• Hypnosis provides effective pain relief and reduces use of pain medication like pethadine and epidural
• Shorter time in labour
• Less chance of labour being artificially induced
• Reduces the need for intervention - less use of caesarean, episiotomy or forceps
• A gentler, calmer and more positive birth experience
• A practical, integrated role for birth partners
• Can turn a baby in breech position to vertex (head down)
• Better apgar scores - the scale used to assess the health of your newborn baby

Research Articles

You can see the wealth of media coverage for hypnosis in childbirth across the internet. The main Hypnobirthing® website links to many articles in popular press. The statistics below are the results of controlled published studies. Links are included at the end if you enjoy reading scientific reports.

• Labour time is around three hours shorter for first time mums using hypnosis Jenkins & Pritchard 1993
• Reduced use of pain medication - 55% of hypnosis group used no pain medication, just 22% for the control group
  Jenkins & Pritchard 1993
• In Ontario 18% epidural rate for hypnosis group, 40-95% for national average (!)
• More spontaneous deliveries and 38/45 delivered without caesarean, forceps or vacuum (ventouse) for the hypnosis group Hamon, Hynan & Tyre
• Almost no postnatal depression for the hypnosis group whereas the national average is 10-15%
  McCarthy

Study into effect of hypnosis on labour.
Study into hypnosis as pain relief in labour and birth
Study of various natural ways to manage labour and birth including hypnosis, massage, tens, water and heat
Improved birth outcomes with hypnosis

When you think positive, happy, loving thoughts, there's a different chemistry that goes into your body than when you think depressing, negative, anguished thoughts. The way you decide to think has a dramatic effect on your chemistry and physiology

Dr Wayne Dyer

Further reading:
Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert