Alternative methods

Before birth in the opening phase of the cervix, relaxation techniques are particularly useful for pain reduction. These can be warm baths (also during water birth), relaxation or breathing techniques or even massages. Aromatherapy can also be used for relaxation.

A calm and relaxed atmosphere in which the woman giving birth feels comfortable and secure is also important. Relaxation techniques are used to lower the tone (tension) of the body muscles. The autonomic nervous system (reduction of the sympathetic tone) is calmed, which also leads to the body and mind coming to rest and tensions being released. Physical relaxation also reduces anxiety, both of which ensure that pain is perceived as less intense. Movement, e.g. walking around slowly, also helps many women, as it can reduce tension.Of the alternative methods, only acupuncture, psychoanalgesia and hypnosis have so far been proven in studies to be effective in facilitating birth.

Psychoanalgesia and Hypnosis

Alternative analgesic methods such as hypnosis or psychoanalgesia can also be used in obstetrics. A prerequisite for both, however, is the learning of these techniques by specially trained personnel before birth. In psychoanalgesia, for example, pregnant women are trained in certain anxiety-relieving (anxiolytic) techniques that they can use during the birth.

In studies, as many as 20% of the users did not require any further pain therapy during the birth. In hypnosis therapy, patients are put into a state of hypnotic relaxation by a therapist specially trained in hypnosis. Self-hypnosis can also be learned and applied during birth.

If the pregnant woman is under hypnosis, the body sensation and thus also the pain can be influenced by the hypnotist or by herself (suggestion or autosuggestion). In studies some patients trained in hypnosis needed less painkillers than the patients in the comparison group. However, this method, just like psychoanalgesia, must be learned before birth and practiced regularly in order to achieve an effect.

Acupuncture is a method of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). During a treatment, the acupuncturist stabs special needles into the skin at certain points and leaves them there for varying lengths of time. Acupuncture is intended to influence the energy flow of certain pathways in the body that flow through these points.

An acupuncture treatment should only be performed by specially trained medical personnel. A birth preparation should be carried out before the birth so that the pregnant woman is not afraid of the needles during the birth and has confidence in the user. Sterile disposable needles should always be used to prevent infection.

Studies have shown that acupuncture is very effective for pain therapy in obstetrics, so that it can be recommended to interested women. Prerequisites for acupuncture, as with all other pain therapies, are acceptance by the pregnant woman and healthy, infection-free skin in the area of the puncture. If used correctly, no side effects are known. Acupuncture can be used not only for pain therapy, but also to combat nausea and vomiting, to open the cervix more quickly and to improve the regression of the uterus after birth.