Did HypnoBirthing give Kate Middleton an easier delivery? An expert explains the technique
HypnoBirthing is a combination of guided meditation, visualisation education, relaxation, self-hypnosis, breathing and affirmation, designed to relax a mother before and during a natural childbirth. Dads are involved too
Just seven hours after giving birth to her third child last week, Kate Middleton emerged from the hospital looking refreshed and flawless.
Some have speculated that HypnoBirthing – a practice the Duchess of Cambridge reportedly used – is the reason she looked stunning so soon after a physically exhausting event (though, mind you, her stylist Natasha Archer was spotted leaving the hospital as well).
HypnoBirthing, a pain-management method, has gained popularity in the UK and Australia, and among celebrity mothers. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen claimed “it didn’t hurt in the slightest” when she gave birth to her son Benjamin in 2010.
American actress Jessica Alba, who used HypnoBirthing during the delivery of her first two children, shared her experience with American television talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, describing it as guided meditation.
What is HypnoBirthing, actually? Though the term hypnosis conjures images of a swinging watch, that is not the case. In fact, the therapist does not need to be present with the mother during childbirth and neither is the mother in a trance.