Is hypnobirthing worth doing?

I didn't do it, I did pregnancy yoga where they teach you how to breathe and what to do when stressed etc. it all went out tbr window when the time came

Congratulations!

I loosely followed a hypnobirthing programme, but for me, I was just grateful to consider the possibility of a different birth to the ones which we are constantly conditioned to fear. I spent lots of time considering the fact our bodies are designed to give birth, how I wanted to control my breathing and not panic etc. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t painless by any stretch of the imagination (literally 😂), but I believed in myself and I wanted a positive outcome, whilst always being aware that things may not go to plan. Good luck.

Wasn't for me. But one little tip I got from a midwife was when I had a moment of "what on earth am I doing". She got me to take a few breaths look at the clock and to remind myself self this tim tomorrow I would be cuddling my baby. It kind of brought me back in to the now.

Labour is hard work but honestly gall and kidney stones were worse 😭. Best of luck with the arrival.

I used the Natal Hypnotherapy CDs (and had a session with an NH practitioner at home). Highly recommend it. I much preferred it to the American hypnobirthing resources which were available then (15 years ago!)
I think you would get something out of it if start straight away and have time for daily practice
Good luck!

My first birth was nothing like I wanted, very medicalised and was just generally horrid so for my second I really wanted to avoid that!
I did the hypnobirthing online and, whilst I didn't buy into a lot of the imagery and music etc, the breathing techniques were certainly very helpful and my second was totally natural, even though I was still open to other pain relief options (just not diamorphine from my first). Labour still hurt, but the breathing got me through a lot of the worst of it by having something to focus on other than pain!
It also helped my husband to know a little about what I was doing so he could make sure to support it - and not interrupt when I was in my zone 😅

So in short - it helped me but definitely good to keep an open mind into other options as well :)

Good luck!

Yes and I’ve used it for pain management in later life too

I found that it helped until it didn't (for me both times at transition - a stage that was very much skipped over in my hypnobirthing classes - it really started to break down for me), which still meant it was worth doing. I use the techniques quite a lot now for minor pain/to keep myself calm.

I know people who really resent hypnobirthing as they felt it set them up with an unrealistic idea of birth and that then made them feel like failures. I didn't feel like that was the case with my own course, which was run by midwives at my local hospital, but it is something to think about and look at if you are thinking of purchasing something as some courses are much more anti-intervention than others.

One final warning - I do think that it's one of the reasons why no one would examine me until I was near crowning with my first, which was an awful experience (I came really close to giving birth in a public triage ward). I was actually told 'you'll know when you need to push - you won't be this calm'! So if it does work well for you then remember to up the fuss a bit if needed...

I use it still at the dentist

And for all horrible medical things - should be marketed for that!

It is incredibly useful to be able to mitigate/reduce (not stop entirely) the stress response.

It doesn’t have to be your only pain relief - I use it still at the dentist and I’m not going without the anaesthetic there! I didn’t need other pain relief but that was my births: if I had needed it I think I would still have found the calming techniques helpful.

I did Kathryn Graves and would recommend it. Think of it like meditation: practice and you get better at it but there’s no perfection. What it can really help with is keeping calm through pain, which reduces pain. I definitely felt at one point that I could fall into a chasm of panic, and the hypnosis techniques i and my husband had learnt helped me not do that. Chronic pain sufferers can find self hypnosis useful, too.
Good luck x

Not helpful.

OP, I left it until about 2 weeks before due date to investigate hypnobirthing. The breathing techniques were most useful for me and I really did use them all the way up until the push part. I listened to Hypnobirtjing by Siobhan Miller as an audiobook, a chapter a night, usually with my partner. You've got nothing to lose by at least learning the breathing techniques! I had my baby 5 months ago, I still use the breathing when I'm doing a poo so I don't strain. Good luck- you'll be great- your body was made to do this!

It actually didn't help me that much I'm afraid to say! I had a large baby at an awkward angle and frankly affirmations just weren't going to cut it when I was in a lot of pain when I reached the hospital! Great pain relief (pethadine and then gas and air), knowing my choices and building a rapport with the midwives through humour (largely thanks to DH) ended up being what helped me to have a positive birth experience - the hypnobirthing stuff went out of the window on the day! The pain ended up being totally manageable with the pain relief I had, and having people in the room keeping things positive and jokey helped me too, although that might drive you mad depending on personality.
To be honest I found some of it a bit woo-woo and I didn't like the way it looked down on interventions and encouraged you to doubt/second guess your midwives.

You still have time to make a lovely birthing playlist though. Mine really helped me.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope everything goes really well for you 💐 not long til you meet your little one!

It was worth it for me. I went to in person sessions for my first and practiced every night throughout my pregnancies. Let's be realistic, birth was still painful, but I remained calm and both times I managed without pain killers.

I would say it was more successful the first time as it was a longer birth. The second was a bit quick and I didn't have the time to get into it as much.

I would say it's too late, but you might want to download some calming music and try out some breathing exercises. Worth a try!

I so so so wish I had done it. It would've hugely helped me if I had practiced breathing techniques and had a positive affirmation to repeat to myself during labour.

Did it twice, was completely pointless and actively detrimental - the culture and ethos was such that it left me feeling like it was my fault I wound up with an emergency section. Did absolutely nothing for the pain.

Agree. I think PP is confusing it with hypnosis

Congratulations!
Honestly just go with the flow, ensure your birthing partner is someone you're totally relaxed with who you know will advocate for you, listen to your body and remain open minded.

I did hypnobirthing with our fourth baby, but in all honesty, the only thing that brought calm to me was imagining myself on a sunny day paddle boarding around Bribie Island! I think with our 3rd baby, the only thing that brought calm to me was thinking about work and my colleagues! Our second baby's birth was just horrendous as the midwives sent me home because I 'wasn't in active labour' - her head ended up crowning just as I was leaving the main entrance of the hospital, so we had about 100 witnesses to her birth! With our first baby, I had to keep getting woken up as I'd been awake for so many days prior. So I think, if you do or don't manage to get in any hypnobirthing classes, then just try and find some inner peace amongst the chaos, whatever that may be.

I hope your birth goes so well and wish you well in this daunting and exciting journey. Please do come back in the future and let us know how you are x

It was excellent for me, I only started 3 weeks before due date. It really helped me feel less nervous, which was good as went two weeks overdue. I did Kathryn Graves hypnobirthing audio and book by myself at home, and listened to it daily. I agree that it is the luck of the draw how things go, but the hypnobirthing helped me accept the uncertainty and manage all the early stages calmly.

I didn't do it with my first and I was in so much pain I had to have an epidural which I really didn't want. Second time I did and barely felt any pain till his shoulders were coming out. For me it was incredible

It is not about being 'suggestible'

I think it is worth doing, yes.

If you go into it thinking of it as just another tool in the box then it might be useful to learn some breathing techniques etc.
But it really didn't help me - in fact it irritated me more, as I felt I'd failed" when I couldn't "breathe through" a very difficult long labour with all the interventions.

On the contrary, when I went into my second labour with no pressure and no expectations, I had a very straightforward birth with no pain relief. It's all luck of the draw IME.

Pregnancy yoga might be of more use at this stage?

I’m not sure how much it’s worth it if you know you’re having an induction.

Especially as I assume you won’t be allowed to go post dates so it could be more like a 39 week induction than a 41 week induction which means your body might need a bit more persuasion than someone who’s about to go into labour anyway.

As it happens I think hypnobirthing is a brilliant tool, but given the level of intervention/pain killers that you know you may need it might do more harm than good.

There is lots of very useful stuff about informed consent in relation to birth and talking your partner through your wishes and getting them to hold the space for you. Again whilst these things are all very important if you know you’re having a more medically managed birth anyway then the balance of things will be different.

For example I had my baby at home, it was very much a process lead by me and my body. The midwives really just had to sit back and watch/encourage. I would guess that in your circumstances there’ll be much more dialogue back and fourth as a conversation between you and the medical team about how things are going and what the next steps are.

Doing some good research into the different pain relief options and various interventions might be useful for you so that when something gets suggested you already know a lot of the pros and cons and/or your partner will know your wishes around certain things if you aren’t feeling particularly communicative.

And congratulations on your pregnancy!!

@elm26 absolutely agree with what @Foldinthecheese has said!! I also used The Positive Birth Company’s online course. I wasn’t overly keen on all the affirmations and stuff - that side of things just really isn’t for me. But I used the breathing techniques and felt that the course gave me a clearer understanding of what was happening at each stage during labour and delivery which allowed me to stay much calmer. I had a 39 hour induction using pessaries and the drip with gas & air as pain relief. Really positive experience.
I’d definitely give it a go if I were you 😊 best case scenario - you find it really useful. Worst case - you’ve wasted £30 and a few hours 🤷🏻‍♀️

It was fab for me. I had a real fear of birth etc & was very anxious. I had a tricky labour & emergency section, but hypnonirthing kept me so calm, and helped me to enjoy (some of!) the experience.