The new venue for a HypnoBirthing course at the Union Jack Club turned out to be a huge success. The room was ideal - with plenty of daylight but quiet, and the staff were unfailingly helpful and courteous. I hadn't realise just how very convenient it would be. From the east of London it was just a few stops along the Jubilee Line and it was very easy for people to reach it from anywhere served by Waterloo. We had a couple who came from Guildford and it proved to be extremely convenient for them.

It was a lovely group, and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone again next weekend.

Howard Ludwig was initially sceptical about HypnoBirthing....

Another great article from the US, Howard Ludwig gives an entertaining account of his discovery of HypnoBirthing, and the birth of their children. Enjoy...

The SouthtownStar :: Howard Ludwig: "To say I was skeptical about Hypnobirthing is an understatement.

I first heard about the technique of pregnant women using hypnosis to achieve pain-free labor two years ago. The flower child teaching our childbirth class briefly explained Hypnobirthing and showed a video on the method.

'Yeah right. That's gonna work,' I said to The Wife while rolling my eyes.

'You're getting sleeeeepy. Verrry sleeeepy--' I said jokingly, gently swinging my imaginary pocket watch in her face.

The Wife delivered our son without hypnosis. Several months later, she learned a friend in her book club successfully used Hypnobirthing to deliver her son. Then, I learned her instructor lives in Chicago's Beverly community.

Tricia Fitzgerald became a Hypnobirthing instructor after using the technique during the births of her three children. Until recently, Fitzgerald's clientele was exclusively in the north and west suburbs. Her first class in the Southland was held this summer. Her second class is under way in Chicago's Mount Greenwood community.

I initially spoke with Fitzgerald before the birth of our second son on Nov. 24. She explained Hypnobirthing is not the sort of hypnosis that makes you quit smoking or cluck like a chicken, but rather a deep state of relaxation.

She compared the feeling to that of zoning out in front of a bonfire. The subconscious mind takes control of the labor and delivery while in this relaxed state. Nature is allowed to run its course.

"It is just very different than the medical culture of childbirth here in the U.S." Fitzgerald said.

I remained skeptical. I told The Wife what I had learned about Hypnobirthing and was surprised that she seemed open to the idea this time. I still felt it would be easier to teach a squirrel to string Christmas lights than give birth under hypnosis.

Then, it happened......

(Read the rest here)