The pain management technique known as hypnobirthing is becoming more popular among pregnant women. Despite that, the method itself and the idea of natural birth still spark controversies
By Marta Michnik
In the Middle Ages, childbirth was considered to be so dangerous, expecting mothers would write down their will before going into labour. For a long time, Christian tradition prevented women from using pain relief in childbirth, because of the so-called "Curse of Eve". According to the "curse", all women who give birth should suffer to be reminded of their wicked nature as a result of Eve's sin against God. Fortunately, that started changing in the 19th century, when anaesthesia was first introduced and Queen Victoria used chloroform giving birth to her last two children.
Today, the knowledge we have about pregnancy and labour, as well as medical developments, present soon-to-be parents with a wide range of options for how they want to deliver their baby. There still is an ongoing debate about the use of pain relief in labour, however, this time it has nothing to do with what the Bible says. In 2018, English footballer Harry Kane was slammed for praising his fiancée's drug-free labour on social media. It was claimed that by doing so, Kane made women who used pain relief giving birth to their children feel as if they had failed. Kane's fiancée, Kate, had a water birth and used hypnobirthing to help her cope with the pain. She is one of the many women who seek alternatives to pharmacological pain relief...
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