Self‐hypnosis for coping with labour pain: a randomised controlled trial

Objective To estimate the use of epidural analgesia and experienced pain during childbirth after a short antenatal training course in self‐hypnosis to ease childbirth. Design Randomised, controlled, single‐blinded trial using a three‐arm design. Setting Aarhus University Hospital Skejby in Denmark during the period July 2009 until August 2011. Population A total of 1222 healthy nulliparous women. Method Use of epidural analgesia and self‐reported pain during delivery was compared in three groups: a hypnosis group receiving three 1‐hour lessons in self‐hypnosis with additional audiorecordings to ease childbirth, a relaxation group receiving three 1‐hour lessons in various relaxation methods and mindfulness with audiorecordings for additional training, and a usual care group receiving ordinary antenatal care only. Main outcome measures Primary outcome: Use of epidural analgesia. Secondary outcomes included self‐reported pain. Results There were no between‐group differences in use of epidural analgesia—31.2% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 27.1–35.3) in the hypnosis group, 29.8% (95% CI 25.7–33.8) in the relaxation group and 30.0% (95% CI 24.0–36.0) in the control group. No statistically significant differences between the three groups were observed for any of the self‐reported pain measures. Conclusion In this large randomised controlled trial of a brief course in self‐hypnosis to ease childbirth, no differences in use of epidural analgesia or pain experience were found across study groups. Before turning down self‐hypnosis as a method for pain relief, further studies are warranted with focus on specific subgroups.