So last night my adorable husband and I attended our very first birthing class. We decided to go with "Hypnobirthing" and I am so excited about it. As we sat there learning and discussing about what birth really is and how your body is made to do this and how our cultural perceptions of giving birth have gotten totally out of whack, I couldn't help but be enthralled. I also couldn't help but link it all to everything I've learned in my life about positive thinking, emotions, and their effect on the brain.
There are so many awesome stories that I wish I could tell you all! I will share at least one, told by a doctor who was called for while serving in the trenches for the British army in like WWII or something. He documented how a woman, going who-knows-where, came to the trenches, asked for a doctor, and was helped down into the trenches to give birth. He describes how she seemed to have little discomfort, made little noise or fuss (even amidst the noise of battle), and he sort of just watched as she simply gave birth. It wasn't too long after that that she wrapped up her little newborn, was helped out of the trenches, and continued on her way. Through his years he witnessed a few births like this and was always trying to figure out what the difference was between these women, and those freaked-out kind in high society London who's births he usually attended to. Can you believe that story! So stinking awesome!
Ok, just one more. Another doctor who delivered tons of babies in the usual back-in-the-day very medically orchestrated way had a pretty consistent 25% C-section rate. 25%! Are you kidding me? That is huge! Then they started having more patients who wanted to have natural birth, (these were more of the fearful and painful kinds that people usually think of when they think of doing it without drugs) and the C-section rate dropped to 5%. That is pretty amazing. Then they learned about hypnobirthing and started all mothers in the program. In the three years since starting, there have been only three C-sections, and loads of more comfortable, less stressful births. Absolutely amazing.
I love it because it paints for me a picture of human beings giving birth the way all the animals do on the nature shows. If they can go off and simply and easily give birth...without even making a sound...why can't we? That's the thing, we totally can and I am so so glad to be learning more about it. I may have been able to do it without formal instruction, but it is so nice to have this resource.
And I'm getting almost excited to respond to the overwhelmingly common reaction I get when I tell people I'm going to do it "natural." They usually say something like, "oh, well good luck with that," or "wow, well if you think you can handle it." I know that they have this vision of a stressful, painful experience where you just grit through the pain, but that's not it at all. The point is to not have pain. To not trick your body and mind out of knowing and doing what it instinctively knows how to do. To let all the natural chemicals in your body take care of the situation and make it a good one. That's the point, that's what I'm going for. And If you are sceptical it's only cause you haven't gotten to see the women giving birth that they show us in class. So cool...or cause you've never been hypnotised and don't know just how super awesome it feels.
4 comments:
Hmm. Very interesting. I love you Avey, but I admit (shocker, I know), I'm somewhat skeptical. The idea that you can think your way to a painless birth and if you think you actually have pain it's all because you were thinking wrong is really not very convincing for me. I think maybe a lot of women may be helped by your method. Don't get me wrong. It's totally plausible. But I think there are legitimate reasons pain is associated with birth. And having worked on a farm for 4 months, I know for a fact not all animals give birth without discomfort or complications. Often, veterinarians are required and much pain ensues. All that aside, I think you'll be awesome, you'll do great and I can't wait to see how things went for you after its all over.
I'm certainly not denying that pain is associated with birth. The fact that it so indelibly is may be a big reason you are skeptical. And these classes don't preclude the possibilities of complications and therefore needed certain medical interventions. They are laying down the fact that the large majority of women are healthy and giving birth to healthy babies and so don't need as much intervention as is often seen as routine.
But then, maybe you are totally right. Maybe all those women who have given comfortable natural birth are just lying out their pie-holes and trying to lure other women into torturous labor while they valiantly pretend otherwise. Come to think of it, maybe hypnosis itself is a big fat crock and all those surgical procedures where patients have benefited ridiculously from it (they may still take some pain meds, but need much less and have fewer of all other surgical complications) are just a load of hooey.
The simple truth is that our brains CAN make chemicals that are stronger even than morphine. To me it makes sense that there are ways to consciously release them so that less (or no) synthetic ones are necessary.
Then there is the requirement to hypnosis that a person be willing. An unwilling participant will never be hypnotized and will never reap its benefits. So, in the end the best birthing experience for any mother is the one she is most comfortable with. For many that means epidurals, for me and many others that means learning a skill that will help me that day and probably many others to come...after all, who can't used some deep relaxation on occasion.
And maybe those vets should incorporate some hypnosis into their procedures and set those pour man-handled animals at ease. :)
Well that seals the deal. I went to a hypnotherapist several times and hard as I tried was never under technical hypnosis. Clearly, you are a better candidate than I.
Ha! Seriously? I attended a hypnotist sampling of sorts and of the 40 or so people in the room I was one of like 5 who actually went under trance! That is super duper hilarious.
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