Published Date: 16 July 2004
Location: Northampton Chronicle and Echo
The Midwife
KATE Wenman doesn't mince words. The very mention of alternative therapies can send some of the medical profession reaching for their textbooks, with a dismissive shake of the head, but the midwife of 30 years isn't scared of ruffling a few feathers.
"I'm always up for trying new things and what can I say, I'm impressed," she says. "People generally are sceptical when you say women don't need to have a horrendous birth, it's like the pain is some sort of right of passage.
"The same is true of the midwifery profession. They like to see themselves as conducting the birth and with hypno-birthing that control passes to the parents, the midwife becomes something of a bystander and some don't like that."
From a practical point of view, hypno-birthing has financial implications for an already overstretched NHS and is one of a raft of developments which has changed the face of childbirth in recent years.
"If women don't need analgesia, that's a huge saving," adds Kate. "The biggest development I have experienced in my career was about 10 years ago with the introduction of water births. I was massively in favour of them and when we got one at the Barratt Maternity Home, it was a massive revolution in terms of pain relief and, to be honest, I see hypno-birthing as an addition to that."
Theory is one thing, but since hearing about the technique a little over 12 months ago, Kate has seen first hand numerous couples benefit from the technique.
"Colleagues know I'm into natural therapies and one day when I was on the ward one of the other midwives said, 'There's a couple in at the moment who are your type of people'. I walked in and they were using hypnotherapy.
"The mother had experienced a terrible first birth and she just wanted to find something which would help. Watching them go through it was just incredible, it was just very calm, she just had a lovely birth.
"Since then I started exploring it more and more and I don't know any one who has had a bad experience, even if they eventually have to have a caesarean section because of complications they still have a great labour.
"One of my own mothers was so relaxed during childbirth that unless I placed my hand on her abdomen, I couldn't tell when she was having a contraction.
"Basically you are going with what your body is telling you and all the women I know have been delighted. They really feel empowered by the birth experience and their husbands, who can feel sidelined or who have to watch their partner go through incredible pain while they are unable to do anything, are closely involved.
"We've got a long way to go, but I think midwifery as a profession needs to go back to basics and give choices back to parents."
The Mother
IT'S no exaggeration to say Sara Austin wasn't looking forward to delivering her second child.
Despite taking every kind of pain relief offered, the birth of her son Samuel had been traumatic and like many other mothers she was beginning to brace herself for a repeat performance.
"It had been a long labour, but more than that I didn't feel in control of anything," says the mother-of-two from Yardley Hastings. "When it came to pain relief I was willing to have a crack at anything. Initially I had gas and air, then half a shot of pethidine, which didn't even scratch the surface, then an epidural. I was in absolute gripping pain for 21 hours."
A vague memory of a visit from a dental hypnotherapist while at school prompted her to reach for a copy of the Yellow Pages in the hope that similar techniques may be available for pregnant mothers.
"I just found the whole thing fascinating," she adds. " I thought I may be able to go to a few general hypnotherapy sessions, but when my hypnotherapist told me there was a specific technique for childbirth I pretty much signed up immediately."
While desperate for any alternative which might provide some relief, Sara was not entirely convinced hypno-birthing would be the panacea she so desperately wanted.
"I was very cynical right up until after I had given birth to Martha," she says. "I thought alternative births were only for Earth Mothers and I did wonder whether because I was cynical it wouldn't work.
"My hypnotherapist reassured me that wasn't the case, but until I went into labour all I hoped was that it would make the whole experience a little better.
"I did do all the homework quite diligently, but if truth be told I was still expecting there to be pain."
With her husband Henry on board, the couple began to practise the exercises as her due date got closer.
"My husband would have hung upside down by his legs if it would have meant I would have had a better second labour," she adds. "His job was to control the hypnosis and to take me deeper into it as the delivery progressed and it was so nice for me was that he was an active part of the birth.
"If I'm honest I didn't think he would be any use, when we were practising at home I just used to laugh, but when it came to it, it worked just as they said it would."
On November 13 last year after a six-hour labour, 8lb 5oz Martha – 1lb 3.5oz bigger than her older brother – came into the world and a few hours later Sara was leaving hospital a convert to hypno-birthing.
"It's difficult to describe how I felt," she says. "I had a strong feeling, but it wasn't pain. When Martha was actually born it was as though she had been asleep as she made a sound which she still does when she wakes up now.
"Everyone says second labours are much easier, but at one point I got off the bed to go the toilet which obviously disturbed the hypnosis and the pain came shooting back.
"I know what I went through with Samuel and if hypno-birthing can help any woman avoid that then it's got to be a good thing."