FOR most women, giving birth is anything but a pleasurable experience.
But for Hanna Faustino, going through labour with her second child was “blissful” – to the point where she felt like she was able to “climax”.
The 36-year-old says the sensations she achieved while squatting to give birth to her second child, Kaiya, now seven, were similar to that of an orgasm.
By focusing on her breathing, she claims she overcame the pain of labour, and had similar experiences with her third child Terran, now four.
Hanna, an educational assistant from Ontario, Canada, says: “During birth I surrendered my mind to my body, and I had similar sensations to an orgasm.
“I found a rhythm of breathing and I was in a squat with my husband supporting me.
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“I forgot they were in the room as I was just able to focus on this natural extension and reached a really blissful state.
“It was really natural to push, and the contractions didn’t feel as painful.
“I had this fullness, and I didn’t want the feeling to stop.”
Mum-of-three Hanna added that it was a “really profound moment” – one she’ll “never forget”.
Hanna learnt about this state of ‘labour land’ through taking prenatal yoga classes with birth coach Jannine Markou, 49, from Toronto.
She has been coaching women to reach a state of euphoria during their birth for more than 10 years and says the technique can be really successful for a positive labour and managing pain.
Hanna says: “She helped me with breathing exercises and with mantras.
“There was a lot of uncertainty with the birth of my first child, River, nine, so I didn’t achieve a blissful state.
“It was a long labour and harder than a marathon – and I’ve run many.
“But it was beautiful work and something I’m proud of when I look back.”
For Hanna’s second birth she was able to focus on the rhythm to ‘climax’ – and visualised her baby coming closer to her on a wave to help her through the labour.
She had her husband, Will, 41, a postman, holding her from behind while she laboured in a squat position.
She recalls: “I was in a squat in my bedroom and the lights were dim.
“With all my babies I’ve worked on a visualisation with each contraction that they are a wave bringing my baby closer to me.
“I didn’t use any pain relief with any of my births. Reaching that state was beautiful and I didn’t want it to end.”
For her third baby, she chose to lie on her side with her leg up.
“It was almost like a peeing dog,” she says. “I embraced the sensations of the birth.
“It wasn’t quite as blissful as with Kaiya but still beautiful.”
Jannine teaches her clients to use movement, toning and breathing exercises to help them through pregnancy and birth.
She explains: “If you allow birthing hormones to work for you, then a woman can come into a state of bliss or ‘labour land’.
“The pain is then not so intense because the endorphins are flowing and there is then no fear.
“It’s said they are 10 times stronger than morphine if you can get them working for you.
“I’ve seen it work for women and it was amazing, but it might look different for everybody.
“In the moment it might be a ferocious raw, but it could also be blissful like an orgasm during sex.
“My goal is to make sure women are happy with their birth experience in postpartum, no matter the journey.”
Hanna credits Jannine for helping her have positive outlooks on all her births.
“A birth always has surprises,” Hanna says.
“But by working on breathing and trust you can achieve a wonderful birth outlook.”
Jannine became a qualified yoga teacher in 2004 and went on to teach prenatal yoga and found a passion in helping women through pregnancy and labour.
She explains: “I had my own birth trauma from a difficult first birth and I found a real passion for helping others to achieve a positive outlook on their own pregnancy and labour.”
Jannine became a doula – a trained companion during birth – and has now combined her knowledge as a birth coach.
She teaches yoga and movement such as dancing to help with labour and encourages women to achieve orgasmic birth.
Jannine says: “I often find taking them out of the comfort zone and helping with toning such as making deep ‘o’ sounds can really help. This relaxes the jaw, pelvis and cervix.
“But I also help them to be truthful with how they are feeling throughout pregnancy and birth.
“I teach orgasmic birth which for me means birthing in joy and in trust.
“I was at a home birth, and I held my client close, and she was able to achieve that state of euphoria. It was amazing to see.”
Jannine encourages her clients to dance and swing during labour.
She says: “Laughing helps during early labour and sitting in the toilet is also a great place to labour because you have inner knowing to soften and relax.
“Child’s pose, squatting, kneeling and rocking back and forth are all great positions for labour.
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“I had a client labouring on hands on knees and she didn’t want to move – and in the end the baby came out that way.
“Free movement during labour is so important.”
A survey in 2016 by the Positive Birth Movement and Channel Mum found six per cent of women claimed to have an orgasm during birth.
Academics and midwives have also said they’ve seen it happen in some women.
Studies have shown two brain regions – the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula – which become active during an orgasm are also active during pain sensations.
In 2013, the journal Sexologies published research which estimated orgasms are experienced in 0.3 per cent of births.
The reported rise could be due to it becoming more prevalent, different methods of research, or more women openly discussing it.
Barry Komisaruk, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University who studies orgasms, said: “It’s stimulation of the birth canal, stimulation of the cervix, the vagina and clitoris and uterine contractions. A lot of women say during sexual orgasms uterine contractions feel pleasurable.
“There are so many factors that could make the difference between a pleasurable response and a terribly stressful, aversive experience that you can’t generalise it. There’s no reason to try to generalise. Different people have different pain thresholds. Different people have different attitudes.
“There’s something very intriguing going on between pain and pleasure. It’s an actual physiological, very primordial system of the genital system blocking pain input.”
