Wife of New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen delivered her son Benjamin in a Boston bathtub in a water birth, claiming that after an 8 hour labor she experienced no pain, and was walking and doing dishes the following day.

NO DOUBT her supermodel status has brought attention to the circumstances of Gisele Bundchen’s delivery; however there is a growing number of women who now opt for a gentler way to bring a child into the world. Among the methods used during pregnancy are yoga, meditation, hypnosis and ultimately a water birth, in order to avoid the use of medication and epidurals that affect both mom and baby.

According to the national center for health statistics approximately 1 percent of births in the United States occur at home. In their consumer publication, “your pregnancy and birth”, the American College of obstetricians and gynecologists describes the process of water births, even though they do not recommend it.
There is a technique though that can be used regardless of where and how you give birth, which is hypnosis. According to Julia Benitez a doula and consulting hypnotist at Miami hypnotic center, “the first step in this process is to dispel the fear and the anticipation of pain which most women experience as their delivery date approaches. The truth is childbirth is a natural and normal event, and with hypnosis the mind can be trained to experience discomfort and pain as only pressure. ”
The benefits of hypnosis vary from fewer side effects to mother and child due to drugs, shorter, pain-free labor, a peaceful birthing experience, breech and posterior babies have higher turning rates and quicker recovery for moms, even those that have a caesarean section. And the benefits still keep coming because most babies who have fewer drugs in their system are better sleepers and nursers, something deeply appreciated by new moms who are short on snooze time.
Marlene Pardo, certified hypnotist advises, “I have many clients who inquire about using hypnosis during childbirth after they have successfully used it for smoking cessation, weight control and other behaviors which they thought was out of their control. I am not surprised that more and more people are looking to have a healthy, natural lifestyle, free of drugs and pain.”