An Argument for the Revival of Hypnosis in Obstetrics

Abstract

Abstract Available research, clinical reports, and extensive personal experience demonstrate that hypnosis, and especially the hypnoreflexogenous technique, facilitates the mother's comfort in pregnancy, labor, and delivery; is superior to the use of chemicals or other psychophysical methods as the primary aid in childbirth; and results in lasting benefit for the mother, the child, and the family as a whole. Prior to delivery, with the patient in hypnotic trance, a verbal conditioning technique is used that (1) neutralizes the fear of delivery with a positive emotion that exalts maternity as a sublime experience, (2) substitutes the uterine contraction concept for the pain concept, and (3) presumably lowers the excitability of the cortex by psychological sedation. While hypnosis experienced a temporary decrease in popularity due to a number of misconceptions, there has been renewed and promising application of hypnosis to obstetrics and other areas of medicine.