The Use of Hypnosis during the Perinatal Period – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
I often work with women during pregnancy, through childbirth and then throughout the adjustment to parenthood stages. They may be struggling with anxiety, worry and a sense of overwhelm. There can be anxiety and fear about health, about being in hospital and coping with the birthing process, and about how well they think they will cope with having the responsibility of a new born to look after. There is no doubt that there are a lot of demands, challenges and things to learn through pregnancy and into parenthood (as well as a lot of love, happiness and joy, of course!!).
Pregnancy related anxiety can lead to fear, worry and dread about any and all of the specific issues, demands, challenges, events and changes that surround each stage of pregnancy and child-birth. There can be issues around health (your own and the baby’s), hospital visits and the process of childbirth. There may also be social, relationship or financial issues, concerns about fulfilling the role of parent and about your physical appearance and the impact upon your body and the physical changes from pregnancy.
There is growing evidence about the symptoms of anxiety and depression experienced by many women during pregnancy, alongside growing evidence that these psychological symptoms contribute to the pain experienced during the delivery process.
Hypnosis can help you with managing and reducing your fear, anxiety, with pain management, and with strengthening your sense of confidence. Alongside the existing supportive literature, a systematic review has now reviewed current protocols involving the use of hypnosis during the perinatal period and examined the effects of hypnosis on mothers’ well-being.
Pregnancy Related Anxiety
Anxiety is a relatively common issue during pregnancy, with research suggesting that perinatal anxiety is highly prevalent (Dennis, Falah-Hassani and Shiri, 2017 found that 15.2% of pregnant women are diagnosable with an anxiety disorder).
And pregnancy related anxiety can lead to fear, worry and dread about any and all of the specific issues, demands, challenges, events and changes that surround each stage of pregnancy and child-birth. There can be issues around health (your own and the baby’s), hospital visits and the process of childbirth. There may also be social, relationship or financial issues, concerns about fulfilling the role of parent and about your physical appearance and the impact upon your body and the physical changes from pregnancy (Hadfield et al, 2022).
On a broader level, there can be more social or generalised anxiety that is linked to pregnancy and birth. There can be health anxiety issues, excessive worry and overthinking about daily issues or how world events may impact upon the future. There can be social anxiety about going to appointments, meeting other pregnant women/parents and the pressure to be a good parent.
Research has looked at the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for perinatal maternal depression, anxiety and stress (Li et al, 2022). This systematic review drew upon the results of nearly eighty randomised controlled trials that assessed the efficacy of CBT during pregnancy and during the first year after birth. Overall, cognitive behavioural therapy was effective for perinatal maternal depression and anxiety in the short and long term.
Whilst not part of this research, we already know that adding hypnosis to cognitive behavioural therapy increases it’s effectiveness and increases the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes. And, of course, there is strong, positive evidence for the effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of anxiety (which I’ve written about before).
A further study has also suggested that mind-body interventions like hypnotherapy may be effective for reducing anxiety during pregnancy. Hypnotherapy can help with learning mental relaxation and in altering negative thinking related to anxiety to change the perception of a stressful event and leading to better adapted behaviour and coping skills (Marc et al, 2011).
And so, despite all of the many physical, social, financial and emotional changes that take place during pregnancy and beyond, it remains possible to learn how to manage your thoughts, feelings and behaviours in ways that are beneficial and positive for your mental health and happiness.
There’s more on hypnosis and anxiety during pregnancy and childbirth over in these previous articles:
Hypnosis During Pregnancy and Childbirth – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
Pregnancy Related Anxiety – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
Use Of Hypnosis During Perinatal Period
Alongside the above support for cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy to help with perinatal anxiety, stress and depression, we also now have a systematic review that aimed to identify the current protocols involving the use of hypnosis during the perinatal period and to examine its effects on mothers’ well-being (
Twenty-one articles, corresponding to 16 studies, formed part of this systematic review and apart from two studies, all of the included studies reported the benefits of implementing a hypnosis intervention during the perinatal period.
As mentioned above, existing scientific evidence has highlighted that symptoms of anxiety and depression are experienced by many women during pregnancy, and there is also growing evidence that these psychological symptoms can then contribute to the level of pain experienced during the delivery process. Any strategies that can help with reducing anxiety and depression symptoms during pregnancy may well, therefore, aid a more comfortable birthing process.
Supporting this, this particular review found that more than half of the studies evaluating the effect of hypnosis on pain reported a significant reduction in the use of analgesics or a lower self-reported level of pain. This fits with pain cycle theories that suggest that the fear experienced by a mother leads to bodily tension and this results in more acute sensations of pain. Therefore, by reducing fear and anxiety, you can reduce your tension and this is likely so support a reduction in the levels of pain experienced.
“In summary, this review described a wide range of hypnosis applications in the treatment of physical and psychological symptoms during the perinatal period. Several studies showed promising results, such as the reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the reduction of pain and labour duration.”
Hypnosis can help with the mental health symptoms that are thought to increase muscle tension that contributes to excessive pain during labour. Hypnotherapy can help you to reduce tension and fear around the birthing process and to increase you sense of confidence and control. You can learn how to control your stress levels and the physical symptoms of stress and to feel more relaxed through pregnancy and the birthing process, and to have a more positive experience through pregnancy and beyond into parenthood. Hypnotherapy sessions can help you with addressing fear, anxiety, pain management, confidence and postnatal well-being.
There can be many changes, demands and challenges throughout your pregnancy, the birthing experience and into post-partum life. There can also be many psychological and physical symptoms in, through and beyond childbirth. This review, that assessed the effectiveness of hypnosis during the perinatal period, suggests that hypnosis can have a positive impact upon your psychological well-being and in helping you to manage and reduce fear, anxiety and depression symptoms during your pregnancy and childbirth.
To your health and happiness,
Dan Regan
Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket
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References:
Dennis, C.L., Falah-Hassani, K. and Shiri, R., 2017. Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 210(5), pp.315-323.
(2023) The Use of Hypnosis during the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Review, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, DOI: 10.1080/00207144.2022.2160258
Hadfield, K., Akyirem, S., Sartori, L., Abdul-Latif, A.M., Akaateba, D., Bayrampour, H., Daly, A., Hadfield, K. and Abiiro, G.A., 2022. Measurement of pregnancy-related anxiety worldwide: a systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 22(1), pp.1-10.
Li, X., Laplante, D.P., Paquin, V., Lafortune, S., Elgbeili, G. and King, S., 2022. Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for perinatal maternal depression, anxiety and stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clinical Psychology Review, 92, p.102129.
Marc, I., Toureche, N., Ernst, E., Hodnett, E.D., Blanchet, C., Dodin, S. and Njoya, M.M., 2011. Mind‐body interventions during pregnancy for preventing or treating women’s anxiety. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (7).
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