Hypno-birthing

[CumbrianYellowBee89]

Hi all,

For those that have tried it...are hypno birthing courses worth the cost?

It seems a lot to fork out and with money being tight I want to know if it's worth going for before we spend so much on it...

[FirstTimeBumps]

We did Hypnobirthing with our midwifery company (One to One) as they were offering them for £35. I didn't find the actual visualisation or scripts useful (and actually told my OH if he mentioned the blue butterflies to me again during labour I'd punch him) but I did use the breathing techniques for the 30 hours I laboured, with just a TENS prior to an EMCS which I was apparently ridiculously calm about. For £35 I'd say go for it what have you got to lose, but for the price of some of the courses I've seen I'd say no just read the book or do an online course.

[CumbrianYellowBee89]

Thanks @FirstTimeBumps

[slothandsloth]

Yes, I loved my Hypnobirthing. We did the Marie Mongon course for dd1 and had refresher sessions for dd2. Worth every penny. I had two easy, calm births. Also, I knew a hell of a lot more about how the body works in labour than my friends who didn't do hypnobirthing. The knowledge is just as important as the rest of it imo because if you know what's going on and why then there is no fear. I think the main takeaway was no fear = no pain, the no fear is achieved by knowing your body and what's happening.

[homegrownmumma]

I didn't do a course but I found the YouTube videos by the positive birth company taught be enough to put me in a great mindset with some very helpful breathing techniques

Worth having a look at

[SuperSange]

My hypnobirthing was very effective during labour. I got an app called hypnolite or something. It was amazing, and free.

[Bobbiepin]

no fear = no pain

This is utter bullshit. You can have a positive birth experience and not be scared but there will be pain.

[slothandsloth]

no fear = no pain

This is utter bullshit. You can have a positive birth experience and not be scared but there will be pain.

^^

I didn't mean it to come across like there will be no pain. I did feel pain but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle with a bit of gas and air. I am convinced that had I not have done hypnobirthing I would have been tense, panicking and in a lot more pain because of this. I just meant that the no fear = no pain is the theory behind hypnobirthing

[cosycashmere]

@Bobbiepin I think it's unfair to state that categorically as there are people who don't describe labour as painful.

OP, hypnobirthing helped me massively. I did a course and it was great but The Positive Birth Company do an online course for £35 so it's very accessible and has helped several people I know.

It will likely be intense and uncomfortable and yes potentially painful. But also for the majority of labour you're not in pain normally- the peaks of the contractions/surges are the most intense and in between them most people can feel normal. There's a book by Milli Hill called The Positive Birth Book that explains the science of labour and hypnobirthing really well and is great for calming anxiety.

[slothandsloth]

@cosycashmere has put it better than me. The pain I experienced was just during the peaks of contractions. The midwives on the phone said I couldn't go in because I wasn't far gone enough, I was calm and talking, even when I had a contraction on the phone to them I was apparently too calm to be ready to give birth. I knew I needed to push soon. I turned up at the hospital after being told to stay at home and they left me waiting ages because they didn't believe I needed to push. I wanted to be examined and when they got round to it I was 9cm. That's how hypnobirthing helped me. And I was high risk and supposedly not allowed to give birth at home but would have had I have listened to the midwife

[MintTeaLady]

It was the best choice I made (alongside a home birth, but I won’t de-rail this). I was totally calm for the birth. I practised the techniques every night for three months before the birth and when the tracks came on during labour, I went completely into the zone. On the pain point, I knew that if I let myself think “OMG this is so sore”, it could have been horrendous. Hypnobirthing provides you with the techniques to get through each stage of labour. This might sound crazy but I was actually smiling and laughing as my son was born. I can’t recommend hypnobirthing enough!

[Hollywhiskey]

Can't you get the course free from the hospital? We had the option of doing hypnobirthing or standard nhs antenatal and went for hypnobirthing. It was run by a midwife at the hospital so she was able to be really specific about our 'what if' questions and took us on tours of the unit, showing how you could use the equipment available in different rooms.
It made a great difference on the day. Things happened which id been terrified of and I felt calm and in control throughout. It helped my husband too because he knew just what I needed and how to help me.

[WonkyDonk87]

I've done a face to face taught course and feel an utter twonk for spending the money on it. The woman who taught it couldn't apply critical thinking to the content of her course and unthinkingly just spouted off stuff she'd been taught/read without questioning it. She was also very disparaging about midwives and seemed to think they were all officious and domineering women who would never have heard of hypnobirthing. Not the case at all in the antenatal care that I've had.
I'd happily spend the £35 on the Positive Birth Company in-line course though, which will give you the information on biology, breathing techniques and the guided relaxations. so maybe have a look at that?

[Yegads]

Whilst you have no control over what will happen over the birth, Hypnobirthing is one method that looks at helping you to manage the fears you may have by using techniques like visualisation and breathing to try and keep you calm whatever the circumstances.

I ended up doing classes because I was horrified at the idea that I was going to give birth at some point and i used the relaxation techniques all the way to the run up to the event all as part of mental preparation and then also breathing practice. I can’t say that I was doing any visualisation on the day but I didn’t regret doing the classes and I still use relaxation techniques now to help me sleep.

I think it’s only worth it, if you are willing to practice all through the rest of your pregnancy as it’s not a one off thing.

You could try a YouTube hypno relaxation session and see if it ‘works’ for you? You might need to try a few as I need a voice’ that I can relax to.

[Yegads]

I also used Katherine Graves, which unfortunately her classes are eye wateringly expensive circa £400 but she was amazing. I do think having the right teacher is important so that’s a risk of wasting money

[Celebelly]

The Positive Birth Company digital pack is well worth spending £35 on. The videos on the science alone are worth the money as I feel a lot happier knowing exactly what's going on at each stage. There's sections about inductions and C-sections too so it doesn't assume everyone is going to have the perfect birth or an issue-free labour, but it's about helping you give your body the best chance to do what it needs to do.

I'm not really a big fan of the guided relaxation, but have found the positive affirmations, videos about staying relaxed and light touch massage sections really useful.

I feel a lot more confident now that even if stuff goes off plan, I have the knowledge and understanding to deal with it.

[Smarshian]

Also a fan of the positive birth company online course. Had a lovely home birth in 3 hours. 45 mins of gas and air. It was very calm.

[WonkyDonk87]

I'm going to end up spending the money on doing the PBC one too, aren't I? 🤦🏽‍♀️

[Galvantula]

I didn't do a course, but I used the Natal Hypnotherapy CDs. I i had the pregnancy one and the birth one (VBAC version for me). They were very easy to listen to and I'm sure I fell asleep a bit, but they seemed to work.

I also found reading the accompanying book helpful.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1905220596/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdo_t1_Di5qCbZBG2JMT?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Plus Ina May Gaskin's book.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0091924154/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Yk5qCbVRV4RZB?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

My second and 3rd births were a lot better than the first (unexpected CS after "failure to progress").

[TheRhythmlessMan]

I know a lady who went on a hypnobirthing course- the lady came to her house and talked her and her partner through it. They regretted it because it turned out to be a birth of forceps, drugs etc and she wished he hadn't been told by the hypnobirthing lady how negative it was.

I read the book by Sophie Fletcher. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0091954592/ref=ascdff_009195459258118888/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=0091954592&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310805565966&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2559649908438565734&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046118&hvtargid=pla-491508874979&th=1&psc=1
I had an amazing birth experience. I really felt like it helped. Also by reading up on it I was able to take my time to process the info. Particularly the mantra: "breathe in energy, breathe out and relax". Never did I wish I'd gone on a course.

[FrozenMargarita17]

Absolutely worth the cost in my opinion :)

[littlecabbage]

I second the Sophie Fletcher book recommended above. Read it and practised the techniques prior to my third birth, and it was a much better experience than the first two births. I really rate hypnobirthing now.

[doleritedinosaur]

I used the Sophie Fletcher book above & did pregnancy yoga & used hypnobirthing for two home births.
Second was back to back & I would not have done that without hypnobirthing techniques.

I also used a squeezy toy, so for each contraction I breathed in & squeezed & squeezed out & breathed out.

Hypnobirthing gives you the techniques to breathe through the contractions & that’s the key to getting through them.

I also used the visualisation of the waves & pain dial. For my second home birth which was my third the midwife turned up & I was so calm & in the zone she had no idea that I was in back to back labour & when second midwife turned up I was pushing & baby was out 45 minutes later.

It’s finding the techniques that are right for you & I did yoga with breathing exercises every day as well as the hypnobirthing techniques.

These births were completely different from my first birth.

[Curlypop]

Highly recommend the positive birth Company Digital Pack. It's fab

[CumbrianYellowBee89]

Thank you everyone for your comments; I'm going to check out the Positive Birth Company online course, as classes I've seen near me are around £300.

[Lizbiz89]

I'm currently using positive birth company for hypnobirthing and it really is amazing. I haven't given birth yet but I'm pregnant with my second baby and my birth of my first was unnecessarily traumatic. I now put this down to not being educated about how your body works during labour which is what hypnobirthing does. I really feel a whole lot more prepared for this labour and I definitely put it down to the positive birth company. Fingers crossed it goes better this time. Good luck with yours as well. I hope it's a positive experience.