By Dennis Douda (WCCO) © MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.Hypnosis is used for all kinds of things, including quitting smoking, losing weight and even limiting labor pain in the delivery room, but now some women swear the mind-over-matter technique is helping them get pregnant.
Amber Olson is a busy working mother with another baby on the way. Before her second son, Liam, was born, she had three and a half years of infertility and doctors could not find a physical reason.
Olson tried fertility treatments with no success.
"It was really heartbreaking," she said.
Olson then turned to fertility hypnosis, a new complementary therapy that is gaining popularity.
With a soothing voice and positive words, Olson said her hypnotherapist guided her to a relaxing, stress-free world.
"I felt excellent," Olson said.
After only two sessions, Olson was pregnant.
Lynsi Eastburn is a certified hypnotherapist and author of "It's Conceivable". She said stress prevents many couples from being able to conceive.
"A lot of times, they become so obsessed with it, they can't stop thinking about it, talking about it," Eastburn said. "Their emotions are out of control."
Certified hypnotherapists promise to relieve that stress naturally and release any subconscious "blocks" using things like guided visualizations.
"There's also some techniques like a fear release and regression work and then sometimes we have blocks which occur because the subconscious mind responds to something that's happened in our lives," Eastburn said.
Olson's experience was so profound, she decided to become a hypnotherapist.
"I had to help other women who were going through the same things that I was," Olson said. "Achieve the goals and desires that they wanted out of their lives."
As for scientific proof about hypnofertility, a small Israeli study found increased success when hypnosis is used. Fertility expert Dr. Mousa Shamonki, with the UCLA Medical Center, said the study's design was not ideal.
"The reality of it is that, that we need better studies to assess whether hypnosis actually is beneficial," Shamonki said.
After seeing a fertility doctor, if a patient is interested in giving hypnosis a try, Shamonki said he would not object.
"If done properly, it's unlikely to be harmful," Shamonki said. "There may be a beneficial effect, but at least to this point, there's no conclusive evidence."
Eastburn and Olson said they see proof in their office every day.
"It's an amazing field to be in because we get the call, or somebody comes in to tell us that they're pregnant," Eastburn said.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said it has no formal position on hypnosis and fertility. The group said more research needs to be done to see if therapy actually works.
