LifestyleParenting

Can childbirth be blissful? This mom’s full-moon hypnobirth was pretty dang close

According to one woman, using hypnotism helped her have a fast, pain-free birth. This is her story.

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Photo: Stocksy/VeaVea
Published Jul 25, 2018

Written by 

Georgia Kral

An average of 250 babies are born around the world every minute, and not one of those births are the same. Every mom-to-be enters childbirth with their own personal goals and desires for how it will proceed—be that with low intervention, a scheduled c-section, or plenty of pain meds—and there’s no guarantee everything will go as planned. To pull back the curtain on the life-changing process of childbirth and the superhero moms who go through it, we’re asking women to tell their stories—with all the messy, miraculous details.

Julia Wadsworth has two kids and lives and works in the North Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.

My second baby’s due date fell on the full moon, and I strongly believed that he/she/they would be born on that exact date. You see, my daughter was also born on the full moon (she was a week late), and because of that, I feel strongly connected with the celestial stars and constellations above. I was convinced that this would indeed be baby’s path—and I proceeded to tell everyone that that’s how it would all go down.

And sure enough…On the due date, I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and went to the bathroom. I was feeling light contractions. I got back in bed, but a few minutes later, I was right back in the bathroom—and my water broke on the toilet. It completely went inside, no mess! I was excited: It was my due date and I was expecting it and ready for it.

I started timing my contractions immediately, and I went to turn on the oven. I had bought some cookie dough the day before because I really wanted to bring cookies for the nurses, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to make them from scratch! (This is just me, haha.)

Through meditation, self-coached hypnosis methods, and visualizations, I learned to be physically *in* my body.

Here’s another reason why I was so sure about my full-moon baby: About a month before my due date, I started having heavy contractions. I went on my regular morning walk before work, but this day I had to literally stop in the middle and just breathe it out. It continued for the whole day, and I was confused (and a little concerned!) because I still had a month to go. When I was driving home that night, I looked out the window and it was a full moon. I said, “I hear you baby. Message received.” My full-moon baby was talking to me. The contractions subsided. It was like I had a preview of the birth.

Now let’s back up a bit. My daughter Sylvia was born three years earlier, and I was blessed to have an unmedicated birth—no interventions, no drugs, and I labored with a midwife and doula. After delivering her, I was sure I’d had a perfect birth. Everything went according to plan, there were no problems; I labored for nearly a day, and then I had my baby. But when I became pregnant again, I wondered if I could have an even better birth experience (for me). I had heard about hypnobirthing from a woman in a mommy and me yoga class, and decided to read a book about it. I was instantly convinced that I wanted to try it.

Okay first off, my experience with hypnobirthing wasn’t about getting hypnotized. Well, at least not how you picture it. There are varied teachings related to this process for childbirth, and I specifically participated in the Hypnobabies method. Through meditation, self-coached hypnosis methods, and visualizations, I learned to be physically *in* my body. The goal is a completely baby-led and body-first birthing experience.

I could literally feel my body opening-up, my baby’s head lowering, and I just deeply breathed through it.

I listened to audio tracks on my iPhone from Hypnobabies—picture guided meditation sessions, but you do them alone—every day for the five months leading up to my birth. I learned how to breathe deeply and focus my thoughts and energy and how to enter a state of deep relaxation utilizing different movements and positions. I trained my body and my mind to connect. It’s a lot like meditation. You also do a lot of visualizing and repeating of pregnancy affirmations: “This pregnancy is moving along.” “I’m totally comfortable in this amazing pregnant body.”

One of the teachings on the audio features the facilitator’s voice taking you through a prompt where you enter a state of self-hypnosis. I would hold my finger up in the air, then drop it onto my leg and instantly enter a state of being that was tranquil and completely void of all external influence. The sessions lasted for about 30 minutes every day. These lessons guided me to a state of consciousness that, come go-time, would allow me to transcend everything and let my body open up for the birth of my baby.

So now you know how I prepared—back to my labor. At about 6 a.m., I woke up my husband Michael and he called my doula. We got our things together and I prepped my mother for what to do with my daughter, who was still asleep. (My mother had arrived from Ohio the day before. That’s how sure of my full-moon baby I was.) We were out the door by 7 a.m. The cookies were done (priorities!) and I had my headphones. In the car, I was listening to my audio and I was breathing but also making deep, guttural birthing sounds. I was certainly in a hypnotic, quiet, calm state.  We checked into the hospital around 8 a.m. and they did 20 minutes of fetal heart monitoring, which is mandatory. That’s 20 continuous minutes, and the baby was moving a lot so it took a while for them to get their 20 minutes. They checked me and I was 5 cm dilated (out of 10).

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We got into our room around 9:30 a.m. The hospital knew right away what hypnobirthing was (NorCal, FTW) so they turned down the lights and asked me for the sign to put on the door. (Hypnobabies provides you with a sign that requests quiet voices and low lights for the hypnobirth happening inside the room.) I had my headphones in and was sitting quietly on the hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I could literally feel my body opening-up, my baby’s head lowering, and I just deeply breathed through it.

My doula suggested I get in the shower, so I did, and the nurse, midwife, and my doula all left the room. After just a couple of minutes, I called for my husband to get me out. Again my body was telling me what was happening. He tried to help me get dressed (I’d brought special, comfy birthing clothes) but I looked at him and said, “No. This baby is coming NOW.”

The midwife rushed in and at that exact moment I couldn’t stop my body from doing what it, of course, knew how to do best.

He brought me, naked, to the bed and I got on all fours. Michael was hitting the call button and he told me later that at the same time he saw the baby’s head crowning. I didn’t even feel it. I reached down and touched the head. CRAZY. The nurse returned and he told her the baby was coming! She was skeptical but quickly realized she was very, very wrong. The midwife rushed in and my doula returned with a sandwich (she was right on time, ha!) and at that exact moment I couldn’t stop my body from doing what it, of course, knew how to do best.

I could feel my whole body just opening and the head coming down. It was amazing because I knew the feeling and it and allowed it. I felt so in tune with myself. My first birth I didn’t feel that; I felt split in three. I had no idea how much I was fighting my body. Not this time. I felt so connected to my body. I don’t know if I was hypnotized or what but I went from 5 cm to fully dilated and there was no pushing. My body technically pushed the baby out, but I didn’t try. My son was born at 9:53 a.m.

What was truly incredible about this birth was that I felt one with what my body was doing. It was a sacred experience. If we decide to have another baby, I’ll certainly do it this way again. We’ll see.

This doctor, despite delivering dozens of babies, was still surprised when she birthed her own. And here’s sex expert Lila Darville’s take on ecstatic birth.

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LifestyleParenting

Why Parents Fear the Dreaded ‘Sundown Scaries’

The dreaded 'sundown scaries' may cause parenting anxiety during the last hours of the day when anticipation about the night hits.

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Photo: Stocksy/Danil Nevsky
Published Dec 10, 2024

Written by 

Rachel Kraus

Night falls, and quiet permeates the house. A cloud moves across the moon, the wind rustles through the trees. All is still—but something approaches. A prowler, a nightmare? No, no. It’s the “sundown scaries,” the anticipatory fear and anxiety that can strike parents in the evening before bed. Conversation has been churning on social media, with a handful of TikToks about “sundown scaries” garnering hundreds of thousands of views. The videos, and many of the comments, bemoan how little people talk about the phenomenon when it is apparently so common. Even if it’s not a clinical diagnosis, it’s certainly something many parents feel.

Experts in This Article

Sarah Honaker

clinical psychologist with board certification in behavioral sleep medicine, and associate professor of psychology and pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine

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“It’s definitely one of those things that no one prepared me for, that sense of dread or doom when the sun goes down,” says infant sleep specialist Rachel Shepard-Ohta on TikTok. “It almost feels like this homesickness in a way. It’s just a very sad, scary feeling every night.”

This feeling of foreboding that creeps in as the sun sets can become all too common during the winter months when the sun sets at an incredibly rude 4:30 pm. That’s known as “sunset anxiety,” and it’s linked to the natural drop in mood and energy that occurs in the evening. But those emotions can be even more dramatic for new parents—or really, anyone who deals with nighttime wakings, whether or not the cause is a howling infant. Darkness is “a very salient cue that night, and whatever it brings, is coming,” clinical psychologist Sarah Honaker, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, tells Well+Good.

Why is the evening so scary?

The evening can spark negative emotions for parents in a few ways. In the pre-baby era, the hours before bed probably consisted of taking time for yourself, having some fun, and winding down. With a newborn, that can actually be the time when laundry and dirty bottles pile up, and you don’t even have the energy to tackle them. In those moments, the overwhelm is real. At the same time, you might also feel anticipation about the physical agony awaiting you once you do manage to get horizontal. The contrast between what you were used to feeling in the night (relaxation) and what you face now (fatigue, care for another human being) can prompt those doldrums.

“Previously, you maybe had an idea that as the sun goes down, your responsibilities are also winding down,” Honaker says. “When you have a newborn, that is definitely no longer the case.”

Or maybe your little one makes the change in your lifestyle even more apparent. Some parents experience “witching hours,” when babies can be naturally more fussy during the evening (and when parents are naturally more tired). Want to end your day by stopping in at your favorite neighborhood pizza place? Or maybe even just relaxing with a glass of wine at home? Sorry, that’s not gonna happen with a tired baby. While exhausted from a long day, missing out on those past rituals can be its own sunset scary bitterness.

Pre-bedtime stress could even make it harder to get some shut-eye. This ZZZ-robbing sleep anxiety can make you even more nervous about the night.

“Nothing is worse than finally falling asleep and then having that cry wake you 30 minutes later,” Honaker says. “And so sometimes [anticipating] that can make it harder to fall asleep as well.”

How to face your (evening) fears

What can be done about the “sunset scaries” to make you feel better? If a baby is keeping you up, Honaker says to remember that this experience is temporary—you will sleep again.

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But Honaker also advises you to “protect your sleep.” Meaning, you should still try to prioritize sleep hygiene and, as much as possible, stick to a bedtime routine. At the same time, let’s take the pressure off the evenings. You don’t need to let the hour(s) between putting the baby down and your own bedtime be when you make judgements about your life.

“It’s not just about sleep, it’s about your feelings of productivity, your ability to relax, your image of what is a good parent, what is a good woman, what am I supposed to be, and how does that match up with what I am,” Honaker says. “This phenomenon really could get at a lot of those [questions].”

Finally, understand that you are not alone. The fact that there’s a catchy moniker for this emotional experience proves it. “It can be validating to know that the feelings that you’re having are a normal developmental experience and not something that is wrong with you,” Honaker says.

Just like the night, the “sunset scaries” will come to a natural end—whether with the development of your baby, or the passing of the seasons into more hours of daylight. In the meantime, be kind to yourself and know you’re doing your best.

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LifestyleParenting

Kids Are Being Exposed to Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals in Skin and Hair Care Products, New Research Says

New research discovered children may be exposed to hormone-disruptors from skin and hair products. An endocrinologists explains the risks.

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Photo: Getty Images/FG Trade
Published Sep 11, 2024

Written by 

Allison Forsyth

New research has discovered it’s likely that skin and hair care products are exposing children to potentially harmful endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Experts in This Article

Gowri Reddy Rocco

double board-certified family medicine physician specializing in regenerative and hormone health

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The study, published last week in Environmental Health Perspectives1, collected urine samples from 630 kids ages 4 to 8 after parents were asked to fill out questionnaires about the exact types and brands of skin and hair care products used on the children in the past 24 hours. Concentrations of 16 different types of phthalates—a class of endocrine-disrupting chemicals—were found in the urine samples. Products associated with the highest levels of phthalates were body lotions, body oils, “2-in-1” shampoo and conditioners, and ointments. Black, Asian, and Hispanic children were also found to have higher phthalate urine levels than other sociodemographic groups.

While past studies have only looked at phthalates’ effects on fetuses, this study shows that young children are being consistently exposed to endocrine disruptors—chemicals that have been linked to long-term developmental and reproductive health effects, per the study.

What does this mean for parents; should we all be worried? And are there ways to protect children from phthalates? We spoke with Gowri Reddy Rocco, MD, a double board-certified family medicine physician who specializes in regenerative health and hormones, to learn more.

We’re all exposed to endocrine disruptors, but children are more vulnerable

Many of the personal care products, fragrances, plastic packaging, pre-packaged foods, detergents, perfumes, and plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. have endocrine-disrupting chemicals, particularly phthalates.

“Phthalates are a group of chemicals that help make plastic more pliable and flexible,” says Dr. Rocco. But they can also be found in things like shampoos, lotions, ointments, and other personal care products.

What do these chemicals do in the body? They mimic, block, or interfere with hormones in the body’s endocrine system, per the Endocrine Society. While phthalates typically flush out of our system within two days, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the buildup of exposure can have long-term effects, per the study. According to Dr. Rocco, this can include fertility and reproductive issues, including low sperm count and inability to conceive, as well as an increased risk for breast cancer, obesity, and thyroid issues.

More new research has even found these chemicals may cause girls to enter puberty earlier, increasing their future risk of things like heart disease and breast cancer, per a September 2024 paper in Endocrinology2. In young children, endocrine disruptors have also been associated with developmental delays and reproductive health issues in the future, per Dr. Rocco and a December 2015 review in Endocrine Reviews3.

Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of products that touch the skin because they absorb substances more easily than adults, per the Environmental Health Perspectives study. Additionally, children’s organs are more vulnerable to disruptions as they are still developing, says Dr. Rocco.

Should we be worried about these study findings?

Dr. Rocco says we shouldn’t let these findings send us into a panic, but they should definitely raise a healthy level of concern about the chemicals we’re exposed to every day. This study didn’t confirm that skin care products caused negative health outcomes; it simply demonstrated that children’s exposure to harmful chemicals in skin and hair care is frequent and high.

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Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to limit endocrine-disruptors from our daily lives. These chemicals are in so many things, and the study authors acknowledge this as a gap in their research. (While they did ask parents about their children’s diet and environments, there was no way to tell for sure whether these contributed to elevated phthalate levels or if it was from skin and hair care products alone.)

The study also highlighted that for families with a lower socioeconomic status, less expensive products—which may contain these harmful chemicals—might be their only options. Products labeled “phthalate- or paraben-free” are often more expensive. And even so, certain products labeled “phthalate- and paraben-free” may not actually be completely free from these ingredients, the Environmental Health Perspectives study pointed out.

The study also found that children of color simply used more hair oils and lotions than other groups in general, upping their exposure to harmful chemicals. In fact, it’s possible that some beauty products targeted toward communities of color have higher levels of these chemicals, per an August 2018 paper in Environmental Research4.

Bottom line? These findings underline a major need for change, which starts with stricter FDA regulations on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. “There needs to be a responsibility on the FDA’s part, without a double standard, to protect our children and every body,” says Dr. Rocco. She adds that while the European Union has banned more than 1,300 harmful chemicals from products, the FDA has only banned 11.

So what can we do to keep kids safe?

According to Dr. Rocco, taking small steps to reduce exposure on a regular basis is the key here. Meaning, you don’t have to toss every product in sight right away. “This isn’t doom and gloom; this is just education to improve family’s lives,” she says.

For starters, Dr. Rocco recommends using fewer products on your children in general. They don’t necessarily need all the products advertised for kids, she adds. You can even make DIY lotions, soaps, and other personal care products, she says. And if you are going to buy products, go back to the basics: organic, non-GMO, and free from fragrances, parabens, sulfate, and phthalates.

If you’re having a hard time figuring out which products are best, Dr. Rocco suggests searching products on one of the following websites:

  • EWG Healthy Living (a free app that can help you identify harmful substances in products)
  • SkinSAFE (the database used in the study to categorize skin care products, which also has a BabySafe section)
  • Skin Deep (a database created by the Environmental Working Group)
  • YUKA (a free app that allows you to scan barcodes of products in store)

You can also reach out to your child’s pediatrician if you need skin and hair care product recommendations.

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Other ways you can reduce endocrine-disruptor exposure in general include avoiding plastic as much as possible, using stainless steel or glass bottles, using wax paper instead of plastic wrap or sandwich bags, eating more organic fruits and vegetables, getting exercise (which helps you sweat out toxins), and even having houseplants (which can provide more oxygen), Dr. Rocco says.

  1. Bloom, Michael S., et al. “Impact of skin care products on phthalates and phthalate replacements in children: The echo-fgs.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 132, no. 9, Sept. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp13937.

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  2. Shu Yang, Li Zhang, Kamal Khan, Jameson Travers, Ruili Huang, Vukasin M Jovanovic, Rithvik Veeramachaneni, Srilatha Sakamuru, Carlos A Tristan, Erica E Davis, Carleen Klumpp-Thomas, Kristine L Witt, Anton Simeonov, Natalie D Shaw, Menghang Xia, Identification of Environmental Compounds That May Trigger Early Female Puberty by Activating Human GnRHR and KISS1R, Endocrinology, Volume 165, Issue 10, October 2024, bqae103, https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqae103

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  3. Gore, A C et al. “EDC-2: The Endocrine Society’s Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals.” Endocrine reviews vol. 36,6 (2015): E1-E150. doi:10.1210/er.2015-1010

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  4. Helm, Jessica S., et al. “Measurement of endocrine disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals in hair products used by black women.” Environmental Research, vol. 165, Aug. 2018, pp. 448–458, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.03.030.

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