Hypnobirthing to 'cure' Hyperemesis Gravidarum. A massive misinterpretation?
Today Giovanna Fletcher interviewed none other than the Duchess of Cambridge on her podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby, about all things pregnancy, birth, motherhood and the early years!
The Duchess of Cambridge talked about her experience with hyperemesis gravidarum in all three of her pregnancies and also her experience using hypnobirthing for all three births. Naturally, the press have JUMPED on it, with headlines from the BBC such as ‘The Duchess of Cambridge Used Hypnobirthing to Overcome Hyperemesis Gravidarum’. Having listened to the podcast myself, I have a feeling something here has been misunderstood. Something I hope to be able to shed a little light on.
On the podcasts the Duchess of Cambridge said ‘I saw the power of it, the meditation & deep breathing that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick & actually I realised that this was something I could take control of during labour. It was hugely powerful. And actually because it had been so bad during pregnancy, I actually really liked labour because I knew it was going to be an event there was going to be an end to!’
As a hypnobirthing practitioner and survivor of HG, her message to me was clear.. An HG pregnancy and the process of giving birth are both huge feats of mental endurance. They will test you emotionally more than anything you’ve ever done in your life. And you need tools to get through. Having been in her shoes, what I took from this comment was simply how important it is to have tools to help your mind as much as your body whenever you are doing something that is difficult. And how she felt able to take control of her birth in a way that she hadn’t been able to during her pregnancy’. I didn’t hear for one moment her suggesting hypnobirthing would be an appropriate cure for hyperemesis, something that for many of us was barely kept under control with a pick and mix bag full of drugs!
A small selection of the drugs I was taking to keep sickness at bay each day when I was pregnant in 2016.
The headlines we are seeing today have jumped on to a hot topic of conversation and been put together very speedily! (Much like this blog post I might add!). But come with a huge misunderstanding of what ‘hypnobirthing’ actually is! It’s a method of birth preparation. Yep, it does include techniques to eliminate fear and aid relaxation and Hypnobirthing is an utterly magic tool for giving birth in a way that makes you feel calm, in control & supported. But it’s not ACTUALLY MAGIC.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum is an extremely serious complication of pregnancy affecting around 1% of the pregnant population. Left untreated in can cause extreme malnutrition, dehydration and in year gone by- death! I don’t know a hypnobirthing practitioner worth their weight who would suggest treating pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes with a good old dose of deep breathing and ‘mindfulness’. And HG is the same. Currently thought to be a genetic condition, it can be effectively managed for some women with prompt treatment from a doctor, but for many, it remains hard to manage even with the strongest medications. Suggesting, as some of today’s news articles have, that women with HG should just try thinking happy thoughts* to cure their sickness is taking us back to the dark ages of HG research, when the condition was assumed to be psychological and women were regularly DYING due to lack of treatment!
Having emotional and mental health support through a pregnancy with hyperemesis is hugely important. But I probably wouldn’t book yourself in for a hypnobirthing course in the hope of curing what is thought to be a genetic condition of pregnancy leaving many of us being sick 40+ times a day.
I do hope opening up these conversations brings to light the trauma of HG and helps women access proper, evidence based treatment; and also opens up the wonder of hypnobirthing to many more women.. but let’s keep the 2 things separate for now!
For wonderful support getting through an HG pregnancy visit www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org