HypnoBirthing® continues to expand as more and more pregnant ladies are taking HypnoBirthing classes. As such, an increasingly large number of babies are HypnoBirthing babies.  From my perspective this, of course, is a beautiful turn of events and I certainly hope to see a continuation of the trend magnified.    

It’s magnificent and life confirming to receive all the new HypnoBirthing babies.  However, the expectations of some of the mothers are mystifying.

 HypnoBirthing classes include the showing of incredible untouched and non edited videos of women giving birth.  Some of the depicted mothers talk and joke with their birth companion between surges, others look like they are a sleep, and some look like they are born away in ecstasy.  None of them appear to be in pain and nobody is complaining.

 To someone familiar with HypnoBirthing, all of this looks normal.  We know that birth is a natural event and that pain is optional just like we know that each birth is unique.  What we don’t know is that birth is free of feeling.  We fully expect the birthing mother to be very aware of her body and to experience sensations during the birth.

The fact that some HypnoBirthing students are disappointed if their birth doesn’t match the videos or are upset if they feel anything during their labor is curious.  It might be an indication of how little our society still knows about natural birth or it could be indicative of the sad misinformation some women have received regarding birth. They expect birth to be painful and have a hard time truly believing that pain is optional even after taking classes.

We live in a society where it’s common to take a pill for all that ails us and where the numbing of the senses is recommended as the ultimate in relaxation.  

The goal of HypnoBirthing is to educate all parents to the fact that birth is natural and that women’s bodies are supremely well designed for giving birth.  We also teach our mothers that they are well equipped to regulate the level and intensity of sensation they experience during birth and that pain really is optional.