Navigating intensive altered states of consciousness: How can the set and setting key parameters promote the science of human birth?
Frontiers in Psychiatry February 9, 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1072047 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Keywords | Mindset Consciousness Childbirth Altered state Mental health Framing construction Developmental psychology Psychotherapist Pregnancy Epistemology |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key points | Argues that applying the set-and-setting framework from psychedelic research to childbirth can help design, navigate, and explain psychological and physiological elements of birth, potentially promoting positive experiences. |
Abstract
The subjective childbirth experience is crucial from a public health standpoint. There is a correlation between a negative childbirth experience and a poor mental state after birth, with effects that go far beyond the postpartum (PP) period. This paper offers a new approach as to how birthing experiences, and birth in general, can be navigated. The theory of set and setting proves that psychedelic experiences are shaped, first and foremost, by the mindset of an individual entering a psychedelic experience (set) and by the surroundings in which the experience happens (setting). In research on altered states of consciousness during psychedelic experiences, this theory explains how the same substance can lead to a positive and life-changing experience or to a traumatic and frightening experience. Because recent studies suggest that birthing women enter an altered state of consciousness during physiological birth ("birthing consciousness"), I suggest analyzing the typical modern birthing experience in terms of set and setting theory. I argue that the set and setting key parameters can help design, navigate, and explain many psychological and physiological elements of the human birth process. Thus, an operative conclusion that emerges from the theoretical analysis presented in this paper is that framing and characterizing the birth environment and birth preparations in terms of set and setting is a central tool that could be used to promote physiological births as well as subjective positive birthing experiences, which is currently a primary, yet unreached goal, in modern obstetrics and public health.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altered States of Consciousness | 1966 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: a multilevel framework of description and explanation | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Microbiome: The Next Frontier in Psychedelic Renaissance Journal of Xenobiotics July 25, 2023
- Being in the zone during physiological birth: a comparative study of hospital and home birth environments. Frontiers in Global Women's Health 2025
- When postnatal debriefing silences women: A critique through the lens of set and setting. Midwifery July 16, 2025
- Holding presence: relational environments and the structure of consciousness in childbirth Philosophical Psychology July 27, 2026
- Psychedelics, rebirth experiences, and the limits of current research Psychedelics July 1, 2026
Cites 15
- Constructing drug effects: A history of set and setting Drug Science, Policy and Law 2017
- Serotonin research: contributions to understanding psychoses TIPS - Trends in Pharmacological Sciences August 1, 2008
- Predicting Responses to Psychedelics: A Prospective Study Frontiers in Pharmacology November 2, 2018
- Prediction of Psilocybin Response in Healthy Volunteers PLoS One February 17, 2012
- Effective connectivity changes in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 28, 2019
and 10 more in the library