Is hypnobirthing worth doing?

I did this online course and personally really resonated with most of it and it worked wonders through my labour. She discusses all types of birth including induction and caesarean. Wishing you all the best with your pregnancy and birth.

https://thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk/digital-pack?gclid=CjwKCAjwge2iBhBBEiwAfXDBR5CvgJ0z67-FihzTZjuRuUbTikodk6G5EwmssOe771e1nTRfgHW8xoC9cQAvDDBwE

It's great if you can get your breathing under control which is possible for some especially if your labour isn't several days long, the baby plays ball and is I'm the right position etc but if you or your baby are at any kind of risk or you are in agony be willing to chuck it all out the window. Get yourself pain relief, whatever intervention is required for both you and your babies safety. No one cares how a baby is born and you won't either you will just want to hold your baby in your arms

If I look at the difference between birth 2 - sheer terror, 2 hours from start to finish and births 3 & 4 which is why i used hypno-birthing the main difference was that I learnt how to use the gas and air properly.

Take it as the contraction builds and have it away from your mouth and breathing oxygen (normal air) as it hits, rather than short gasping for dear life the whole time. Unfortunately you cannot stay stoned for the whole labour which is what i'd tried to do.
Hypno birthing is 100% better at home, the midwifes don't get it, asked DH if he wanted to go to the car to get some tunes to play whilst I was obviously very happily listening to the affirmations. Luckily he said no for his sake.

I think it's worth it, I might even have the jpeg you can borrow

Well, hypnosis is just guided relaxation that works on suggestibility. There isn’t anything magical about it. It still doesn’t work on some people, though.

Must depend on the course. Mine wasn't like that at all

Absolutely.

There are some really damaging and unhelpful people out there who prey on women who are naturally and rightfully anxious about giving birth.

I came across a freebirthing group and was absolutely appalled. They have the notion that if you just birth without intervention it'll be fine. If anyone argues that they needed intervention or they or their baby would have died then the fact they were in a position to require intervention is magically blamed and seen as the cause for needing intervention. For example, if you ended up requiring forceps in hospital the only reason you needed them was because you were in hospital, fell for the 'cascade of interventions' (such a loaded term, those interventions are why maternal and infant mortality is so much lower!) and if you'd just hung back and let your body do its thing it'd all have worked out. It's really heartbreaking to see the damage it does. I read an article from one woman who lost her baby and almost her life thanks to freebirthing, yet she was still planning to have her next birth that way too!

Birth is risky, dangerous, brutal, and we are SO incredibly lucky to have access to healthcare to assist us through it, something myriad women throughout history would have done anything for the privilege of having.

Breathing is all well and good but it's dangerous to promote hypnobirthing as something that can in any way influence the process/outcome of your birth.

Couldn’t agree more.

The idea that will only need assistance if you aren’t capable of relaxing enough to enable your baby to glide out is very damaging.

One bit of the online hypnobirthing course that I did find useful was the description of the actual mechanics of labour. They described it as the “up” stage and “down” stage. I’d recommend watching some YouTube videos to understand stages of labour and what’s actually happening in your body.

The only real benefit is if it makes you feel a bit more in control and calmer. But the actual hypnobirthing thing is mostly a scam. It's basic things like mantras or calm breathing and visualisations you can easily learn yourself online.

More importantly, it has absolutely no bearing on how your birth goes and it's really important to remember that. I've spoken to so many women who did hypnobirthing really believing it would mean their birth would be smooth sailing, who were then absolutely distraught at 'failing' by needing medical intervention or a c section. Unfortunately there's a subsection of hypnobirthing advocates who are into freebirthing without intervention and blame women when the birth requires assistance.

The best thing to remember is that how your birth goes depends on your baby and your body on the day and as long as your baby gets out safely and you're doing okay at the other side then that's all that matters. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to have any specific kind of birth.

😂 The clue is in the name…

In person course practitioners do use hypnotic techniques. That’s the entire point.

Yes, absolutely. After five miscarriages my doctor and I had basically no appetite for risk, and I imagine the OP is the same.

*undefined? Having. Bloody autocorrect!

Well, yes it is, in that it does attempt to use standard hypnotic techniques — the course leader I had did use some of them on the group. And they don’t work for me. I’ve had several attempts at undefined hypnosis (for various reasons, eg hypnotherapy practitioners) and it doesn’t work on me. Some people are just not very susceptible to hypnosis/suggestible and it doesn’t work for them - I’m one of them!

If the OP is doing some self-taught hypobirthing, obviously it will be more about the guided meditation and breathing exercises. But an in-person course does attempt to use some hypnotic techniques. That’s why it’s called hypnobirthing!

Also I think the hypnobirthing course contributed to me feeling a bit shit after I had my son.

She was really anti induction, anti epidural, kept talking about the cascade of interventions and how it increases the risk of an instrumental delivery or emergency C-section. So I went into it determined to do none of those things. And then I ended up doing all the things she advised against, but my doctor recommended, because I didn't want to risk my baby's health.

I did end up with an emergency C-section and for a long time I felt sad about it and like it was my fault and I'd failed for not standing firm and refusing an induction and waiting for everything to happen magically. But she was just a woman in a video. She didn't know me, she certainly hadn't examined me or seen my baby on the ultrasound or listened to his heartrate. In the end my son was small for gestational age and brow presenting, so if I'd waited he wouldn't necessarily have been born vaginally, but I might have put him at risk.

Childbirth is unpredictable, you're vulnerable, and I personally wasn't in the mood to argue with my doctor when I just wanted my baby out safely.

The breathing exercises were useful.

And she did recommend making an alternative birth plan for if you end up needing an emergency C-section, covering things like skin to skin, delayed cord clamping etc. I didn't do that because I was so sure it wouldn't happen to me. I regretted not having given that possibility more thought afterwards.

She also talks a lot about the cascade of interventions and how you should avoid any intervention because one thing leads to another

Indeed, historically a lack of interventions led to a high rate of maternal and infant deaths.

I wish we could somehow get away from this notion that intervention is bad and birth should be "natural". Maternal and infant deaths are very very natural. Natural doesn't mean safe or desirable. It just means "occurs in nature", and nature is a brutal place.

Breathe*

Completely agree. The words ‘breath your baby out’ should really come with a disclaimer that most aren’t able to. And that is totally fine and normal and still a positive birthing experience.

I did the Positive Birth Company one when I was pregnant with my son. I watched all 8-ish hours of it and the main thing I retained was the breathing technique during contractions. In through your nose for a count of four, out through your mouth for a count of eight.

A lot of the other stuff in it wasn't all that useful, like for example when she talks about eating to keep your energy up, well I wasn't allowed anything but clear liquids. And staying upright and mobile, well, yes, great in theory. But my body wasn't ready to be induced, the syntocinon contractions got pretty painful, I ended up having an epidural and being continuously monitored, and let's just say it was difficult to put it into practice. I ended up having an emergency C-section anyway.

Next time round I had basically no time to prepare because I had a 21 month old at home and was working full time until 38 weeks. I didn't watch the videos again or even really read anything. In the end I went into labour spontaneously and did the breathing technique during each contraction for about 12 hours. It was useful to help me stay calm and take my mind off things. And I did manage to move around during early labour that time because I wasn't hooked up to anything. I could also have eaten if I'd wanted to, but I didn't. Then I had an epidural and just went with the flow. Baby came out quite easily.

I reckon the breathing exercises are useful, but the rest of it stressed me out more than anything because my labour just didn't go that way the first time. She also talks a lot about the cascade of interventions and how you should avoid any intervention because one thing leads to another etc. Well that didn't work for me because I was induced for reduced movement after having had five miscarriages and sorry but I wasn't going to argue with the doctor when my baby's safety might have been at stake.

I think hypnobirthing is a great tool but some companies that teach it give you unrealistic expectations as to what your body can achieve during labour.

I did a couple of sessions (in a fit of very out of character woo). I have to say I think it’s largely snake oil but if it helps people remain calmer for a bit longer it may be helpful at the margins.

But please don’t go into it thinking it will guarantee you a lovely pain free “natural” birth. It absolutely will not make the slightest bit of difference to this. And you risk feeling more traumatised and let down if you have a difficult labour.

I wouldn't pay for a course. I found you needed to do lots of practise and 3 weeks probably isn't enough time. I'd probably look an an app and work on visualisation, deep breathing, meditation style techniques. Ita only one tool to use

I just did the same sessions on Spotify for about the last month. I found it very helpful, but I had a 3hr labour, small baby and a tens machine. Would highly suggest renting one of those!

I think a meditation app or track would work just as well. I found the meditation script the most helpful.

The biggest thing though is trust yourself and what your body is telling you. Be firm with everyone else around you about what you want, what you feel is happening and how you want to be most comfortable.

I regret being persuaded to ignore my own feelings about what what would be best for me and the baby during labour, in favour of people that I thought must know better than me. Get into the position that you need to get into, don't be persuaded to have any drugs you are not happy with, all that stuff.

You will instinctively know what to do, don't let that be overridden.

I did the positive birth company hypnobirthing course. Found the breathing techniques helpful along with leaning about what your body is actually doing during a contraction. The affirmations I just found a bit cringe. I found it very anti medical intervention (which of course is sometimes necessary) so when I went 2 weeks overdue and had to be induced and then went on to need an EMCS, I did come away feeling like I'd failed somewhat.

Basically.... No amount of breathing and positive affirmations we're going to help me birth my baby vaginally. But I definitely recommend learning some breathing techniques. I'd also highly recommended a TENS machine which you can hire through some websites for about £25

I did hypnobabies and found it really helpful for relaxation during the pregnancy. I also found some of the terminology helpful for preparing me what to expect. However, when I went into labour, I remember screaming at my husband to switch it off - I found it horribly distracting, and did better keeping focussed without it. So…yeah. I didn’t bother with my second.

It didn’t do anything for me. (and I too had HG and a not particularly fun pregnancy) I read the book, did a class, did a class with DH….once I went in labor all plans went out of window and all I wanted was an epidural.