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Because
Nicole Murray's first baby was stillborn, her fear of
losing her second threatened to take all the joy out
of her pregnancy. That's when a midwife at the Hollywood
Birth Center recommended she see Marie-Paul.
Marie-Paul Baxiu, C.C.H., C.H.I., R.P., C.R., Birth Doula, and YogaCise Prenatal Instructor; a Clinical Certified Hypnotherapist, is becoming increasingly well known in Los Angeles for her work with mothers before, during and even after childbirth. Through individual hypnosis sessions, Marie-Paul helped Nicole dispel her fears and envision a positive birth experience for her second child.
“She had me describe the birth I wanted—who would be there, what the baby would be like,” Nicole recalls. “I wanted a labor that was less than six hours, and Marie-Paul suggested that the birth would be just as I imagined. She made an audiotape of the session that my husband, Charles, and I could listen to.”
The results even surprised Nicole.
“I labored for three hours and pushed for about
fifteen minutes. It wasn't exactly as I imagined it,
but it was very close. The training had a huge impact
on the birth. I was able to dig into my intuition and
trust that everything would be OK.”
Nicole, 31, who lives in the Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles, was so happy with the hypnosis work that she has continued to see Marie-Paul after the birth of her daughter, Amel, to help in the transition to motherhood.
“I’ve been to other counselors
but they weren't able to get through to me the way the
hypnosis did. I'm getting my Ph.D. at UCLA and I train
teachers, so I like things to be scientific. I'm pretty
driven and high-strung, my mind races and I'm always
strategizing and figuring things out. I am just not
an easy person to relax and I didn't really think the
hypnosis would work—but it did.”
Highland Park mother Raquel Vargas,
32, says the experience of using hypnosis techniques
during the birth of her daughter, Juleanna, was “so
relaxing that it was almost like having an epidural,
which I didn't have.”
Marie-Paul used soft music and Reiki, a hands-on healing method, to help Raquel with the back labor she was experiencing. “It was incredible. It eliminated the pain and I just got a wonderful feeling of well-being. I was even able to sleep for long periods of time. There were about four hours of active labor, just as we had discussed in our sessions.”
Raquel was especially appreciative of the hypnosis benefits because her first childbirth experience was tense and difficult.
“After that birth, I remember
thinking that I never wanted to go through that again,”
she remembers. “This time, I didn't have any of
those feelings. I just kept thinking it was a beautiful
experience. I was relaxed, rather than tense, and I
was able to appreciate it so much more.
Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, a British
physician, was the first to propose the “fear-tension-pain”
syndrome in his work Natural Childbirth (1933), and
hypnosis has been found to be an extremely effective
way to eliminate the fear-tension cycle, addressing
it on the subconscious level to allow the physical body
to relax deeply. In fact, research studies have shown
that the effective use of hypnosis for childbirth results
in shorter labors, reduced use of pain medication, higher
Apgar scores (measurement of the baby's well being at
the birth), and even reduced surgical delivery (Caesarian
delivery and forceps).
For example, several studies have found a statistically significant reduction of 2-4 hours in the length of labor of mothers who used hypnosis methods. A British study also found that 55% of 45 first and second time mothers who used hypnosis methods required no medication for pain relief, compared to only 22% of 90 women who did not use the hypnosis techniques. Other studies have shown rates as high as 79% for non-medicated births when hypnosis was used.
Marie-Paul explains that Childbirth Hypnosis Training is different for every woman. “Because I work with women individually for five sessions rather than in a formal class setting, we can address their unique concerns and needs. Fear of the unknown creates stress, panic and tension that can make the birth process so much more difficult than it needs to be. Women often expect the experience to be painful and difficult. With hypnosis, we release this negative programming and free mothers to learn to trust and work with their bodies. It creates a much more comfortable pregnancy and safer way to give birth.”
The hypnosis training includes deep relaxation techniques and guided Imagery to release fears and tension that can lead to more complications and pain while giving birth. The result can be a more natural and comfortable experience for both mother and baby.
“When a woman is properly prepared for childbirth, her mind and body are in harmony with her natural birthing instincts,” explains Marie-Paul. “Expectant mothers are able to call upon their own natural endorphin response as a natural anesthesia. Moms are more in control with a heightened state of awareness and connection to their inner strength. It can create a much more loving, relaxing, and nurturing experience.”
Marie-Paul has been a Clinical Certified
Hypnotherapist for the last 19 years. She graduated
from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, the first nationally
accredited school of hypnosis in the United States.
A native of France, she was raised in Europe and has
been a resident of the United States for 24 years.
Pregnant mothers generally see Marie-Paul
for about five 1 ½ to 2 hours sessions prior
to birth, partners are invited to join for a few sessions
as well. Sessions are held in her Los Angeles office.
She can also be hired to provide labor support at the
birth and for continuing sessions after the child is
born. Childbirth hypnosis can be used in conjunction
with other childbirth preparation training methods.
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