Four databases were searched for clinical trials where hypnosis during pregnancy and childbirth was compared with a non-hypnosis intervention, no treatment or placebo. The primary outcome measures were labour analgesia requirements and pain scores. Meta-analyses were performed of the included RCTs, assessed as being of ‘good’ or ‘adequate’ quality. Five RCTs and 14 non-randomised comparisons (NRCs) studying 8395 women were identified where hypnosis was used for labour analgesia. Four RCTs, including 224 patients, examined the primary outcomes of interest. One RCT rated poor on quality assessment. Meta-analyses of the three remaining RCTs showed that, compared with controls, fewer parturients having hypnosis required analgesia, relative risk = 0.51 (95% CI 0.28, 0.95). Of the two included NRCs, one showed that women using hypnosis rated their labour pain less severe than controls. The other showed that hypnosis reduced opioid requirements and increased the incidence of not requiring pharmacological analgesia in labour.