MAY 2006, VOLUME 34, NUMBER 1, Abstract 2
A COMPARISON OF MIDWIVES’ KNOWLEDGE OF, AND ATTITUDES TO, HYPNOSIS IN HOSPITALS WITH AND WITHOUT A HYPNOTHERAPY SERVICE
Yen Huey Eng, University of Adelaide
Allan M. Cyna, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide
A cross-sectional survey of midwives’ knowledge of, and attitudes to, hypnosis, in hospitals with (CH) and without (NCH) a clinical hypnotherapy service was undertaken. A 28-item questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of midwives at the two hospitals. The overall response rate was 118 out of 130 midwives (91%). Compared with NCH, CH midwives were more likely to support the use of clinical hypnosis (p<0.001) as being helpful during childbirth (p<0.001), and to recommend hypnosis as an analgesic adjunct during childbirth (p<0.001). CH midwives were also more likely to express an interest in hypnotic techniques being taught during midwifery training (p<0.003). The vast majority of respondents (83%) agreed that positive suggestion techniques should be taught during midwifery training.