Natural Childbirth Benefits

Advantages for Mums and Bubs

Natural childbirth is a topic that attracts vigorous debate.

While some mothers advocate analgesic and anaesthetic protocols because there's little reason to endure pain, others find that natural childbirth benefits include a great sense of empowerment and achievement.

The decision regarding which approach to adopt is one that few mothers take lightly.

It certainly makes sense, if adopting the natural childbirth approach, to prepare well. Even with the best-prepared mothers- those who've diligently followed the self-hypnosis protocols of the Birth by Hypnosis or HypnoBirthRite approaches, there will be times when assistance from some medication might be required.

In our experience, by far the majority of mothers using hypnosis childbirth approaches experience reduced discomfort, faster labour duration and faster recoveries.

However, even when pathology or necessary use of labour inducing/accelerating medication make the intensity of contractions so severe that pain medication assistance is necessary, mothers generally report comfortable experience prior to those medications being applied.

Even Grantly Dick-Read told mothers there will be occasions where various medications are necessary and we certainly recommend you take your birthing physician's (or other professional's) advice in that regard.

The most often reported Natural Childbirth Benefits include:

• Shorter labour durations (typically) when hypnosis is used in preparation for, and during birthing


• Children born by natural childbirth being generally more alert, and to have more interest in sucking in the hour immediately after being born.


• Mothers who use the Birth by Hypnosis approach often having calmer and more peaceful babies


• Evidence of quantities of endorphins found in placenta and umbilical cords following natural childbirth has led to some thinking those may cause the birthing experience more comfortable for babies


• Relatively shorter and less stressful birthing times for women using Birth by Hypnosis techniques tend to contribute significantly to less exhaustion and quicker recoveries for mothers


• While epidural procedures have been shown in some studies to prolong pushing time, being in control during natural childbirth allows mother, especially those who've maintained a high level of relaxation using hypnosis, to push more effectively when asked by their birthing professionals


• During natural childbirth, some discomfort can assist the mother and birthing professionals to identify certain developments during the process. With one birth from some time ago of which I am aware, the mother experienced severe back pain and after a long labour, the baby was found to be in a 'posterior presentation' and forceps were then used to rotate and deliver the child. Today, birthing professionals would be more likely to react to back pain by suspecting posterior presentation and suggesting the mother adopt a different position, such as on hands and knees, to rotate the baby prior to continuing with the birthing.


• Against many expectations, many mothers using natural childbirth report 'getting back to normal' - walking and eating etc - faster and easier than with medication assisted births.

Medication assisted births are not without their benefits and are sometimes necessary, especially for longer, more difficult labours or when the mother has difficulty relaxing (often, the second factor leads to the first).

Our advice is simply this. If you'd like to have a natural childbirth, then hypnosis can provide you with many benefits. However, before your delivery, talk with your birthing professionals and take their advice. Even if you use an hypnosis birthing approach, follow the advice of your birthing professional during your birthing experience.

And finally, remember birthing is not a competition or ego building experience, and any person who judges the worth of a woman as a person or a mother based on whether she does or does not use medication assistance during childbirth is a very shallow individual indeed.

Childbirth without fear is the best approach to birthing your baby and hypnosis childbirth is an outstanding technique for dealing with fear that gives rise to childbirth pain.

Birth by Hypnosis and HypnoBirthRite are proven hypnosis childbirth protocols. You can arrange a chat or an appointment with Gold Coast Hypnosis principal Alan Patching about Birth by Hypnosis via our contacts page.

To pre-register for information about our upcoming audio and video hypnosis based childbirth preparation program, visit our products page.