The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

How to Learn Hypnotherapy

Here in Northern California, we have a local School of Hypnotherapy. Doesn't every town?

I took a twelve-week course (three hours one night/week) taught by Josie Hadley, who is co-author of the book, Hypnosis for Change, which I think is carried by Cascade.

That taught me basic principles of hypnotherapy, but not much specific to childbirth.

Then I got the two books by Carl Jones, Mind over Labor, and Creative Visualizations for an Easier Childbirth (or something close to that), also carried by Cascade. These contain lots of specific suggestions/affirmations and imagery that is useful. I think Cascade also carries Creative Childbirth by Michelle LeClaire O'Neill about the LeClaire Method. She sells audiotapes and booklets and workbooks and things. This is probably the most complete set commercially available. There are a few other resources - most places that sell lots of different self-hypnosis tapes will sell one or two related to childbirth.

Then I put it all together. I still customize every script if the woman has any issues that are different from the norm. And I haven't really done it that many times - not more than 50 times.

Some women say it really helps. Even if it doesn't help with the specific complaint, most women say it at least helps them to fall asleep at night. (I make my tapes so they tell the woman when to turn off the tape machine if they want to fall asleep.)