IMAGINING A BLISSFUL BIRTH.

Byline: JILLIAN O'CONNOR

I've never been a big fan of hypnosis -- possibly because of the subliminal influence of a ``Flintstones'' episode where the good people of Bedrock are called upon to cluck like chickens.

But there were no indications of a master plan to force very pregnant women to make barnyard noises at a recent hynobirthing seminar held by Michelle Leclaire O'Neill, a clinical psychologist and registered nurse.

The emphasis was instead on deep relaxation and learning to make ourselves comfortable at a Pacific Palisades conference center nestled in Temescal Gateway Park, held on the site of an ancient Indian birthing ground, according to O'Neill.

And she never once snapped her fingers on the count of three.

To start, O'Neill instructed the class, made up of six couples, to relax and enjoy. ``That's most important, that you have fun with the class,'' explained O'Neill, who also has instructed cancer patients in hypnotic and visualization techniques. ``Just be comfortable.''

For our first exercise, everyone -- male and female alike -- was instructed in meditation, with a choice of four chants (Buddhist, Christian, Jewish or nonsectarian) to focus on silently. ``But don't use it as a baseball bat'' to chase away other thoughts, she cautioned.

We were taught to visualize a peaceful place that we could return to in our minds to alleviate stress. Mine was inexplicably Rivendell, the primeval forestland of the Elves from ``The Lord of the Rings,'' as depicted by director Peter Jackson. (Maybe I need to cut back on that movie watching.)

This image was called upon later in the day as our partners helped us find our states of relaxation, and should come in handy once labor begins.

The class can be taken with any supportive person who will be present throughout the birth, such as a friend or hired doula. And supplementary course handouts, meanwhile, remind new moms' coaches to stay present -- a good idea for the women married to men who are also married to BlackBerries.

Once we had all wound ourselves down through this calming visualization, O'Neill pulled out the crayons so we could put on paper our hopes and fears, creating pictures of ourselves and our future babies, surrounded by all our worst anxieties about that future. (Cats jumping into cribs and other such pet high jinks featured prominently in the discussion that followed.)

After a quiet lunch period, we returned to practice using our ``trance'' states once again, using our natural breathing patterns, as is preferred in the Leclaire Method.

And perhaps most important, the class returned to discuss their fears about labor and how to overcome them, as well as imagining the ideal delivery.

So when the all-day class concluded, I left confident, with a new weapon in my prenatal arsenal that can be used even before the contractions begin:

The next time I hear someone's labor horror story, I'm taking off to see the Elves.

Jillian O'Connor, [phone]

jillian.oconnor(at)dailynews.com