Hypnobirthing or hypnosis childbirth is widely being used in the US and UK to make labor less traumatic. Developed by Marie Morgan, a hypnotherapist in the US, hypnosis childbirth makes mothers self-hypnotize themselves so that their body muscles work towards a natural birth.
Researchers say that hypnosis childbirth helps in reducing a standard first labor from twelve hours to eight hours using breathing techniques allowing the body to reach a composed state similar to daydreaming.
As per Kim Young, a hypnosis childbirth educator in Cape Town, several women fear giving birth. Their bodies respond to fear by releasing adrenaline causing muscles to tighten. The pain augments further with the release of lactic acid resulting from the lack of oxygenated blood in the uterus, as it gets diverted to the limbs, preparing them to run, working against the process of giving birth. Hypnosis childbirth relaxes the body making it release endorphins that supplement hormones that allow a woman to give birth naturally and easily.