Naples article

HypnoBirthing®: Overcoming pain, fear of childbirth

Nurse trains expectant mothers in technique

By RIDDHI TRIVEDI-ST. CLAIR, Business Editor
Naples Daily News, Naples, Florida July 27, 2005

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/bn_business/article/0,2071,NPDN_14883_3956693,00.html

When Annette VanDongen had her first child, it was a long and painful delivery. Now, 17 years later, she was about to have her second child earlier this year and the memory of the pain was causing her to fear her second labor.

Then she found out about HypnoBirthing® through a magazine in her doctor's office and decided to try it. It taught her to be in tune with her body and let it do what it was naturally designed to do, VanDongen said.

Alexandra Marie VanDongen was born barely two hours after Annette and her husband John Pierre arrived at the hospital.

"It was very peaceful. That's the best way I can describe it," she said. "She was born very easily and there wasn't that fear and pain that everyone associates with childbirth. And she is a happy, carefree child because of it."

John Pierre is a family physician in Naples. He has had the privilege of delivering many babies, he said, but he had never experienced anything quite like the birth of his daughter.

"This was the most wonderful birthing experience I have ever been present at," he said. "It was the most beautiful and peaceful experience. Jacy and HypnoBirthing® made what is already a miracle into an absolute pleasure."

Jaclyn Sieben, a nurse at North Collier Hospital and a Bonita Springs resident, was the couple's HypnoBirthing® instructor. Sieben has been a nurse for 25 years, first a licensed practical nurse for 18 years and a registered nurse since 1994. She has a wide range of experience from home care to birthing.

The HypnoBirthing® method works on the premise that childbirth is not supposed to be a painful process and that the idea that having a child hurts only became prevalent since the advent of the Judaio-Christian philosophy of original sin.

Women grow up believing that giving birth hurts and so it does.

"It is called the fear-tension-pain concept. Fear induces tension, which causes muscle constriction, which in turn results in pain," Sieben said. "HypnoBirthing® gives women the ability to relax, teaches them to breath and work in symbiosis with their bodies."

HypnoBirthing® was founded by Marie Mongan, based on the work of Dr. Grantly Dick Read. It counters the population perception of childbirth that, Sieben said, has cause more and more women to opt for epidural or C-section births.

Press reports as well as medical studies indicate the percentage of cesarean births are on the rise. In 1994, about one in five or 19.7 percent of all deliveries were C-sections. By 2001, the rate had increased to 28.3 percent, according to a study by Obstetrics & Gynecology, a 44 percent increase. The World Health Organization reported that only 10 to 15 percent of all C-section births were actually appropriate.

Yet, according to the American College of Nurse Midwives about one million women in the U.S. have cesarean. Their estimates state that nearly half of those are not necessary.

Women choose C-sections because they are afraid of the pain they are told labor and childbirth will cause them, Sieben said.

"Everyone has a horror story to tell about a painful birth," Sieben said.

Rachael Wolff knows that firsthand. When she was pregnant with her son Aidan and decided she was going to have a natural birth, most of her friends tried to discourage her.

"Everyone would tell me, 'Just have an epidural.' To me, that's a last resort," Wolff, 29, said. "Then I found out about Jacy and HypnoBirthing® and decided to try it. Everyone had told me it was going to hurt and anything that would help take away even one percent of the pain would be worth it."

Both Wolf and VanDongen attended five 21/2 hour classes. Each one is structured to meet the individual couple's needs, but there are some basic steps to the classes.

Very often the first step is simply to teach people the concepts of HypnoBirthing®.

Many people are skeptical of what HypnoBirthing® is all about, Sieben said. Both Wolff and VanDongen had to explain to friends and family that it did not involve being in a trance or losing control.

"I have to tell them, I am not going to make them quack like a duck or bark like a dog," Sieben said.

Then comes relaxation and breathing techniques.

"The second class helps change the language of birth. Instead of thinking 'I am not going to have pain,' it teaches women to think, 'I am going to have an easy childbirth,' " Sieben said. "That gives the mind positive things to focus on."

Then the expectant mother learns fear release. Each person has his or her own baggage, Sieben said, and the class helps couples talk through their fears about childbirth and eve parenting.

HypnoBirthing® also teaches the woman to learn to access their mind's power and make a "birth plan" for themselves. Decide how they would like to have their baby in ideal circumstances and then work toward that, she said.

Once they have decided that, they can use the relaxation techniques they have learned to work with their body to have the perfect birth.

The final class is just recapping what each couple has learned and doing additional relaxation as well as fear release activities and often watching videos of birthing experiences using HypnoBirthing® techniques.

She also gives the mothers handouts and CDs to help them learn and practice at home.

She did her relaxation CDs everyday until she had her baby, Wolff said. She had a three-day labor. With no sleep and contractions every five minutes for three days, she said, she would likely have panicked.

"I was not expecting an easy birth. I needed something to keep me going and without the breathing techniques and help from HypnoBirthing®, I don't think I would have lasted three days," Wolff said.

Perhaps most surprising and pleasant of all was that when her Aidan did arrive, the birth itself was easy and pain-free.

"It was such a wonderful experience, it made me want another child," Wolff said.

I have edited this article to reflect the registered trademark status of HypnoBirthing®

Positive Human Dynamics, Ltd

1453 Rio Rancho Blvd., Ste E Rio Rancho, NM 87124

(505) 975-7777 www.posihd.com