HypnoBirthing

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · Marie F. Mongan · 1989 · Pembroke, New Hampshire, USA

What it is

A childbirth-education programme created by hypnotherapist Marie F. Mongan (1933–2019) that combines information about birth physiology with daily self-hypnosis, relaxation, breathing, visualisation, affirmations and a trained birth companion. OpenStax's maternity nursing text calls it "more of a…

Format

• Format. Five classes taught "over the course of 5 weeks", face to face or online, in groups or privately, attended by the pregnant woman and her birth companion, who takes an active role. The Mongan co-authored description gives five weekly 2.5-hour sessions that include videos of actual births.…
• A shorter clinical alternative (different programme). The Australian HATCh trial (Cyna) taught self-hypnosis in three weekly one-hour group sessions (5–10 women) from 36 weeks, with an audio CD for home practice. Useful as a model if a therapist offers brief hypnosis preparation rather than the…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Scope of this guide. HypnoBirthing is antenatal education with self-hypnosis. It is used alongside routine maternity care (midwife and/or obstetrician), never instead of it. This guide gives no obstetric, medication or pain-relief advice: every decision about labour, induction, monitoring, pain relief, position for birth, breech presentation or caesarean belongs to the client and her maternity team. A…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• same as glove relaxation.
• a gauge that will not move; switch to counting breaths.
• drowsiness or heaviness after sessions; extend re-alerting.
• frustration if images are faint; offer an auditory or counting alternative.
• confusion about time is harmless in practice; staff keep the clinical times.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.