One-hour introductory seminar: Hypnosis for childbirth

Say: I’m here to introduce you to the most potent natural pain reliever known to humanity:

I want to share this with you because I’ve seen the difference it makes. Here is how we’ll do that:

We will talk about what it is -- and is NOT

How it helps in labor and birth

If we have time, will give you a short experience of hypnosis from the birth class I teach (you’ll make time)

If you have questions, please just raise your hand as we go Okay! Let’s get started!

Who I am

Briefly, share a couple of things about you…Be careful to keep it mostly positive!

Blissborn training, birth training, professional and personal experience, how many children you have (if none, skip this), etc.

What I do

Teach a childbirth education and hypnosis program called Blissborn. It also teaches people how to use hypnosis to change thoughts, feelings and behaviors for a better life. Life skills included!

Who are you?

Briefly, please share (moms and partners):

First name

How far along you are in your pregnancy

What you’re hoping to learn here tonight

What is Hypnosis?

Who here has experienced hypnosis? Guided visualization or meditation?

The truth is … we all have experienced it

It’s a state of mind – connection between conscious and subconscious mind

Conscious mind is the you listening to me right now; your logical, decision-making, analytical mind

Subconscious is the deeper, faster, more primitive part of us; everything below the level of your consciousness. Automatic body and mind, body systems, senses, memories, associations, emotions, creativity…and lots more

We have language to talk about this, but most of us never think about it. Examples: I woke up feeling sad, and I can’t figure out why. I’m so mad at myself. I feel so attracted to this person, I can’t stop thinking about them…

What hypnosis feels like

Profound relaxation

Heightened awareness of body and mind

Ability to focus intently

Increased responsiveness to positive suggestion

Can easily speak, express emotion … in labor you can communicate your physical and emotional needs naturally (refer to video)

Can still open your eyes and walk around and change positions … when a contraction comes you just bring yourself back into a deeper state. This is really important, because movement allows the baby to descend faster.

Who can be hypnotized?

Anyone who is willing, it’s a natural state in between alertness and sleep. We just don’t stop here very often

You may or may not want to include this section, depending on your audience. If they know something about hypnosis and/or have already done their research, you can probably keep this short (follow their responses) or skip it entirely

Myths to bust: What have you heard about hypnosis?

Won’t be aware of what’s going on around you (still aware of everything)

Won’t remember what happened (You might remember it better)

Surrender control (You’re always in control; you’re the boss of your mind)

Truth serum (Back in the 1950s, US courts decided that testimony given by defendants in hypnosis wasn’t admissible in court -- people can still lie, edit, and choose to keep quiet)

Strong-minded people are not easily hypnotized/it won’t work for me (Smart people are actually really good at this! For some analytical people, at first it just feels like a nice relaxation. And for some people, it’s a profoundly fascinating experience right from the start

Can get “stuck” in hypnosis (Just like snapping out of a daydream, you can come out of hypnosis any time you want

Brainwashing (Again, you’re in control)

Shocker statement: You’ve already been brainwashed about something, though – about birth itself.

Discuss typical idea of birth from movies/TV/stories from others.

Get ready to let images of what birth can be fill your mind. I have something neat to share with you!

I’ll let you in on a secret I’ve learned by doing this work: there are some major advantages to this kind of training, way beyond birth.

It’s all about personal empowerment.

It’s about having access to the most powerful part of your mind and knowing how to use it.

Once you know how to do that, you can never un-know it. You’ll always be able to do it.

The benefits are going to outweigh the cost -- which is just your time and attention and a willingness to invest in this -- by far.

We’ve known women to use hypnosis:

To have a completely painless labor and birth (this takes practice with hypnosis); they find they don’t mind their contractions

To look like they’re sleeping through much of labor

To make their labors much shorter – even for first babies, 5-6 hours of active labor is common

To start their own labors if necessary (can use founder Laura Wood’s story)

To turn breech babies

To smile and even laugh during contractions

We’ve never heard of a birth where hypnosis couldn’t help

Good for natural, medicated or C-section births

Great in any setting – no matter what your birth scenario is

We also teach birth partners how to use these techniques to help Mom – very empowering for partners, and moms love having this level of support

There are no side-effects, no risks, and no disadvantages

How it works

It’s simple! We start with relaxing the body, and then we relax the mind

When the mind is relaxed, it’s more open to positive thoughts and suggestions

The deeper mind runs on programs – think of driving, walking, typing, playing an instrument. When we practice something, our deeper mind takes it on as a program and we don’t have to think about it anymore. Programs tend to stay in place until they are updated or replaced.

Show of hands … Who has heard that labor and birth are going to be painful?

How do you feel about that? What does this mean for you, in your birth?

Allow some discussion, nodding, re-stating what they say, making them right

The way back out of these worries is to learn tools to reprogram your subconscious mind:

Understanding how to change your mind

Changing the story of birth in your mind and imagining a better birth; we call this “Building a better blueprint”

Programming the mind to go into deep relaxation instantly, in any situation, at will – which puts the control back in your hands

Working with pain: did you know it’s possible to make parts of body so numb that people can have surgery with no anesthetic (recommend some YouTube videos/some more on the Blissborn website)

Working with fears – we have real tools for understanding fears, worries, and anxiety. If you are feeling particularly anxious about birth, this might be a really good fit for you

Hypnosis provides you with the tools to reach your goals for your birth

More information

Show of hands: Fear-Tension-Pain cycle – who has heard of this one?

Briefly explain Fear-Tension-Pain and the cycle effect

Medication breaks cycle only at pain; did you know women who get epidural tend to have longer labors?

Hypnosis breaks cycle at all three points

We work with fears: building confidence through information, building a better blueprint, as well as deeper work with both the conscious and subconscious minds

A state of profound relaxation is the perfect way to decrease tension

Relaxation naturally reduces pain, and we take it even further. In class, we actually give you a way to give yourself pain, and then make it go away

Share a personal account of birth with hypnosis, or use Laura’s story

…Very confident, minimal pain, short labor … so glad I learned about it. I love sharing these ideas with others!

What I’ve come to understand is … (pause) … and this is important … there is only one person in charge of getting you ready for your birth. You get one shot at this important day! This is worthy of your best efforts.

Benefits

The benefits of a really positive birth experience will last a lifetime.

There are benefits for moms and partners. These include:

Smiling when they talk about their births

Feeling more confident and empowered

Trusting in the relationship more and having a more profound connection to each other

Having tools for a lifetime to deal with fear and pain

Bringing this new understanding into your parenting

…and so many more!

Unexpected value to parents of a newborn – moms who practice hypnosis a lot tend to have calmer babies!

Babies love hypnosis. They start moving all over the place when you begin.

We know that babies share hormones with their mothers – giving them a nice dose of relaxation, love, and calm daily matters

Finding the right class

Results depend heavily on the training you get. Look for a program that:

Is taught by a highly-trained birth professional

Focuses on deep, therapeutic hypnosis, with lots of different skills and lots of good recordings to practice with

Has good quality materials aimed at adult education: a thorough, well-written manual, handouts, and recordings

Gives you a complete childbirth education

Focuses on bringing partners in and helping them with skills and understanding

Summary of major points about hypnosis for childbirth

Everyone experiences altered states every day

Really good birth hypnosis training classes are about personal empowerment, benefits that last a lifetime

Makes labor shorter, easier and less painful

Greater control over your entire body and mind

How it works: Relaxing the body, relaxing the mind, and reprogramming

Hypnosis

For the time we have left, I’d like to give you an experience of hypnosis and some of the positive messages we’ve been talking about.

First, are there any questions? We have just a few minutes.

At this point there probably won’t be any questions, but if there are, make them right as you gently answer them.

Although it probably won’t happen, if you do have someone in the group who is negative, remember, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t you’re right.” Smile kindly (this person just doesn’t yet know what you know and they may or may not be ready to move forward) and invite them to give it a shot with an open mind. You can also say, “You know, this may not be for you! And that’s fine! I appreciate you listening today.” And then move on.

Your job is to pick the “low-hanging fruit,” the ones who are truly interested. Don’t waste your energy trying to convince anyone!

Today, what you’ll experience is the beginning of hypnosis; will probably feel like a nice guided relaxation

This is all about relaxation and a little bit of the reprogramming we talked about

The suggestions are for the pregnant women.

Everyone else can notice how easy it is to let the words be whatever they are

Your job is to:

Tune out the sounds around us – focus on my voice

Suspend expectations – of self and of hypnosis. Just be the observer of your mind and body

Ready to begin? Everyone comfortable? Everyone ready to have a great experience?

Sit up straight, feet flat on the floor.

Use the Joyful Pregnancy script in your Blissborn Educator Resources for an induction, deepening and suggestions, or blend with the imagery portion of a Blissborn class script. such as Class 1 or Class 5. Modify it to 10-15 minutes (probably 2-4 pages).

Wasn’t that a wonderful experience?

Conclusion

Now we’ve come to the close of tonight’s seminar.

Here you might offer a discounted price for those in the audience, and say things like:

If you want to join a class, or if you think you might want to learn how to use self-hypnosis for your birth, just fill out the registration form.

I’ve found that most people who attend these seminars get really excited about Blissborn, so I’ll be here afterwards answering your questions and helping you sign up.

This group will be so much fun in the next class starting _______! We’ll have a good time and learn a lot.

Before we leave, let’s give away the door prize.

Have someone in front row draw, then announce winner and start clapping

That’s all the time we have tonight.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with you!

So stay and fill out your registration, and I’ll be here to answer questions and sign you up for the class starting ________.

If you’re providing coupons, snacks, free goodies or marketing materials, invite them to come up and get them.