Painless Childbirth with Hypnosis
Data from exactly one thousand childbirths in the Soviet Union. 641 of the women had “prophylactic preparation” in the form of preventative psychological education suggestion, of whom 25% reported complete absence of pain in childbirth. This sort of rational “psycho-education” took place in groups of 30-35 women over the space of up to six sessions. A smaller group, 246 women, were given verbal reassurance and suggestion by a hypno-psychotherapist who was actually present at the birth, of this group 56% reported painless birth. Only 113 women received full hypnotherapy, of whom an impressive 84% reported completely painless childbirth.