel the baby…
The uterus contracts during menstruation - for most women a painless process, it expands from the size of a tennis ball before pregnancy to a fairly large accommodation for the baby - without pain; the inner and outer layers of the uterine muscle interact so harmoniously to assist at the time of birth - so why should those uterine muscles, if healthy, hurt??
If birth, as a matter of fact, is painful, then why isn’t it painful for every woman?
Why do mothers in some cultures birth gently and naturally?
Are the animals privileged of birthing easily and smoothly, and even having full control over their labor, whilst we have to suffer and depend on a doctor to tell us when to 'push'? We know that some animals stop their labors when not totally at ease with surroundings. Cats will shut down their labors in the middle of birthing and move with their already birthed kittens to a place where they feel safe enough to continue birthing.
Fear creates pain
Pain is a message from our body that something is wrong… but what is wrong with birth?
The answer is : Fear! Women whose labors shut down are experiencing levels of perceived stress, ranging from actual fear of the birthing process to insecurity regarding support and care of the baby, or stress of combining family and career…
For every thought or emotion, there is a corresponding chemical and physiological response within the body.
Here’s a small exercise: hold a pen firmly between your thumb and index finger…. now press them together… tightly…. focus on the pen… your goal is to release the pen…. try to drop the pen… try…
What happened? How long did it take you to drop the pen? There are conflicting messages. It’s like driving with the handbrake pulled. You know you want to move forward, but something is holding you back.
So how can you release the fear?
To understand this, let me explain the function of the ‘Autonomic Nervous System’ - the communication network in our body: When we are frightened, threatened or stressed, a basic survival instinct is activated, triggering the release of stressor hormones and thus creating a “fight or flight” response. Oxygenated blood is sent to the extremities, required to fight or flee. Since the uterus is not part of the defense mechanism, the flow of blood and oxygen to the uterus are restricted, and the muscles tighten instead of relaxing. Now, the muscle layers work against each other, the cervix tightens, which creates pain.
When your body is sufficiently relaxed, there is no “Fear-Tension-Pain” cycle, and the body’s natural relaxants, endorphins, replace the stress hormones that constrict and cause pain.
What does this course teach?
This course is meant to DE-HYPNOTIZE you from the old limiting beliefs you hold about birth, pregnancy, parenting and more...
It is about adopting a new philosophy you deeply believe in: “When a healthy woman, carrying a healthy baby, experiencing a healthy labor, trusts birth, is free of fear, and is appropriately relaxed, her body will function normally without pain or incident”.
This is a statement from the HypnoBirthing™ founder Marie Mongan. A big part of this course is based on her teachings, another big part on Gerald Kein's HypnoBabies birth program, the last third is a fusion of my own and all other wonderful birth programs that promote natural birth.
Hypnosis is a wonderful tool for being aware and fully in control, yet profoundly relaxed. In the Hypnotic State, the gate between the conscious and the subconscious mind is open. You are not “judging” or being “critical” of the suggestions, and can therefore create a new view of birth through positive affirmations and visualization. Fears or limiting beliefs - such as genetic birth habits - are released. Through repetition, the mind learns to relax to a specific music or relaxation CD, and automatically slips into this relaxed state.
In this course, you will
- gain an understanding of how the birthing muscles work in perfect harmony - as they were designed to - when the body is sufficiently relaxed
- learn how to work WITH your body
- learn how to achieve this kind of relaxation through breathing exercises
- release underlying fers that are holding you back
- experience a wonderful technique to release endorphins
- learn to listen to your body and use your natural birthing instincts for a calm, serene and comfortable birthing
Awake throughout the birth, you will be aware of your body and your baby. You will be able to keep your mind relaxed, releasing your body's natural relaxant, endorphins, and your body’s natural oxytocin, thus experience birthing in an atmosphere of calm relaxation, free of the fear and tension that prevents the muscles of the body from functioning as nature intended them to.
Other advantages of a relaxed Birth are: Reduced interventions, Strong immune system, Quick recovery after birth, Reduced or eliminated need for pain medication
The new parents come away from this experience with a sense of confidence and empowerment that they worked perfectly together to bring a peaceful baby into the world.
See here what others say about this life changing experience:
(names are kept confidential, however, all authors of testimonials have given me permission to pass out their email addresses upon request)
"Taking the hypnobirthing sessions with Mona Abdul Rahim made my birthing experience a very positive and enjoyable one. I was able to overcome the contractions of labor through the breathing techniques I learned as well as the light touch massage that my husband learned with me. But I think that the whole process that took place a month prior to delivery made all the difference: Mona helped me to enter my subconscious mind and remove all the fears and misconceptions related to painful labors and I was indeed able to relax the day of my delivery and had a successful natural birth without having the need to take any drugs or an epidural. Having my first baby, I spent only 5 hours at the hospital and felt like time was flying. And if you ask me now about what happened that day I will honestly have to say that it was like a short happy dream that ended with a precious healthy little baby girl.
It is the best thing any mother can offer to her baby, since babies born this way are more aware and more relaxed! I definitely recommend hypnobirthing to all mothers."
If you are a consulting hypnotist, and would like to add this specialty to your toolbox, please check the course calendar or call on +971-56-3554982 or email me directly at mona@mindyourpower.org
If you are pregnant, call today on +971-56-3554982 or email to mona@mindyourpower.org
or find a certified Mind Your Birth coach in your area:
| NAME | COUNTRY | TEELEPHONE | WEBSITE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Rizk | Lebanon | dr.lebhypnotherapy@gmail.com | +961 3 083 258 | |
| Nelly Baz | Lebanon | nellybaz@gmail.com | +961 3 989 992 | |
| Olga Pavlova | Lebanon | hello@yogabyolga.com | +961 3 298 755 | |
| Myrna Saadeh | Lebanon | myrnasaadeh@hotmail.com | +961 3 549 816 | wellbeingcenter.co |
Classes are 4 times 3 hours each
To many peaceful, calm and blissful birthings…