April 2011 Archives
Self-Hypnosis vs Guided Visualisation and Relaxation?
Hypnosis is getting more and more popularity as an effective method to help in loosing excess weight or quit smoking, thanks to shows like Dr OZ! So what about learning self-hypnosis to prepare for a more comfortable childbirth?
There are several programs available (also gaining popularity) and yet, many women (and their families and caregivers) still are reluctant due to lack of information, misinformation or misconception of what hypnosis really is.
First of all, all we need to do is shift into a different state of awareness in which the subconscious mind is more responsive to positive suggestions. In slower brainwave frequencies, it is easier to (re)connect with that part of you that is unlimited, fearless and has all the answers. I call it the “Master Self” or “Divine Self”, you may call it “Soul” or something else -what ever feels right to you. If you are thinking, that is what prayer do, you are correct. Except that most people have forgotten how to pray (that could be the subject of a different post).
So, what is hypnosis? It is a natural, normal state of focused alertness often reached or accompanied by a deeper state of physical relaxation and slower breathing. A state that you “visit” everyday like when you drive home on “auto-pilot”, get “lost” in a great book or daydream and loose track of time. So, you already know what it feels like, all you need is to re-discover a controlled way of reaching the state that allows you to re-program your pain perception.
As you may have noticed, pain is all about perception and interpretation. Pain sensation is very personal and varies tremendously from person to person. Ever noticed how the same bathwater temperature may feel so cold to one person and so warm, or even too hot to another? 
To modify the “pain perception” settings of your brain and the way your body physiologically responds to pain, physical relaxation and visualization may not be enough. It may feel good, decrease your stress level and help you sleep better but to minimize or eliminate childbirth pains, you need to be able to reach deeper states of highly focused awareness. For most people it is a process that can be learned with practice, tested with experience and then kept for the rest of their life!
There are 3 major components in self-hypnosis for pain relief. You need powerful “Painkiller tools” and the time to learn and practice them so they become automatic and efficient when ever you need them and especially in “crisis” situations. Second, you need to align all aspects of your being (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) in total agreement with your idea of birth free of fear, free of doubt. And third, create the positive outcomes as future memories of your ideal birth.
The program I teach has all those components (and more)… It is called “Quantum Birthing”! The next generation in childbirth preparation; in a way that changes your life forever!
Continue reading Self-Hypnosis vs Guided Visualisation and Relaxation?
Skin-to-Skin for All Newborn Babies?
Did you hear about this story of a mother in Australia who gave birth to twins? One of them wasn’t breathing and she held the little naked body on her bare chest to say “Goodbye” but then the baby started breathing again! She calls it a miracle and the doctors seem unable to explain how it could happened.
Skin-to-skin on mom and baby cuddle!
“Unusual but hardly original” according to Dr Nils Bergman: Skin-to-skin contact also called “kangaroo mother care” is when the naked newborn baby is placed on the mother’s bare chest with covering on top of both of them (by a shirt, a towel or a blanket). Even if “kangaroo care” is now well accepted and supported in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) of most hospitals, the benefits for babies born at term are generally unknown or discounted!
The space right between his mother’s breasts is a baby’s natural habitat outside the womb. It is the natural continuation of the “safe” environment of the womb. Staying there for an extended period of time (60-120minutes), where he can hear his mother’s heartbeat, sense her smell and hear her voice allows the newborn’s brain to “wire” into a “safe” mode characterized by high levels of endorphins (the human body’s natural euphoric hormones) and later in life open, accepting social skills rather then insecurity, distrust and fear of others.
According to Dr Bergman (see Random Trial References below for details), babies who benefit from skin-to-skin contact at birth seem to be able to regulate their body temperature earlier (they are warmer at 90 minutes and at 24 hours after birth than a control group), they are more alert, and the quality of their feeding improves, they cry less and sleep better and longer, their blood glucose is higher in the immediate after birth until 2 hours after birth even if breastfeeding hasn’t been initiated!
What is not so well known is that even the term newborn “stress response system” (sympathetic nervous system) does not function like the adult. Stress on a unborn and newborn baby causes the baby to “shut down” and separation from mother is a very high stress for a newborn.
Watch Dr. Nils Bergman’s short video.
Dr. Nils Bergman discusses the development of social & emotional intelligence of infants.
As a doula (professional birth assistant), I have heard so many times a nurse (or a doctor) say: “You will have the rest of your life to spent together!” I’d say:”You can never get those first few moments back. What if they are critical for the rest of your infant’s life?”
So, would you demand from your care provider to keep your newborn baby on your chest, skin-to-skin for an hour or more after birth or would you let your newborn be whisked away from you for the “regular” treatment (rough rubbing, suction, eye cream, shot in the thigh, diaper, hat and tight wrapping) before it comes back to your arms for a few minutes?
For Random Trial References from Dr Nils Bergman click here or visit his website www.kangaroomothercare.com
