hypnobirthing - anyone tried it?

[thebecster]

i'm trying to prepare for a natural birth (but if this baby is as wilful as the rest of our family he'll have all kinds of other plans!! So I don't really have a birth plan beyond 'prepare & pray'!). Anyway I heard that hypnobirthing was a good preparation and have found some local teachers. Has anyone tried it?

[Blandmum]

I know nothing about this, however I do know that dh's grandfather who was and obstretrician, delivered a woman by C section using hypnosis as the only pain relief! This was during the war BTW!

[thebecster]

Wow! Don't think I'd go that far! From what I've read, it does reduce the chances of needing intervention and epidurals, speeds the labour up and speeds recovery time. Which is surely all to the good, if it works...

there's info on their website

[pooka]

I did!
Was having immense difficulty sleeping in last 2 months and had almost instantaneous beneficial effect.
Birth was lovely. 2.5 hours start to finish. Non-panicky. Just gas and air (had epidural, pethidine with dd).
Not sure whether it helped...but it certainly didn't hinder.
Lost loads of weight post-delivery. All well.
Pre-natal yoga also an enormous help too. All positive vibes - completely reversed the negative connotations of labour that had hung around after dd's more difficult birth.

[pooka]

I did!
Was having immense difficulty sleeping in last 2 months and had almost instantaneous beneficial effect.
Birth was lovely. 2.5 hours start to finish. Non-panicky. Just gas and air (had epidural, pethidine with dd).
Not sure whether it helped...but it certainly didn't hinder.
Lost loads of weight post-delivery. All well.
Pre-natal yoga also an enormous help too. All positive vibes - completely reversed the negative connotations of labour that had hung around after dd's more difficult birth.

[Mika24]

I have had two hypnobirths, both were amazing. I did not use pain relief either time, becuase at no pont did it occur to me that I needed it (ie no pain!)

I was calm throughout both labours, and as a result I have been blessed with two wonderful calm babies. I have heard that hypnobirths almost always result in calm babies, but don;t know if this is true. But it has been in my case!

For my second labour my MIL was present. She was a midwife for 30 years and did not believe pain free labour was possible. At certain points during my labour she thought my contractions had stopped (they were coming every 4 minutes at that point). After my son was born she said she wished she had known about hypnobirthing befire she had her children, and before she had finished her career as a midwife.

I cannot reccomend hypnobirthing hightly enough!

Mel

[LeahE]

Tried it...

I had the problem when it came to actual birth that DS was a large baby and never engaged even when my waters broke. That put me at high risk of cord prolapse so I had to stay in hospital even though not officially in established labour. DH got kicked out overnight though (as not officially in established labour, grrr.). Hypnobirthing was going well with early contractions when DH was there but I couldn't keep it up without him around (having a supportive partner to keep you focused is v important IMO, although our hypnobirthing teacher said she has had women who've done it successfully on their own, but then they've been women who've prepared on the assumption they'll be doing it on their own). Once you lose the focus it's very difficult to get back into it.

I ended up with a c-section after a long labour, couple of hours of pushing and DS not getting any further than 0 station. I genuinely think that he just wasn't fitting out by the conventional route.

So I guess it didn't officially "work" for me but I do feel it was very valuable -- it definitely helped with early labour and the relaxation techniques helped me stay calm and focused through everything, even when things went very differently from my hoped-for birth. Under different circumstances I do believe it would have worked for us and I'd definitely try it again if going for a VBAC next time. One bonus was that I had borderline high BP at various points through pregnancy but never again after I'd taken the hypnobirthing course - the regular relaxation and practice sessions definitely helped with that.

I'd recommend it if you can afford it; it was a very positive experience all round.

[georgiemum]

Hi there - did it and now teach it!

My experience was so surreal - I was active throughout the birth, relaxed, eating, having a laugh, listening to the radio - no pushing, screaming, shouting... Just used the breathing and relaxation techniques and - hey presto - baby delivered with his hand up on his cheek ("hmmm, what's all this fuss about?"). I knew what drugs were available and when I could have them (my main fears were having to have an epesiotomy or stitches) but I can honestly say that I never got to the point when I wanted them (and I need gas at the dentist!) The midwife said that she had only ever seen 2 other mums like me! My husband also got a big thumbs up from the staff ("so brilliant, so calm, so helpful...").

The course teaches you what is happening in your body at each stage. You also learn relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques as well as some lovely massage. The best bit is that you become confident - the bigegst enemy of birth is fear - and can overcome all those terrible stories that 'helpful' people (often friends and family) tell you when they see your bump ("...it was the worst experience of my life... but I'm sure you will be fine...").

I could go on... I am qite evangelical about it because I see the results and it never ceases to amaze me!

If anyone is interested, I work in W1 (Marble Arch) and can be contacted on 07813 300098.

[Laura032004]

georgiemum - I won't be able to attend classes on this as we live in the depths of Cornwall. Could you recommend any CD's or books?

[morningpaper]

Did it and it didn't help me at all - had a long, stressful, painful birth. Waste of money in my experience.

Your birth experience is basically out of your control, whatever people might tell you. Spend the money on a nice spa day AFTER the birth - when you'll REALLY need it!

[georgiemum]

Hey Laura,
look on Amazon for the book 'HypnoBirth'by Marie Mongan. It comes with a CD now.

Basically, you get out of the course what you put into it - there is practise that you need to do with your birth companion. (You also need to have trust in your tutor.) Of course, there will be times when births don't go to plan - one patient recently gave birth 6 weerks early as the baby and her were both very poorly, but she did say that the course helped her in the sense that she and her husband were able to keep calm and focussed and get through the whole thing together as af a family. Of coursepeople have 'bad' experiences but you have to keep in mind that you want to have the best possible birth - OK, life isn't all that straightforward, but the course does teach you that if things don't go to plan, how you handle things is very important (you don't go into panic mode then best youreslf up later for being a 'failure').

Goodluck - let me know if you have problems getting the book - I have a stock here.

[georgiemum]

Hey Laura,
look on Amazon for the book 'HypnoBirth'by Marie Mongan. It comes with a CD now.

Basically, you get out of the course what you put into it - there is practise that you need to do with your birth companion. (You also need to have trust in your tutor.) Of course, there will be times when births don't go to plan - one patient recently gave birth 6 weerks early as the baby and her were both very poorly, but she did say that the course helped her in the sense that she and her husband were able to keep calm and focussed and get through the whole thing together as af a family. Of coursepeople have 'bad' experiences but you have to keep in mind that you want to have the best possible birth - OK, life isn't all that straightforward, but the course does teach you that if things don't go to plan, how you handle things is very important (you don't go into panic mode then beat youreslf up later for being a 'failure').

Goodluck - let me know if you have problems getting the book - I have a stock here.

[georgiemum]

Hey Laura,
look on Amazon for the book 'HypnoBirth'by Marie Mongan. It comes with a CD now.

Basically, you get out of the course what you put into it - there is practise that you need to do with your birth companion. (You also need to have trust in your tutor.) Of course, there will be times when births don't go to plan - one patient recently gave birth 6 weerks early as the baby and her were both very poorly, but she did say that the course helped her in the sense that she and her husband were able to keep calm and focussed and get through the whole thing together as af a family. Of coursepeople have 'bad' experiences but you have to keep in mind that you want to have the best possible birth - OK, life isn't all that straightforward, but the course does teach you that if things don't go to plan, how you handle things is very important (you don't go into panic mode then best youreslf up later for being a 'failure').

Goodluck - let me know if you have problems getting the book - I have a stock here.

[georgiemum]

Hey Laura,
look on Amazon for the book 'HypnoBirth'by Marie Mongan. It comes with a CD now.

Basically, you get out of the course what you put into it - there is practise that you need to do with your birth companion. (You also need to have trust in your tutor.) Of course, there will be times when births don't go to plan - one patient recently gave birth 6 weerks early as the baby and her were both very poorly, but she did say that the course helped her in the sense that she and her husband were able to keep calm and focussed and get through the whole thing together as af a family. Of coursepeople have 'bad' experiences but you have to keep in mind that you want to have the best possible birth - OK, life isn't all that straightforward, but the course does teach you that if things don't go to plan, how you handle things is very important (you don't go into panic mode then beat youreslf up later for being a 'failure').

Goodluck - let me know if you have problems getting the book - I have a stock here.

[birthfriendly]

HI, what did you decide in the end?

I teach HypnoBirthing and used it for my last child, he was over 11lbs but at no point did I need pain relief, it was the most calm, serene and wonderful experience I have ever had :) I only wish more women knew about it!

Sarahx