Photos by Mona Hoobehfekr

For the second time in the country, Iranian doctors have used hypnosis as the sole anesthetic to deliver a baby via cesarean section. Dr. Roya Khodaei Ob/Gyn, performed the C-section at Paiambaran hospital in Tehran. Dr. Hossein Almasian was the clinical hypnotherapist who used hypnosis on the mother Sara Tavassoli.

A Cesarean section, also known as C-section, is a surgical procedure in which incisions are made through a mother’s abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more babies. It is usually performed when a vaginal delivery would put the baby’s or mother’s life or health at risk, although in recent times it has been also performed upon request for childbirths that would otherwise have been natural.