I started in practice as a hypnotherapist 35 years ago, and there is one client who will always stay in my mind. I was still very much a rookie in 1986, having only completed one diploma in suggestion therapy.

Miriam came to see me because she was pregnant again after having previously lost two pregnancies during the first three months. She already had one little girl where both the pregnancy and the birth itself had gone smoothly. The problems started when she got pregnant for a second time. Again, all seemed to be going well until she stepped onto a zebra crossing one day and was knocked over by a speeding car. Luckily, she did not sustain any serious injuries, but she had a miscarriage and lost her baby. When she got pregnant a third time, she started bleeding again during her first trimester and consequently lost the baby again.

When Miriam came to see me, she was pregnant for the fourth time but, just as with the previous two pregnancies, she had already started bleeding during the first trimester. It all looked bleak, and I was very worried whether I would be able to help Miriam with my suggestion therapy to stop the bleeding so that this baby could be carried to term. I was very aware that it’s one thing if a stop smoking session does not work for the client, but quite a different matter if a little baby is lost because my knowledge and experience were lacking.

However, I decided to go ahead with what I had learnt during my training, helped Miriam into hypnosis and gave her suggestions that her body would relax and calm down, that the bleeding would stop and that she was going to give birth to a happy and healthy baby. After Miriam’s first session, the bleeding stopped. After her second sesssion, she felt a lot less anxious and said she was much more relaxed now. We finally added a third session to reinforce her progress.

Miriam stayed in touch after her last session and confirmed that all was going well, and after her baby was born, she sent me a photo of her and her little boy. I thought at the time and still think today – if I never achieve anything else in my life, I’ll die happy because I have helped one little person to stay alive and be born.

Vera Peiffer BA (Psych) FAPHP MNRPC