Can you do Hypnobirthing with an epidural?

This is a question I asked myself when I first found Hypnobirthing, 12 years ago, pregnant with my first baby.

‘If I’m Hypnobirthing, will I be able to have an epidural?’

I loved the idea of Hypnobirthing and certainly needed it with the amount of fear I had about childbirth.

Yet, I was scared that if I committed to a Hypnobirthing course, I’d somehow not allowed to have an epidural if I wanted one.

As someone who considered myself to have a VERY low pain threshold, this played on my mind A LOT.

This worry likely came from my association with Hypnobirthing being an alternative to medical intervention. So, I saw Hypnobirthing and epidurals as opposite ends of the scale.

What I found was Hypnobirthing aimed to empower women to have a positive and calm birth experience. Yes, I learnt all about the incredible work of the body during birth and ways I could naturally remain as comfortable as possible AND I learnt that I had choices. What I wanted for my birth was important and my voice should be heard.

Of course this included my preferences for pain relief.

To cut a long story short, I didn’t have an epidural.

On the day I genuinely didn’t need one. Yes, even as someone that would have an epidural for a bikini wax if I could!

After years working as a Hypnobirthing Teacher and Instructor Trainer, I see just how important Hypnobirthing is when women are choosing epidurals.

There are some downsides of epidural and whilst Hypnobirthing doesn’t eliminate those, Hypnobirthing can help the birth experience be as calm and positive as possible for both mum and baby complimenting the use of an epidural.

What is an epidural?

An epidural is a type of anaesthetic that provides pain relief to the lower half of the body. It involves injecting a local anaesthetic into the space around the spinal cord in the lower back. This blocks nerve impulses from the lower spinal segments, numbing the sensations in the lower abdomen, pelvis, and legs.

How does Hypnobirthing complement birth with an epidural?

An epidural is usually only offered to women who are in active labour. Medically speaking this is 4 centimetres dilated or more. In addition, an epidural is done by an anaesthetist so in some cases there can be a wait for them to be available.

For many women this means that they will be experiencing contractions for some hours before their epidural.

Having powerful Hypnobirthing techniques to help deal with these strong sensations will be extremely valuable. It allows you to be less reliant on the moment an epidural becomes available and enable a calm labour.

During the process of an epidural being put in place, you are required to sit upright and very still. An injection of local anaesthetic is given to the area of the back where it will be placed. Hypnobirthing techniques such as breathing, self-hypnosis and visualisation will help you remain calm and relaxed during this process.

There are also medical procedures that go along with the use of an epidural such as a cannula being inserted for a drip of fluids and a catheter for emptying the bladder. Again, the tools learnt on a Hypnobirthing course are extremely valuable for this, providing a positive distraction and calming tools.

Once an epidural is in place women find being mobile difficult. Hypnobirthing helps families see how useful being in upright positions can be for labour to progress.

This is where knowing you always have options is so valuable.

Use your midwife and birth partner to help you get into more upright positions and ideally get them to adjust your position regularly. A peanut ball could be your best friend here. (like a birth ball but peanut shaped, it can be used to support more active positions)

Another important consideration is that frequently the atmosphere in the birth room changes when an epidural has been put in place. The calm, quiet space with minimal talking becomes full of chit chat, brighter lighting and less privacy. This can again slow labour down.

This is because for birth to happen smoothly, the hormone oxytocin needs to be flourishing.

This hormone is often called the hormone of love. It thrives in private, quiet, dimly lit environments.

Add to this that we need to be out of our thinking brain to labour well. Science calls this slowing down the neocortex and being in the primal, intuitive part of the brain. Chit chat and lots of distractions is certainly going to prevent this.

Through Hypnobirthing, you learn how to create a birth friendly environment wherever you are birthing. Having an epidural doesn’t mean this is less beneficial, it makes it even more beneficial.

My intention here is to tell you that of course you can have an epidural when Hypnobirthing.

Hypnobirthing is for all births.

You can only ever get it right.

Thinking of becoming a Hypnobirthing teacher and spreading the word that Hypnobirthing is for everyone? Take my Quiz to find out if you would make a good Hypnobirthing Teacher.

Abby x