In my opinion, YES.
When you are in early labour the best thing you can do is get warm and snuggly and naked under the covers and watch something funny.
I was recently asked by a client - what about "Friends"?
Perfect!
We know the series so well. For early labour to progress it's important that mama goes from her neocortex (which is her thinking brain) and into her subconscious... a process that will be triggered and aided by the familiar scripts and jokes of her favourite sitcom. The characters are predictable, they are totally SAFE.
Exactly like hypnobirthing.
Laughter produces oxytocin which will encourage the uterus to contract. Skin to skin in bed with a partner - more oxytocin. Familiarity and comfort- oxytocin.
The episodes roll one after the other, giving a sense of timelessness, which takes the focus away from clock watching which can be unhelpful and inhibit the subconscious process. You could spend a whole day "in labour" not timing contractions or counting the hours but having a duvet day! Conserving energy should be our main goal of early labour.
One of the theories of how hypnosis works is that it produces a response in people based on how they think they should be reacting to the hypnosis. So if society tells us we should be relaxed and switched off during hypnosis, we will act in that way.
Our expected societal response to watching "Friends" is to feel happy, relaxed and amused.
Therefore that is what we will be.
I cannot think of much better ways to spend the early hours of labour.
Just avoid the birth scenes 😉
