Pregnancy and Childbirth should not be frightening
Childbirth, one of the most significant events in a couple’s life is often accompanied by stress, depression or anxiety issues. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress; however, continuing anxiety may be a result of a disorder.
Pregnancy and childbirth require major emotional readjustment by the mother and this shift often brings a wide range of fears: from appropriate to very extreme. Mild anxieties are an essential element of emotional changes. Severe anxieties, on the other hand, are associated with an inability to function normally.
Fear of pregnancy can cause longer and more painful labour due to the increased release of Cortisol which impedes the labour from progressing. It leads to increased muscle tension, pain and therefore increases the use of analgesics. In my practice as a neonatology nurse, working in the delivery room I have seen a significant number of low-risk pregnancies to complicate because of the fear and incapacitating tension.
A medical study of the effects of anxiety during pregnancy on children’s health by Johnson (2015) offers a possible explanation of why the fetus is affected. Exposure to a high unhealthy level of stress hormones inhibits the blood flow to the baby and compromises the supply of oxygen and nutrients. This results in reduced birth weight and distress for the baby.
Hypnotherapy can help mothers to reduce their anxieties, to relax deeply and to expand their emotional and mental control in labour. Hypnotherapy reduces the perception of pain and eliminates the need for medication.