Hypnobirthing questions

[knorrig]

Have you done it? Was it worth it?

Some friends who've done it have said they found it really helped.

How many sessions do you need and how much approx should it cost?

[RedCrab]

I only ever listened to the CDs and had a couple of sessions with my doula, which was included in her cost.

Very worth doing IMO. It doesn't make you transcend to a place where you don't feel pain But it does really keep you calm and focused where you might be panicking. Staying calm and relaxed helps with pain whereas tensing up can make pain feel worse. It also helps you to sort of surrender to what's happening and go with it rather than fight against it because you're afraid.

It saw me through twenty hours of contractions two minutes apart from the start with my first child, who was induced. And I credit it heavily with helping having a no pain relief needed second labour.

There's a lot of strength in visualisation and breathing techniques - it's virtually the same thing that Olympic athletes do to help with nerves!

[DinosaurFanGirl]

Check if it's available free through your local NHS. They have free hypnobirthing courses where I am and they can be booked through your midwife. X

[DirtyDancing]

I did it for my first and found it very empowering. It was 2 full Saturday's and I practiced a lot at home, every evening on lead up to the birth.

About to start again for baby no 2

[positivity123]

I bought the Maggie Howell book and CDS and thought it was great. I felt like I really faced into what was going to happen and I stayed calm throughout and had no drugs at all. Get your partner to read the book as well.

[annlee3817]

I used the Maggie Howell book and Cd. It worked for me, it doesn't take away the pain, just helped keep me calm and focused.

[BroomstickOfLove]

I used the Maggie Howell cd. I had a pretty easy birth, but friends who've had a harder time of things have also said that they found it helpful in terms of keeping calm when things didn't go according to plan.