Mothers, Mother-to-be, Midwifes and Doctors of the world are divided on whether pain does or does not have to exist in birth; each of us is firm in our stance that our belief is right. For many the notion of comfortable or even joyful birthing still remains just outside of our grasp. Undoubtedly millions of women have experienced painful birth and the idea that birth must be painful is widely accepted. Mothers who have comfortable or even painless births are dismissed as lucky, delusional or having a really high pain threshold. Women who openly plan a drug-free birth are smirked at with knowing glances of “just you wait…you’ll be begging for an epidural” and warned that no medals are given for going without.

HypnoBirthing is a unique antenatal program that teaches simple but specific self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques for an easier, more gentle birth that is often accompanied by a significant reduction in pain. HypnoBirthing is not about “training mothers to give birth”—when undisturbed we already know how to do that instinctively. HypnoBirthing is about getting rid of fear and allowing our bodies and minds to relax so we can birth our babies gently. It is tought through several sessions prior to the 8 month mark of pregnancy. It allows the mothers to mentally prepare themselves for the exciting and (for many) mysterious elements of the birthing process. As in all societies everyone has their own opinions on birthing and pain relief but this method provides and alternative to the au-natural or medicated births. Celebrities have also tried and tested the hypnobirthing method. Jessica Alba stated that she found hypnobirthing to be a pleasant and joyful experience, allowing her to relax and enjoy the processes of the birth, Katie Holmes also adopted this method during the birth of daughter Suri Cruise, Katie took the hypnobirthing to a new level, requesting silence where possible and for the lights in the room to be dimmed as much as possible. So could this be the new craze to sweep the nation, or will tried and tested methods remain ?