“We were both so relaxed that the midwives assumed we were at the paperwork stage,” Lloyd-Birt says. “It was only when I was examined that we realised there wouldn’t be time to fill up a pool for the waterbirth I had planned.” The midwife told her that she was fully dilated and able to push when she felt like it.

However, there was one small complication; the baby was over to the left-hand side, so, remembering “the Polar Bear position” from her classes, Lloyd-Birt knelt on all fours to push back on her heels. The midwife stood back and watched as the baby moved into the correct position.

Then, lying on the bed and breathing through the pain, without any need for analgesics, Lloyd-Birt continued to use her visualisation techniques to birth the baby.“The midwife was brilliant; she just let us get on with it, and everything happened the way it was supposed to.” Georgia was born within an hour, and came into the world alert and ready to breastfeed.

“Immediately after the birth, a paediatrician came into the room and couldn’t believe how quiet and calm the baby was,” says Lloyd-Birt, adding that she felt fantastic. “I wasn’t in the least bit tired. I could have done it all over again.”

She claims that HypnoBirthing made the difference. “Without it,” she says, “I would definitely have opted for pain relief again and and probably had the same experience as my first two labours. But I can honestly say that having prepared, and knowing more about how my body worked, meant that I didn’t experience any pain. It was quite amazing.”

Stand and Deliver (And Other Brilliant Ways to Give Birth), by Emma Mahony (HarperCollins, £7.99), is available from Times Books First at £6.79, plus 99p p&p. Call 0870 1608080, or visit www.timesonline.co.uk/booksfirstbuy

What is it?

HYPNOBIRTHING is based on the belief that severe discomfort to the mother and distress to the baby is not a natural accompaniment to labour. Advocates say that when a mother is properly prepared, through education and learning simple but specialised relaxation and breathing techniques, she can experience a normal birth. HypnoBirthing requires the participation of mother and birth companion.

SUITABLE FOR all mothers-to-be, whether they want to give birth in hospital or at home. It is beneficial to women who are terrified of childbirth, or who have experienced a bad birth.

COST Between £200 for a four-week group session and up to about £450 for individual tuition.

CONTACT The official UK website: www.hypnobirthing.co.uk For Jenny Mullan’s classes, visit www.betterbirth.co.uk.

WHAT'S THE EVIDENCE? DR TOBY MURCOTT

Can HypnoBirthing make birth easier?

HypnoBirthing appears to have worked well for Kate Lloyd-Birt as she did not feel the need for pain relief during labour and found the birth a rewarding experience. A more appropriate question is, will HypnoBirthing work for everyone? Hypnosis has been used to alleviate pain for years and there is evidence that it can help with a number of painful conditions. A systematic review of 18 separate studies, conducted in 2000 at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, concluded that hypnosis was effective at reducing pain. And a review from the influential Cochrane Collaboration, an organisation that provides information on the effects of healthcare, said hypnosis may be useful for pain relief during labour but that more research was needed.

What about postponing early labour?

It’s impossible to say as there is no way of knowing whether Lloyd-Birt’s baby would have arrived early without her visualisation techniques. She had received steroid injections, which appeared not to work but may have had an effect. Likewise, it’s impossible to tell whether her baby would have moved across had she not used “the Polar Bear position”. However, both these observations suggest that this birth was a very different experience from her previous two; she appeared more confident this time around.

What about confidence?

There is much more to childbirth than pain. Confidence is a crucial element of a natural, or as she prefers, active birth, according to Carol Bates, the education and professional development adviser for the Royal College of Midwives. An experienced midwife herself, she says that it’s possible to tell whether a mother is confident and sees herself as an active participant or whether she lacks confidence and sees herself as a more passive patient. A good midwife, Bates says, will support an active mother, following her lead and intervening only if a problem arises. Lloyd-Birt appears to have been an active mother and it’s possible to speculate, but impossible to prove, that HypnoBirthing played a part in that.

Is HypnoBirthing a path to natural childbirth?

Carol Bates is concerned about the term “natural”; historically, “natural” birth led to high death rates. Active childbirth, she says, is different. Mothers who are knowledgeable and confident can go through the normal process of childbirth with minimal distress. The Royal College of Midwives does not advocate any particular technique but is campaigning for normal childbirth and a change in the way that birth is perceived. For further information, log on to www.rcmnormalbirth.net

Toby Murcott’s new book, The Whole Story: Alternative Medicine on Trial? (Macmillan, £16.99), is available from Times Books First at £13.59, plus p&p. Call 0870 1608080, or visit www.timesonline.co.uk/booksfirstbuy