Hypnotherapy is a powerful, yet gentle tool to help prepare mothers and their partners for childbirth. Hypnosis as an excellent supplement for childbirth preparation that teaches the mother and her partner how to engage the power of the mind to work with the body to birth the baby in the most efficient and comfortable way. There are an unlimited variety of goals that can be addressed using hypnosis during pregnancy and birth.

Through hypnosis both the mother and her care givers can identify areas of concern such as fear of pain, becoming a parent, and the safety of the baby and mother. Additionally, hypnosis is used to access wells of strength and to cultivate courage to be able to respond to any situation that may present itself during the birth and beyond.

Giving birth and becoming a parent is an amazing and transformative experience, and it is completely natural to have fears and to reach out for resources to help make the transition. Hypnosis is a tool to reach within for those resources that you already possess and need to lift out of the hidden depths within your true self. So, how does this work?

Hypnosis is another term for a deeper state of awareness. In our normal state of awareness, we are constantly eliminating stimuli such as the ticking of the clock, the air temperature, the background noise, and our heartbeat. We choose to become aware of only a finite amount of factors that affect us, both externally and internally. At that deeper state of awareness we are able to access a much larger portion of our consciousness that we normally filter or may even have repressed.

Hypnosis is a method of achieving a deeply relaxed state through aligning the body, tuning into the breath, drawing one's focus into their inner world, and engaging the subconscious mind through story, metaphor, and inner vision. This peaceful state is called a trance. While in trance the subconscious mind is accessible and the individual can tap into information that has otherwise been filtered out of the normal conscious state.

Although a hypnotherapist may facilitate and guide the individual's journey into the subconscious, only the individual can choose how deeply they want to transition their awareness into the deeper realms of their own mind and self. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.

As the individual reaches deeper and deeper levels of trance, the hypnotherapist weaves a story, experienced much like a dream, to introduce and reinforce the individual's original intention for hypnosis. For example, if a mother wants to use hypnosis for pain management, the therapist will suggest that when she feels the contractions, they feel more like tightening. Her mind will process the sensation as tightening or pressure rather than "pain" and all the associations to pain she may carry with her from life experience. This is why it is so important for care providers to understand how powerful their use of certain words can jar a woman out of her empowered ability to manage labor. If she hears "pain", her mind makes associations to pain: Pain...that time I broke my arm...I was alone when it broke...no one could help me...I am alone...this pain is lonely...I am scared...and so on.

The subconscious mind is more receptive, but it is not powerless and passive. The subconscious mind discerns what is and is not appropriate for the individual's wellbeing; therefore, hypnosis is not a mind washing instrument or a method to force a person to do anything against their own will.

Hypnotherapy for childbirth preparation is a powerful tool to access and develop your own innate strengths. The mother and her care givers can work to create a safe environment for pregnancy and birth. By addressing concerns through hypnosis, each person can feel more ready emotionally and mentally to work as a team with greater awareness and confidence in each other and to trust birth.