Hypno-what?

This is the second post of the day, so be sure to read on after this one.

Kira and I, being totally and utterly unprepared for the birth of our first child, spent quite some time deciding what, if any, birthing class we might like to try. For you offspring-less, a birthing class is Lamaze, or any one of those things that is supposed to prepare you for giving birth. Anyhoo, we finally decided to try one out called Hypno-birthing. Now before anyone starts thinking they’ve lost me to the hippies (we all know Kira was already on her way), let me explain it first, because it’s really not what it sounds like. It is essentially just a method of relaxing ones self to a point that ones body releases the natural pain relieving endorphins, which are much more powerful than morphine, and thus have a more comfortable and calm birth. The method by which one achieves this relaxation is by approaching the birth without fear. The typical pattern for a birth seems to be (1) contraction, which leads to (2) fear, which causes one to (3) tense up, which leads to (1) more pain, which leads to more fear, which leads to more tension, and so on and so forth. So the point is to relax and thus break the cycle of tension, fear, and pain.

In any case, it’s quite interesting and very promising. We don’t quite buy in to the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood-esque xylophone music to which they want us to listen while relaxing, but other than that, we have enjoyed everything we’ve learned thus far.

So once again, just to prove I’m not going all rainbowy on you, I think I just might “relax” to some Radiohead during the labor. Something tells me Kira won’t quite go for it though.