Birth Naturally

God endowed women with the magic to recreate life. But, somewhere giving birth and pain became intertwined. Women in urban India are breaking free of this cycle and experiencing the joys of motherhood unaided by medical interventions through methods like hypnosis, water, Lamaze or breathing technique. Archana Darshan writes—

Bijita, an education specialist had seen her close friend have water and hypnobirthing at the Greater Kailash located Phoenix hospital. The gentle birthing allowed the mother to bounce back soon to normal life. Hence, when Bijita became pregnant she decided to do some research on hypnobirthing and is currently taking classes with Shruti Saxena, Delhi based Reebok certified fitness expert who is childbirth educator, conducts Lamaze classes and is also a hypnobirthing expert. Bijita’s baby is due in the month of May and she finds these classes very useful.

Birth entails renewal of life. This comes naturally to women. But somehow pain and childbirth has been inextricably linked. Women for ages have heard painful stories of childbirth which creates a fear in their minds. “Childbirth classes focus on many aspects of birth. While the pain is probably the largest thought that a woman has the classes help a woman transcend beyond the realm of pain,” says Dr Urvashi Sehgal, gynaecologist with Phoenix Hospital.

The classes help educate women on the birth process, help them explore their comfort measures and helps them looks at their options. Obviously, something as big as creating a life can’t happen unnoticed by your body but replacing the word pain in your minds helps deal with the birthing sensations in a positive and empowered way.

“Childbirth is not supposed to be painful. We do things which tackle pain-fear-tension cycle. These classes re-instill faith of moms-to-be in their bodies and in their ability to give birth, by countering the pain-fear-tension cycle,” says Shruti.

Shruti is a Reebok certified fitness trainer. When her friend was pregnant she searched a lot for Pregnancy fitness classes. Since she had hard luck finding such a class, Shruti sensed a need for pregnancy fitness classes and got herself a degree in the same. Her own experience with motherhood saw her swaying towards childbirth education and Lamaze. Even gynaecologists are not untouched by Lamaze. Anjali Kumar, consultant gynaecology with Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon says, Lamaze is a natural childbirth technique which guides the mind not to think about pain during labor, by means of various breathing techniques. But, don’t expect something radical as the birth of a baby is an event which can’t go unnoticed by your body. But Lamaze can surely help you to easily ride through your labor experience.”

Delhi based Divya Deswal is a certified doula and practices hypnobirthing. From engineering consultancy to a doula, Divya has made a career leap. “I quit working when I was expecting, as I was certain that I wanted to be fulltime mom. After the birth of my son, I decided to explore different horizons. Becoming a doula is more of a calling, rather a career switch, clarifies Divya.

Doula is a Greek word. Translated literally it means a woman servant. “Doula provides complete support to women when they are pregnant, during childbirth and the weeks that follow, says Divya Deswal. Put simply, doula is a woman who is mothering the mother. This doesn’t mean that she hijacks the role of the father but she offers the couple emotional support during the time of childbirth.

What hypnobirthing is all about?

Hypnobirthing is a trademark name for the program designed by Marie Mongan. It integrates the deep hypnosis level relaxation to achieve a gentle and calm birth. Divya recalls that being a doula assisting a mother in hypnobirthing gave her an opportunity to explore several new experiences. Not only the hospital staff couldn’t believe that giving birth could be such a gentle experience, but the mom was also stunned, as she gave birth without the pain.

Hypnobirthing moms are very aware and completely in charge of their births. They are able to tune into their bodies and tap into the primal wisdom of birth that all females of all species have. Hypnobirthing works in two ways. On one hand it helps reach into the subconscious mind changing the picture of birth one usually has in terms of pain, fear and trauma and on the other hand it teaches the woman to bring herself to a relaxed state allowing the body to do the birth work it was made for unhindered. So hypnobirthing mom are the exact opposite of the above impression… they are awake, aware, relaxed, without fear and in tune with their bodies.

Water birthing

Dr Urvashi Sehgal, gynaecologist at Phoenix hospital says, “We have inquiries from about 6 to 8 couples in a month. Our childbirth educator holds an interactive session at the hospital about water birth once a month so that the couples looking for this option can know more and ask their questions.”

Water has many advantages for the labouring mom. It provides relaxation, buoyancy and support, ease of mobility, sense of calm, soothing warmth and a sense of privacy. Water provides a gentle medium of transition from the womb to the world for the baby. “However, birth under water should not be the aim of water birth. Comfort for the mother should be the primary goal,” cautions she.

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