Michelle ONeill - Hypnobirthing - The Original Method: Mindful Pregnancy and Easy Labor

Hypnobirthing
The Original Method

Mindful Pregnancy and Easy Labor

Using the Leclaire Childbirth Method

Michelle Leclaire O'Neill. PH.D. R.N.

PAPYRUS PRESS

Pacific Palisades, California

Papyrus Press

P.O. Box 1086 Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

www.leclairemethod.com

Copyright 2002 by Michelle Leclaire O'Neill. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Jack Crimmins for the use of his poem. Used by permission.

Some parts of this book have appeared in slightly different form in Creative Childbirth by Michelle Leclaire O'Neill, Ph.D., R.N. This book is not intended to replace medical guidance. Persons should consult their physicians or other medical practitioners before following any specific procedure discussed in this book.

Responsibility for any adverse effects resulting from the use of information in this book rests solely with the reader.

Originally published by McGraw Hill in 2002. First Papyrus Press edition 2006.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data

O'Neill, Michelle Leclaire.

Hypnobirthing: the original method / Michelle Leclaire O'Neill.

p. cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0.9633087.1.8

1. Natural childbirth. 2. Hypnotism in obstetrics. 3. Autogenic training.

Dedicated to Anne Campion Stewart, R.N., former supervisor of Ob/Gyn at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City, who had the intuition to change the way newborns were handled throughout the United States and removed from the mothers and isolated in a nursery. It was she who created rooming in so that mother and infant could maintain the bond established in utero and so that baby could feel safe and secure and be cared for by mother. "Twas a little bit of heaven came from out the sky one day," and now you've returned alas not to your Ireland but, I hope, to that little bit of heaven you brought to all who knew you. With the grandest of memories, this book celebrates you.

Also dedicated to Elizabeth Bing, cofounder of the Lamaze Method and continuing mentor to all of us who want to carry on and move into the twenty-first century with the newest scientific information on pregnancy and birth. Thank you for all your work and for paving the way. Thanks to you, each of us is an individual woman giving birth, not just another iv and multip in the "delivery" room.

Also dedicated to our delightful memories of Suzanne Ellen Leclerc Bocknik. We let go of the past pain of your M.S. and visualize the cure. Your sweet granddaughter, Ella Suzanne, is on the cover.

A feeling of fullness comes,

but usually it takes some bread to bring it.

-RUM!

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction REKINDLING THE JOY AND POWER OF BIRTHING

The Leclaire Method

Case Study: Kristina

ONE BABY AT A TIME

PLANNING FOR AN EASY PREGNANCY

Chapter One ONLY NATURAL

Woman's Ability To Bring New Life Into The World Without Pain

RETURN TO A WOMAN-CENTERED APPROACH

THE POWERFUL CONNECTION BETWEEN MOTHER AND UBORN

The Effect of Your Emotions on Your Baby's Well-Being

Case Study: Sarah

Case Study: Mai

THE EFFECT OF FAMILY DYNAMICS ON YOUR UBORN

A WORD ABOUT SIBLINGS

WORKING TOGETHER WITH YOUR PARTNER

WHAT MOTHERS BELIEVE ABOUT BIRTH

MIRACULOUS BEGINNINGS

ChapterTwo THE POWER OF HEALTHY BELIEFS

TRANSFORMING FEARS INTO CONFIDENCE

THE RATIONAL THOUGHT PROCESS FOR HEALTHY THINKING

EXERCISE: THE RATIONAL THOUGHT PROCESS

Case Study: Kathleen

PICTURES WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

EXERCISE: DRAWING

Drawings and Their Stories

COMING TO TERMS WITH FEARS AND CONCERNS

Taking Responsibility for a Good Birth

Case Study: Olivia

EXERCISE: ACKNOWLEDGING FEARS

Chapter Three ACCEPTING THE MAGIC OF YOUR MIND

THE HYPNOSIS OF THE LECLAIRE METHOD

HYPNOSIS FOR PREGNANCY: A SCRIPT

HYPNOSIS FOR PREGNANCY AND LABOR

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE

HOW TO BEGIN USING HYPNOSIS

ROLE OF THE FATHER AND/OR SUPPORT PERSON

HOW HYPNOSIS WORKS

Breathing and Hypnosis

Your Uterus During Hypnosis

Ankle Technique for Transition

Hypnosis and Cesarean Sections

The Myth of Pain in Labor

A Note Regarding Contractions

LABOR IN FULL AWARENESS

HYPNOSIS FOR LABOR: A SCRIPT

A Word About Transition

Chapter Four AVOIDING THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER

THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION AND IMAGERY

MEDITATION AND HOW IT CAN AFFECT YOUR PREGNANCY

A Natural State

Not an Antireligious Activity

The Benefits of Meditation for Mothers-to-Be

EXERCISE: LEARNING TO MEDITATE

EXERCISE: ASIMPLE MEDITATION FOR QUIETING YOUR SENSES AND MIND

Breathing and Meditation

EXERCISE: SETTING GOALS

IMAGERY AND HOW IT CAN AFFECT YOUR PREGNANCY

Case Study: Barbara

Chapter Five HEALTHY MOTHER, HEALTHY BABY

YOUR PREGNANCY HEALTH PLAN

HEALTHY FOOD TO BUILD HEALTHY BABIES

GETTING THE RIGHT NUTRIENTS FOR MOTHER AND UBORN

FOOD FOR A HEALTHY PREGNANCY

RECOMMENDED DIET

BALANCE IN EATING AND HEALTH

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION RECOMMENDATIONS

DAILY MENU IDEAS

Mother's Basic Nonhealthy Diet

First Trimester

Second Trimester

Third Trimester

FOOD PREFERENCES

THINGS TO AVOID

Moving Through Pregnancy

EXERCISE: THE KEGEL MUSCLE

EXERCISE: WIDENING THE BIRTH CANAL

A Word of Caution

SEX AND THE EXPECTANT MOTHER

Chapter Six THE UMBILICAL CODE

AFEAST FOR THE SENSES FOR MOTHER, FATHER, AND CHILD

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

A FEAST FOR THE SENSES OF MOTHER AND BABY

AVOIDING THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER FOR YOUR UBORN

REMEMBERING AND CONNECTING THROUGH STORIES

WORKING WITH YOUR SENSES

The Sense of Sight

The Sense of Taste

The Sense of Smell

Gentle Fragrances, Soothing Scents

Scents Postpartum

PLAYING FOR YOUR HEALTH (AND FOR YOUR BABY'S HEALTH)

Chapter Seven STARDUST MEMORIES

DREAMING YOUR WAY THROUGH PREGNANCY

CONNECTING TO A LARGER WORLD

DREAMS IN YOUR WIDE-AWAKE LIFE

BEING ATTENTIVE TO YOUR DREAMS WITHOUT JUDGING

THE PATH TO UNIVERSAL TRUTH

Case Study: Julie

EGO, INSTINCT, SELF, AND THE DREAM

Case Study: Christina

REMEMBERING AND TELLING YOUR DREAMS

INTERPRETING YOUR DREAMS

Case Study: Dawn

Case Study: Melissa

EXERCISE: USING YOUR DREAMS

Chapter Eight MAGIC FINGERS

THE HEALING POWER OF HVPNOTOUCH

TRADITIONAL POSITIONS FOR EASIER BIRTHS

BODIES BUILT FOR BABIES

HUMAN WARMTH VERSUS MACHINE WARMTH

TOUCH STIMULATION FOR HEALTHY GROWTH

HYPNOTOUCH SELF-MASSAGE FOR MOTHERS

BENEFITS OF A DAILY SELF-MASSAGE

WHEN NOT TO TOUCH

HYPNOTOUCH DURING LABOR

Chapter Nine A MUSICAL FEAST

THE MAGIC OF SOUND

HOW SOUND AFFECTS US

HEALING VIBRATIONS

CREATING BABY WITH MUSIC

MAGICAL, MUSICAL REST

CREATING YOUR OWN MUSICAL SOUNDS

Sound to Soothe or Energize

THE HEALING POWER OF HYPNOACOUSTICS

Case Study: Grace

Chapter Ten TOWARD LIBERATION OF BIRTH

SETTING ATTAINABLE GOALS

EXPLODING THE MYTHS OF LABOR

CHILDBIRTH THROUGH EARLY HISTORY

CHILDBIRTH IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY