A pain-free childbirth is a possibility
The Trainer WHEN Jenny Mullan tells people it's possible to have a pain-free childbirth she knows what reactions to expect.
From raised eyebrows to dismissive laughter, the trained hypnotherapist, who runs her own practice in Earls Barton, admits it's a big claim.
"For many people it's just unthinkable that you can give birth without being in excruciating pain," she says. "But the technique itself is very simple. Basically the birth of a child depends on two sets of muscles. If the woman is deeply relaxed these muscles are allowed to do their job and work in harmony, but if the women is tense they work against each other and hence cause pain. When you explain this to mothers, the relief on their face is incredible.
"What hypno-birthing does is remove the fear of childbirth and that allows the mother to relax, you don't actually need to push, you just let nature take its course."
Having first trained in the technique two years ago, Jenny, who gave birth to her first child using the technique, is now responsible for teaching practitioners across the country and since hypno-birthing was featured on the Richard and Judy show, her phone hasn't stopped ringing.
"It has just been incredible," she says. "Hypno-birthing has been going in America for about 15 years and in one state half of all women give birth using this method. "However, it is relatively new here, but already it has been a massive success and there are some women I have taught who are desperate for another child just so they can have the experience of childbirth again.
"Obviously you need to have a sympathetic midwife and one who is open to new techniques, but we are very lucky in that Northampton General Hospital has been very supportive."
Inevitably hypno-birthing will invite criticism from sceptics of alternative therapy, but with more than 80 satisfied couples already on her books and a lengthy waiting list for the 200 course, Jenny, who is also trained in general hypnotherapy and reflexology, is not worried about cynics.
"When husbands realise they will be hypnotising their wives, some of them get quite excited," she says. "I think they imagine they will turn into Paul McKenna, but it's not like that at all, it's about helping their partners relax and the benefits of that are immense.
"In fact they tend to become evangelical about it and very proud they were there actually helping, that they had a practical use rather than pacing the hospital corridors and watching their wife in awful pain.
"Of course there is still a lot of research to be done, but babies born following hypno-birth tend to be brighter and more alert, labours tend to be shorter and the recovery rate of the mother much quicker.
"This is my job, but being able to give mothers the chance for a pain-free birth is an absolutely wonderful thing to do for a living."
The Midwife
KATE Wenman doesn't mince words. The very mention of alternative therapies can send some of the medical profession reaching for their textbooks, with a dismissive shake of the head, but the midwife of 30 years isn't scared of ruffling a few feathers.
"I'm always up for trying new things and what can I say, I'm impressed," she says. "People generally are sceptical when you say women don't need to have a horrendous birth, it's like the pain is some sort of right of passage.
"The same is true of the midwifery profession. They like to see themselves as conducting the birth and with hypno-birthing that control passes to the parents, the midwife becomes something of a bystander and some don't like that."
From a practical point of view, hypno-birthing has financial implications for an already overstretched NHS and is one of a raft of developments which has changed the face of childbirth in recent years.
"If women don't need analgesia, that's a huge saving," adds Kate. "The biggest development I have experienced in my career was about 10 years ago with the introduction of water births. I was massively in favour of them and when we got one at the Barratt Maternity Home, it was a massive revolution in terms of pain relief and, to be honest, I see hypno-birthing as an addition to that."
Theory is one thing, but since hearing about the technique a little over 12 months ago, Kate has seen first hand numerous couples benefit from the technique.
"Colleagues know I'm into natural therapies and one day when I was on the ward one of the other midwives said, 'There's a couple in at the moment who are your type of people'. I walked in and they were using hypnotherapy.
"The mother had experienced a terrible first birth and she just wanted to find something which would help. Watching them go through it was just incredible, it was just very calm, she just had a lovely birth.
"Since then I started exploring it more and more and I don't know any one who has had a bad experience, even if they eventually have to have a caesarean section because of complications they still have a great labour.
"One of my own mothers was so relaxed during childbirth that unless I placed my hand on her abdomen, I couldn't tell when she was having a contraction.
"Basically you are going with what your body is telling you and all the women I know have been delighted. They really feel empowered by the birth experience and their husbands, who can feel sidelined or who have to watch their partner go through incredible pain while they are unable to do anything, are closely involved.
"We've got a long way to go, but I think midwifery as a profession needs to go back to basics and give choices back to parents."
The Mother
IT'S no exaggeration to say Sara Austin wasn't looking forward to delivering her second child.
Despite taking every kind of pain relief offered, the birth of her son Samuel had been traumatic and like many other mothers she was beginning to brace herself for a repeat performance.
"It had been a long labour, but more than that I didn't feel in control of anything," says the mother-of-two from Yardley Hastings. "When it came to pain relief I was willing to have a crack at anything. Initially I had gas and air, then half a shot of pethidine, which didn't even scratch the surface, then an epidural. I was in absolute gripping pain for 21 hours."
A vague memory of a visit from a dental hypnotherapist while at school prompted her to reach for a copy of the Yellow Pages in the hope that similar techniques may be available for pregnant mothers.
"I just found the whole thing fascinating," she adds. "I struck lucky, because the first number I rang was Jenny Mullan's. I thought I may be able to go to a few general hypnotherapy sessions, but when she told me there was a specific technique for childbirth I pretty much signed up immediately."
While desperate for any alternative which might provide some relief, Sara was not entirely convinced hypno-birthing would be the panacea she so desperately wanted.
"I was very cynical right up until after I had given birth to Martha," she says. "I thought alternative births were only for Earth Mothers and I did wonder whether because I was cynical it wouldn't work.
"Jenny reassured me that wasn't the case, but until I went into labour all I hoped was that it would make the whole experience a little better.
"I did do all the homework quite diligently, but if truth be told I was still expecting there to be pain."
With her husband Henry on board, the couple began to practise the exercises as her due date got closer.
"My husband would have hung upside down by his legs if it would have meant I would have had a better second labour," she adds. "His job was to control the hypnosis and to take me deeper into it as the delivery progressed and it was so nice for me was that he was an active part of the birth.
"If I'm honest I didn't think he would be any use, when we were practising at home I just used to laugh, but when it came to it, it worked just as they said it would."
On November 13 last year after a six-hour labour, 8lb 5oz Martha – 1lb 3.5oz bigger than her older brother – came into the world and a few hours later Sara was leaving hospital a convert to hypno-birthing.
"It's difficult to describe how I felt," she says. "I had a strong feeling, but it wasn't pain. When Martha was actually born it was as though she had been asleep as she made a sound which she still does when she wakes up now.
"Everyone says second labours are much easier, but at one point I got off the bed to go the toilet which obviously disturbed the hypnosis and the pain came shooting back.
"I know what I went through with Samuel and if hypno-birthing can help any woman avoid that then it's got to be a good thing."
n For more information about hypno-birthing visit the website at www.betterbirth.co.uk or email jenny@mullan.com.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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