Forget gas and air, give me a hypnobirth

A new trial into ‘hypnobirthing’ will assess whether women can give birth happily without painkillers. But will expectant mothers will ever forgo the epidural and learn to 'just relax'? 

 

News that the NHS is launching an 18-month study of ‘‘hypnobirthing’’ to try to cut the use of epidurals and other painkillers during childbirth – six out of 10 mothers in some hospitals rely on expensive drugs – has resurrected an old debate. Is intense pain unavoidable, or is it triggered by fear and tension?

The new study, at Central Lancashire University and involving more than 800 women, will investigate self-hypnosis techniques which induce a deep sense of relaxation. “The women will have a 90-minute training session and are given a CD they can listen to,” says Professor Soo Downe, a midwifery specialist who is leading the trial.

Some women already extol its virtues: ‘‘I can’t imagine how anyone gives birth without it!” was one comment on the Hypnobirthing UK website. “The technique kept me feeling calm and in control throughout labour so that the contractions were no problem.”

Other mothers have greeted the idea with derision. “I desperately wanted a ‘natural’ childbirth partly because I was worried about the side effects of drugs,” recalls one, whose only child, a son, is now five. Pethidine, commonly used in labour, can cause nausea and drowsiness, while epidurals are associated with a higher risk of interventions such as forceps. “I practised special relaxation, yoga and breathing techniques for months. But when it came to the crunch, the pain was indescribable and none of the techniques I’d learnt made it easier. I wanted an epidural but by the time I asked it was too late. I’m not convinced hypnotherapy would work any better.”

‘‘The pain can be intense,’’ says Dr Katrina Erskine, consultant obstetrician at the Homerton Hospital, London, who has had three children. It can be particularly hard to bear, she says, if a labour is prolonged or complicated, or if a woman gets exhausted. “We need to have epidurals and other pain relief available so women can access them if necessary.”