Hypnosis helped Jill to conceive with IVF

Nov 25 2009 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

One woman found a surprise solution after enduring physically and emotionally exhausting fertility treatment. HILARIE STELFOX reports.

PAIN-FREE labour without drugs sounds like every mother-to-be’s idea of perfect childbirth.

The reality is often quite different.

But, says hypnotherapist Karen Riley, there really is a way to give birth painlessly.

One of her clients, Jill Wilson from Brighouse, used hypnotherapy techniques during labour and to achieve a successful pregnancy. She was so inspired by her experiences that she is now training to be a hypnotherapist herself in order to help other women.

Karen, an applied biology graduate and member of the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis, specialises in working with women who are having difficulty conceiving and couples who want to learn techniques to assist a natural birth.

She is the UK director of the HypnoFertility Foundation, which originated in the US, and leads workshops for other therapists.

Karen, who lives in Outlane, said: “HypnoFertility works on a physical level. If you get very stressed about something and fertility treatment is very stressful then the body’s fight or flight reaction kicks in and the blood supply to the uterus is diverted to the legs and other parts of the body.

“So, at the very time you need a good hormonal balance and a rich blood supply to the uterus, all these resources are going somewhere else.

“It’s just common sense really.’’

She added: “Hypnotherapy also works with the limbic system of the body which turns our emotions into physical responses. A lot of people are surprised by this and don’t understand that feelings can impact on their fertility and their bodies.’’

Karen’s interest in hypnotherapy began as a teenager when she sought help from a therapist for confidence issues.

The self-hypnosis techniques she learned also helped, she says, when she had fertility problems of her own. She is married to Dean and the couple have two sons, five-year-old Laurence, and two-year-old Matthew.

Jill, 42, a former professional indemnity claims adjustor, was in her 30s when she began to suffer from gynaecological problems.

“I was referred to a specialist who assumed that I was wanting to start a family,’’ she said. “I was told that I would have serious problems conceiving and that IVF would be my only hope.

“By the time I found out I was 37 and we had a stark choice to make. But we decided that we did want to have children and started with IVF at the assisted conception unit in Halifax.

“You go into it very naively and full of confidence. Some people do get lucky first time, but the success rate is actually quite low.’’

The rollercoaster of fertility treatment can be physically and emotionally exhausting. It’s also expensive and can put couples under a huge financial strain. Jill estimates that the two cycles she and her Dean paid for cost them £12,000 – an added stress.