Contributions of hypnobirthing to the woman´s experience: Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction

A variety of strategies are currently offered to women for pain relief and comfort, supporting a positive childbirth experience.¹ These strategies are also recommended by the World Health Organization, with women’s preferences always respected.² Hypnobirthing is one such strategy; however, it remains underused and not widely promoted, underscoring the importance of understanding its reported contributions to women’s childbirth experience.

Objective

To map the available evidence on the reported contributions of hypnobirthing to women’s childbirth experience.

Methods

Scoping review (SR) conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology.³ Searches were carried out in six databases: MEDLINE Ultimate, CINAHL Ultimate, MedicLatina, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (via the EBSCOhost platform), plus PubMed, to address the review question: “What are the reported contributions of hypnobirthing to women’s childbirth experience?” The Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework defined Population as “women” and Concept as “hypnobirthing”; no context restrictions were applied. Eligible sources included primary studies with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods designs, as well as secondary sources (systematic reviews), published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish. Extracted data were analyzed using content analysis and grouped into categories.

Results

A total of 604 records were identified. After removing 272 duplicates, 287 records were excluded during title and abstract screening, leaving 45 for full-text assessment. At the end of the process, 25 studies were included. Eight subcategories of reported contributions of hypnobirthing emerged: reduced pain, reduced fear, increased relaxation, shorter labor duration, a more positive childbirth experience, greater ability to regulate emotions, postpartum well-being, and active partner involvement. Reduced labor pain was the most frequently cited contribution associated with hypnobirthing.

Conclusion

This SR identified several reported contributions associated with hypnobirthing. Pain relief warrants particular attention; although it remains controversial and requires further studies providing higher-level evidence, it may serve as a valuable resource for labor pain management, potentially supporting a positive childbirth experience.