In previous articles of this emotional and revealing series, we saw and experienced that perinatal hypnosis accompanies pregnancy, supports the woman, and aids in childbirth. But can it also ease the postpartum period? Without a doubt.
After giving birth, both physically and emotionally, you will need to recover. Add to that the return home, perhaps reuniting with siblings, the postnatal challenges for you and your baby, your partner's eagerness to reconnect with intimacy, and your role as a mother suddenly taking on its full meaning, and hypnosis proves to be a powerful postpartum tool to acknowledge and alleviate your feelings , reveal your hidden strengths , and regain energy, courage, confidence, and motivation .
Here, Ingrid Regosek, Master Practitioner in Humanistic Hypnosis and Practitioner in Ericksonian Hypnosis who has accompanied us since the beginning of these hypnotic peregrinations, offers us a small exercise in inner exploration .
“ Regularly take the time to close your eyes, to inhale and exhale slowly and deeply, in order to feel the source of your bodily tension (often the shoulders and neck, the back, the stomach…). Acknowledge your sensations, symbolize them through an image, an object, a drawing, speak to them, and let them evolve until you feel better. ”
It is the very nature of life to change. However, to feel like themselves, each individual needs a sense of unity, an identity whose contours they understand. Physiologically, this balance is called homeostasis . It allows us to remain the same person and to adapt. Pregnancy, however, can drastically disrupt this state of affairs. Hypnosis can help soothe this upheaval.
" Everything that persists transforms, changes, evolves. Everything that persists is in a state of becoming, " said immunologist and biology researcher Jean-Claude Ameisen.
The transition from daughter to mother, from woman to mother, the change of body, the change of place in the family history, the change of status for others and for oneself— matrescence is a profound upheaval . However, Doctors Alvarez and Cayol, in their previously cited work " Psychology and Psychiatry of Pregnancy, from Woman to Mother " (published by Odile Jacob), remind us that " The quality, intensity, and duration of these psychological transformations determine how she (the mother) will be able to connect with her child after birth. "
All the more so if labor was arduous, the delivery violent, if it required an unplanned cesarean section, if you had to make important decisions for yourself or your child, if you were hurt by words or behaviors experienced; hypnosis is the tool you need. Commonly used by psychologists and therapists in cases of stress or post-traumatic stress , it allows you to release the emotional charge " trapped " within a painful memory and to process it.
SUMMARY :
- Monitoring from the first to the fourth trimester of pregnancy
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Baby blues, maternal burnout, or postpartum depression: the benefits of hypnosis for managing emotions
- A moment of reconciliation with oneself
- An opportunity to overcome unconscious blocks
- Listening and support
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Hypnosis to ease the relationship with the body after pregnancy
- Postpartum and the relationship with the child
- After birth, a therapy to share
- Can my partner participate in the sessions?
Monitoring from the first to the fourth trimester of pregnancy
In the first three articles of this series , we discovered together that perinatal hypnosis encompasses all the needs and vulnerabilities of motherhood . A powerful tool for pain management, from before conception until after the baby's birth, it also contributes to the well-being and serenity of expectant parents.
Before pregnancy , hypnosis offers invaluable support in addressing stress, emotional blocks, and unconscious fears related to motherhood. It can help promote a state of balance conducive to conception. These sessions can also be supportive if you are experiencing difficulties conceiving, or for those undergoing fertility treatment, helping them understand their expectations and cope with the emotional challenges.
During the first trimester , perinatal hypnosis allows you to better understand and welcome your emotions: joy, impatience, questioning, anxieties, doubts or fears related to the first signs of pregnancy , bodily changes, birth and the baby's health... It can also help you become fully aware of your future role.
In the second and third trimesters , preparing for childbirth becomes a priority for expectant parents. It's essential for managing pain, strengthening the bond with the baby, and visualizing a peaceful birth. And guess what? Hypnosis can perfectly complement all of this. It allows parents to address past traumas or fears related to a previous difficult pregnancy before the birth.
Often overlooked, the fourth trimester, also known as the golden month or postpartum period , is nonetheless pivotal. Baby blues, fatigue, or breastfeeding difficulties —this stage certainly presents its share of challenges. By boosting your self-confidence and helping to prevent postpartum anxiety or depression, hypnosis plays a powerful role in providing guidance and support .
Baby blues, maternal burnout, or postpartum depression: the benefits of hypnosis for managing emotions
Postpartum depression affects 10 to 20% of women in France , while the baby blues affects up to 80% of new mothers.
Often experienced as an emotional storm that engulfs the mother's world after birth, the baby blues typically lasts about ten days. While this heightened form of the psycho-physical upheaval of pregnancy often resolves naturally, you can alleviate it by escaping your daily routine for a hypnosis session . Designed to release the overwhelming emotions you're experiencing, it will leave you feeling calmer, more confident, and more positive.
Postpartum depression, on the other hand, develops during the first year following childbirth. The new mother then indirectly expresses her distress, notably through chronic fatigue and intrusive thoughts (thoughts or images of catastrophic scenarios) which isolate her, make her feel guilty, and stress her out.
Sometimes deeply rooted, it can also disappear spontaneously. However, it is important to seek help without delay for your well-being and to avoid risking damage to the precious mother-child bond.
Finally, while every woman is defined by her own identity, she cannot simultaneously be entirely someone else: on the one hand, 100% woman and on the other, 100% mother. It is from this apparent contradiction that a loss of bearings can arise after the birth of her child.
So, a simple hypnosis session can establish a new balance and change limiting beliefs that have often led to the idea that one cannot both remain a woman and become a mother.
A moment of reconciliation with oneself
Forgiving yourself when you're overwhelmed by guilt or resentment towards those around you, the medical profession, or the disregard for your birth plan is not easy. If this is your situation, hypnosis can help you process these sometimes intense feelings and reconcile with yourself .
An opportunity to overcome unconscious blocks
“ Sabine has just returned from an appointment with her hypnotherapist. She booked it because she feels guilty for not finding her child as beautiful as she should. After some work on self-acceptance and forgiveness, Sabine is gradually rediscovering joy in her interactions with her child. ”
Listening and support
Most of the time, simply being able to confide in a professional who listens and "gets things off your chest" already brings a sense of well-being. First and foremost, don't remain alone, entangled in your difficulties and doubts . Others have experienced these problems before you. Talk to loved ones you trust. And, if you prefer or feel the need, hypnotherapists or other emotional support professionals are there to help you.
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📌 It is important to remember that any consultation with a non-healthcare professional should be considered as complementary support and can in no way replace medical care. Only a healthcare professional is qualified to make a diagnosis, prescribe treatment, or provide follow-up care tailored to each individual's specific needs. |
Hypnosis to ease the relationship with the body after pregnancy
Weight gain, loose skin, stretch marks, acne, fatigue, sore or damaged breasts, changes in body shape, a feeling of losing control of one's body (unwanted milk production, body at the service of the child), loss of libido… Not all women experience pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery in the same way . Many women, in fact, find one or more of these stages difficult to cope with.
So, to put words and sensations to your childbirth, to think about and heal your body , to validate your feelings, to support your recovery and reclaim your image, trust in hypnosis .
By welcoming emotions (often blocked) and purging them to free yourself and move forward, you will be surprised by the hidden springs of your psyche!
Postpartum and the relationship with the child
While the postpartum period should always be dedicated to the physical and mental recovery of the new mother - we increasingly talk about the golden month - it is also a time to discover your child and the bond that unites you with him/her .
Whether instinctive or more gradual – because a life story influences the ease of welcoming a baby who is both a part of oneself and still unknown – perinatal hypnosis can help you initiate, weave, or strengthen it . gently and kindly.
On the other hand, if you experience fears, doubts, or difficulties with breastfeeding , its implementation, or its effectiveness, or if you would prefer bottle-feeding but are pressured by those around you to do otherwise … Perinatal hypnosis can, once again, help you put things into perspective, understand, and find peace. You can even come to a session with your baby to enjoy a "hypnotic bath," a moment of rejuvenation.
After birth, a therapy to share
Amid the storm of emotions triggered by the birth of a child, it's not uncommon to see painful and sometimes even hostile emotional reactions from your loved ones. If you encounter this type of problem, know that a number of hypnotherapists are trained to work with families . Inspired by Solution-Focused Therapy , here is one example of an approach.
The practitioner begins by listening to the person who initiated the request (often the new mother), then goes around the table. Through various questions, he guides the family members towards what creates bonds: first, what unites them, then the means to guarantee this cohesion.
Each person is then invited to precisely identify the problem in order to be able to work more specifically and individually with the family member(s) for whom the situation is difficult to live with.
Finally, the hypnotherapist may suggest that the whole family return for a closing session. This helps to consolidate the new balance achieved.
In the meantime, as a complement, or simply for enjoyment, the graphic novels " Emotions: Investigation and User Manual ," published by Pourpenser, are a wonderful resource to explore together. The nature of emotions, their purpose, how to understand them in everyday life… The author, Art-mella , shares her discoveries in a playful and accessible way, allowing everyone to conduct their own inner investigation .
Can my partner participate in the sessions?
Because a happier postpartum period is one experienced together, the father, of course, has a role to play in establishing the new family dynamic . This is especially true since he himself may have many questions, felt left out during the pregnancy, feel inadequate for the newborn, perhaps even feel useless, or struggle to find his place alongside your mother-child duo.
Often, therefore, fathers stifle frustrations, fatigue, fears and resentments … which it is beneficial to express in session in order to better understand and overcome them.
“ Joe came for a consultation because his wife asked him to. He couldn’t bring himself to hold their 10-day-old baby and didn’t understand why, given their strong desire for a child. But, once under hypnosis, Joe allowed a buried emotion to surface: the memory of his own father telling him, ‘You’ll always break everything you touch.’ Was this self-fulfilling prophecy the source of Joe’s blockage? In any case, immediately after the session he was able to hold his newborn. ”
There are many topics to discuss when it comes to birth , lineage , and descendants . It can also involve family names and the heritage that men, even unconsciously, wish to pass on to a son. Possible disappointments (of the father or mother), unintentional setbacks, and all kinds of feelings, whether considered taboo or not, are welcome in therapy.
It is in therapy sessions that doubts, questions and fears find their full potential for expression, allowing for freer speech and feelings, and for a happy postpartum period .
