The Los Angeles Chronicle has a piece on alternative methods for pain relief for pregnancies (here).  Of interest to readers here is the section on hypnosis:

There is some evidence that women who are susceptible to hypnosis may be able to reduce the sensation of pain through hypnosis. Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation and concentration and is something that you can learn to do yourself (in which case it is called autohypnosis). While hypnosis is not harmful. it is expensive and only effective in women who are most susceptible to hypnosis. It may also only have mild effects on labor pain. If you want to try hypnosis, you should start inquiring about classes early in pregnancy.

They’re kind of right but they’re also wrong.  Change that some evidence to a much and we’re on.  Compared to pain drugs administered by most hospitals in childbirth, hypnosis is actually incredibly cheap.  When one adds in the release from the feelings of fear, anxiety, discomfort and pain in the mix, hypnosis is priceless.  Also, do keep in mind that the number of folks who can use hypnosis for pain relief is actually shown to be much higher than traditional sucseptibility charts might impy (those classic tests do not take into account operator skill or adaptation of process to trance partner feedback which effectively increase overal success exponentially).

All the best,
Brian

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com