Hypnobirthing goes mainstream

The practice of using self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques during birth is gaining wider acceptance, writes Joanna Kiernan.

The practice of using hypnosis to ease the pain of childbirth was once reserved for only the trendiest of new-age mums.

However, hypnobirthing, which uses a variety of self-hypnosis techniques, including affirmations and visualisation, has become much more mainstream in recent years.