Press Release

AS SEEN ON NBC For information: 
310-901-9440 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  email: mariepaul@easybirthing.com
LOS ANGELES MOMS-TO-BE TAKE THE FEAR, STRESS OUT OF LABOR
WITH EASYBIRTHING- A CHILDBIRTH HYPNOSIS TRAINING (2003 article).

Hypnosis Training Promotes More Confidence, Less Pain and More Opportunity
to Bond with Baby, along with creating the right womb environment for best brain development of your unborn child.

Because Nicole Murray's first baby was stillborn, her fear of losing her second threatened to take all the joy out of her pregnancy. That's when a midwife at the Hollywood Birth Center recommended she see Marie-Paul.

Marie-Paul Baxiu, C.C.H., C.H.I., I.C.E., Birth doula certified in Neo natal Resuscitation, and YogaCise Pre-postnatal Instructor; a Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist, is becoming increasingly well known in Los Angeles for her work with mothers before, during and even after childbirth. Through individual hypnosis sessions, Marie-Paul helped Nicole dispel her fears and envision a positive birth experience for her second child.

“She had me describe the birth I wanted—who would be there, what the baby would be like,” Nicole recalls. “I wanted a labor that was less than six hours, and Marie-Paul suggested that the birth would be just as I imagined. She made an audiotape of the session that my husband, Charles, and I could listen to.”

The results even surprised Nicole. “I labored for three hours and pushed for about fifteen minutes. It wasn't exactly as I imagined it, but it was very close. The training had a huge impact on the birth. I was able to dig into my intuition and trust that everything would be OK.”

Nicole, 31, who lives in the Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles, was so happy with the hypnosis work that she has continued to see Marie-Paul after the birth of her daughter, Amel, to help in the transition to motherhood.

“I’ve been to other counselors but they weren't able to get through to me the way the hypnosis did. I'm getting my Ph.D. at UCLA and I train teachers, so I like things to be scientific. I'm pretty driven and high-strung, my mind races and I'm always strategizing and figuring things out. I am just not an easy person to relax and I didn't really think the hypnosis would work—but it did.”

“An Incredible Experience”

Highland Park mother Raquel Vargas, 32, says the experience of using hypnosis techniques during the birth of her daughter, Juleanna, was “so relaxing that it was almost like having an epidural, which I didn't have.”

Marie-Paul used soft music and a hands-on healing method, to help Raquel with the back labor she was experiencing. “It was incredible. It eliminated the pain and I just got a wonderful feeling of well-being. I was even able to sleep for long periods of time. There were about four hours of active labor, just as we had discussed in our sessions.”

Raquel was especially appreciative of the hypnosis benefits because her first childbirth experience was tense and difficult.

“After that birth, I remember thinking that I never wanted to go through that again,” she remembers. “This time, I didn't have any of those feelings. I just kept thinking it was a beautiful experience. I was relaxed, rather than tense, and I was able to appreciate it so much more.

Research Shows Effectiveness

Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, a British physician, was the first to propose the “fear-tension-pain” syndrome in his work Natural Childbirth (1933), and hypnosis has been found to be an extremely effective way to eliminate the fear-tension cycle, addressing it on the subconscious level to allow the physical body to relax deeply. In fact, research studies have shown that the effective use of hypnosis for childbirth results in shorter labors, reduced use of pain medication, higher Apgar scores (measurement of the baby's well being at the birth), and even reduced surgical delivery (Caesarian delivery and forceps). 
For example, several studies have found a statistically significant reduction of 2-4 hours in the length of labor of mothers who used hypnosis methods. A British study also found that 55% of 45 first and second time mothers who used hypnosis methods required no medication for pain relief, compared to only 22% of 90 women who did not use the hypnosis techniques. Other studies have shown rates as high as 79% for non-medicated births when hypnosis was used.

Changing Negative Programming

Marie-Paul explains that Childbirth Hypnosis Training is different for every woman. “Because I work with women individually using a number of sessions rather than in a formal class setting, we can address their unique concerns and needs. Fear of the unknown creates stress, panic and tension that can make the birth process so much more difficult than it needs to be. Women often expect the experience to be painful and difficult. With hypnosis, we release this negative programming and free mothers to learn to trust and work with their bodies. It creates a much more comfortable pregnancy and safer way to give birth.”

The hypnosis training includes deep relaxation techniques and guided Imagery to release fears and tension that can lead to more complications and pain while giving birth. The result can be a more natural and comfortable experience for both mother and baby.

“When a woman is properly prepared for childbirth, her mind and body are in harmony with her natural birthing instincts,” explains Marie-Paul. “Expectant mothers are able to call upon their own natural endorphin response as a natural anesthesia. Moms are more in control with a heightened state of awareness and connection to their inner strength. It can create a much more loving, relaxing, and nurturing experience.”

Marie-Paul has been a Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist for the last 35 years (since 1989). She graduated from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, the first nationally accredited school of hypnosis in the United States. A native of France, she was raised in France-Europe and has been a resident of the United States for 40 years, since 1984.

Pregnant mothers generally see Marie-Paul for about 1 ½ to 2 hours sessions (or more times if needed) a few times throughout pregnancy prior to birth, partners are invited to join for a few/all sessions as well. Sessions are held via video calls and/or in the confort or your home. She can also be hired to provide labor support at the birth and for continuing sessions after the child is born. Childbirth hypnosis can be used in conjunction with other childbirth preparation training methods (but not suggested or needed). Marie-Paul has also worked with parents-to-be (last minute) upon their wish to learn what to do to avoid unecessary intervention once in the hospital, so, a one “intense day” session was created to accomodate the parenting couple before their baby’s birth.

Wet Set Gazette, March/April 2003 Issue

Taking the Stress out of Childbirth with Hypnosis Training
By Mary Monroes

Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, a British physician, was the first to propose the “fear-tension-pain” syndrome in his work Natural Childbirth (1933), and hypnosis has been found to be an extremely effective way to eliminate the fear-tension cycle, addressing it on the subconscious level to allow the physical body to relax deeply. In fact, research studies have shown that the effective use of hypnosis for childbirth results in shorter labors, reduced use of pain medication, higher Apgar scores (measurement of the baby’s well being at the birth) and even reduced surgical delivery (Caesarian delivery and forceps). 

For example, several studies have found a statistically significant reduction of 2-4 hours in the length of labor of mothers who used hypnosis methods. A British study also found that 55% of 45 first and second time mothers who used hypnosis methods required no medication for pain relief, compared to only 22% of 90 women who did not use the hypnosis techniques. Other studies have shown rates as high as 79% for non-medicated births when hypnosis was used.

Speaking from Experience

Many mothers who have used hypnosis techniques can personally attest to its effectiveness, with results that include a more comfortable labor and alert birth experience with less fatigue, pain and need for painkillers—as well as shorter labor and more rapid postnatal recovery.

Highland Park mother and teacher Raquel Vargas, 32, says the experience of using hypnosis techniques during the birth of her daughter, Juleanna, was “so relaxing that it was almost like having an epidural, which I didn’t have… It eliminated the pain and I just got a wonderful feeling of well-being.”

Raquel was especially appreciative of the hypnosis benefits because her first childbirth experience was tense and difficult. “After that birth, I remember thinking that I never wanted to go through that again,” she remembers. “This time, I didn’t have any of those feelings. I just kept thinking it was a beautiful experience. I was relaxed, rather than tense, and I was able to appreciate it so much more.

Selina Pang, a first-time mother-to-be, saw a brochure for hypnotherapist Marie-Paul Baxiu’s Childbirth Hypnosis Training in Los Angeles and decided to take the five pre-birth training sessions. “The sessions included childbirth education, where we discussed what I could expect, what my body would go through, which types of procedures are available, etc. In each session, we discussed my worries and issues. We also focused a lot on relaxation and visualization techniques that I could do during the birth. Marie-Paul made an audiotape that I listened to at home in the evenings. It was a great way for me to take time out and relax. I loved it.”

Selina’s active labor at Santa Monica UCLA Hospital was intense but brief: only 3 1/2 hours, with 18 minutes of pushing. “It was very smooth and I think that not being fearful made a big difference. I felt some pain but I never felt fear. In fact, my nurse didn’t even recognize I was in active labor because the relaxation and visualization techniques were working so well. It was really amazing.”

For Rose Weinstein, 41, childbirth hypnosis training helped enormously to deliver her twins. She was introduced to the idea at her prenatal yoga class at the Golden Bridge in Los Angeles. “I wasn't expected to carry the babies full term—yet through the hypnosis training, I developed an ability to relax. I carried my babies 37 weeks and as a result, they were fully developed and almost 6 pounds each! My labor went amazingly fast, and my whole concept of time was suspended. Although I could feel my contractions, they seemed far off and not even one fourth as uncomfortable as the contractions of my first birth.”

More in Control, More Aware During Childbirth

Marie-Paul Baxiu, C.C.H., C.H.I., I.C.E., Birth doula certified in Neo natal Resuscitation, and Pre-postnatal YogaCise Instructor; a Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist and founder of EasyBirthing- a Childbirth Hypnosis Training in Los Angeles for the last 30 years, explains that when women use hypnosis training to prepare for childbirth, their minds and bodies work in harmony with their natural birthing instincts. “With hypnosis training, expectant mothers are able to call upon their own natural endorphin response as a natural anesthesia,” she says. “Moms are more in control with a heightened state of awareness and connection to their inner strength. It can create a much more loving, relaxing, and nurturing experience.”

Marie-Paul has been a Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist for the last 35 years. She graduated from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, the first nationally accredited school of hypnosis in the United States. Pregnant mothers generally see Marie-Paul in her Los Angeles office for 4 to 5 1 1/2 to 2 hours sessions (or more time if needed) prior to birth. Her sessions are highly individualized for each mother’s needs. She is also available to provide assistance as a birth doula to couple, whether the birth is schedule at home, in a midwifery center or in a hospital.

How to Get Started

If you are considering hypnosis training techniques for childbirth, Marie-Paul recommends that you find a qualified hypnotherapist who is experienced at using hypnosis for childbirth. You should receive at least four or five training sessions (training can be formatted in any which way depending on your gestational age) and audiotapes of visualization, relaxation and specific trigger mechanisms individually designed to help you learn to achieve the hypnotic/relaxed state on your own. Note that childbirth hypnosis can be used in conjunction with other childbirth preparation training methods (but are not suggested or needed).

While group hypnosis training sessions are available for mothers-to-be, keep in mind that individual training sessions with a qualified hypnotherapist are more personalized and likely to be more effective during childbirth. For more information, look under “hypnotherapy” in the phone book, see www.easybirthing.com or call Marie-Paul Baxiu at 310-901-9440.

Mary Monroe is a freelance writer specializing in women’s health and fitness.
For more information on EasyBirthing - a Childbirth Hypnosis Training,
call 310-901-9440
e-mail mariepaul@easybirthing.com
or see website www.easybirthing.com