To ask for honest experiences from those who did hypnobirthing?

[LisaSimpsonsbff]

My local hospital runs a free hypnobirthing class and have written to me to offer a place, but saying it fills up so if I want it I need to make a decision now, even though I'm only 21 weeks (the actual course would be much later in pregnancy). My instinct is that it's woo mumbo jumbo, but a) my brother and his gf, who are super normal people, insisted it was amazing and b) I've had and am having a lot of problems with anxiety in this pregnancy (it was my fourth pregnancy of 2017) and although I'm still currently in a place where I can't imagine I'm going to get as far as giving birth, I can imagine getting in a right state about it if I do get there, so maybe would be a good candidate for some relaxation and confidence-building? I had a look at some online threads on Mumsnet and elsewhere and they were astonishingly positive, though I noted that a lot of them were from women who hadn't yet given birth! All the negative comments I could find (in admittedly a quick search) were from people who hadn't done it but said it was surely nonsense. This made me feel a bit suspicious (is it a cult?!) - surely there are people out there who did it and found it rubbish, cringey or just a bit meh? So, can I ask for honest opinions from those who did it, either good or bad?

I'm a maths teacher - not one for "that sort of thing". There are good hormonal and biological reasons why hypnobirthing can help people during labour (look into oxytocin).

I used hypnobirthing (natal hypnotherapy CDs, no courses) for both labours and would recommend them.

My first was a 24 labour at home followed by a transfer in and EMCS- I didn't need/want any pain relief until the spinal for the section (had got to 7cm). I felt very calm, able to express myself clearly and hence control how things happened which meant that the birth still felt like a positive experience.

My second was a 3.5hr labour at home with a vaginal birth at the end of it. I definitely hadn't done as much practice as for my first pregnancy- maybe listened to the cd twice a week for 4 weeks beforehand. I found the Labour much harder work and sometimes uncomfortable (though still didn't want/need pain relief). The hypnobirthing breathing techniques were very useful.

I'd use it again (and do more practice) if we decided to have a third.

Worked for me, I have a very anxious personality type, especially when it is to do with anything medical.

I had the most amazing birth, honestly, I know that sounds super hippy but it's the truth.

I will admit that I was a little sceptical, but after doing the course I felt so empowered and this really carried through to my labour.

From start to finish my labour lasted 30 hours. I only used gas and air, and then nothing at all for the last hour as I dropped the mouth piece into the water and had forgotten about it by the time they had attached a new one.

DD weighed a healthy 8lb14oz,no stitches, and only happy memories.

I am due my second in 4 weeks and will be having a home hypnobirth this time, genuinely excited to meet my baby and not fearful of the birth what so ever.

It was absolutely brilliant. Taught me what to expect and some techniques to handle it, really brought my DH in to how he could help and support. Partly good luck but I had a lovely water birth with gas and air despite a 9lb 8oz first baby.
If you are being offered it free I’d absolutely jump at it, you have nothing to lose.

Thanks so much for these comments. I'm sorry for those who found it didn't help them at all, and was wondering whether some of those who said it was rubbish (e.g. PoorYorick) could say why that was? Did it just not work for you in practice, when you got to labour? Your experience of them not being helpful once you knew it wouldn't be 'straightforward' is really interesting, thanks jaffa.

I think I will go for it - as a few of you have said, it's free so what have I got to lose? I guess I worried that as someone said upthread I'd come to it with a 'negative mindset' and so just feel awkward and out of place. That said, I started pregnancy yoga a bit ago and enjoy that despite it being a bit woo, so maybe I'm underestimating my tolerance for that anyway!

Thanks again for the really useful comments.

toolonglurking how did it work out in an induced birth, for you? The CDs are all about how you need to move to get your baby in the right position for you to give birth, but if you've got a drip in your arm and a heart monitor you're not moving anywhere fast (I was induced for my first one).

I'm still interested in the techniques but would be interested in how they worked for you in a more managed labour than the "ideal scenario" version on the CD.

Ooh, I have one more question for those who did courses - did it feel like a social place where you could make friends? We were toying with the idea of signing up for NCT to try and make some parent friends (we have no friends with children anywhere nearby), but put off by the price - if we did these classes (it's a four-week course) is it realistic to think we might make some friends through it?

It won’t make you have a brilliant birth - with birth I think you get what you get

I had a bad birth but the hypnobirthing definitely helped me be calm and controlled throughout

Friends for whom it worked swear by it, so the course sounds like a good idea. You could also meet other people doing it.

I would just say, don't put too much hope in any one way of giving birth. Anything can happen, and it's easier to accept a last minute change (e.g. if you suddenly need a c section because the baby changes position) if you're not too married to one idea. I've seen a few of my friends really beating themselves up because they didn't manage the labour they'd planned, and it's such unnecessary pressure to put on yourself when things are already overwhelming! So plan the birth you want but keep an open flexible mind would be my advice. So long as you and the baby are fine, that's all that matters, not how he/she gets here.

Congratulations!!!!!

Both of my SILs swear by it - they also both had water births (one at home).

I started listening to a borrowed CD a few weeks before giving birth, and to be honest found it quite hard to visualise a relaxing beach or a golden light when I was crowning! I had a 4hr labour though, water birth, no drugs and my undercarriage actually came out if the whole experience remarkably unscathed (despite a 9lb baby).

It's worth a shot!

@SeeKnievelHitThe17thBus
I was initially really upset at the idea of being induced because all I'd ever heard was how awful it is, but once I got my head around it I thought I'd still give it a try.

I was hooked up to the drip, but I sat on my birthing ball and my DP spent the entire time making sure the drip went where I needed it to and didn't get caught on anything - it did end up with my bra hanging off it when I decided I didn't want to wear it anymore!
The monitors they had around my belly I really hated, they wouldn't stay in place as I was moving around, which was when the midwife wanted to put a clip in the baby's head for monitoring but realised I was actually ready to breathe the baby out.

I'm happy to give you more info if you'd like it, just message me.

I did pregnancy yoga which included hypnobirthing. It was great to be honest. I managed to labour and deliver without any pain relief, and I honestly think it's only because of the hypnobirthing - I completely went into myself if that makes sense.

My birth was relatively quick and straightforward though. I was very calm; midwives even commented. You'll probably still need pain relief if the birth is less straightforward, it's not the be all and end all, but for me it definitely helped.

It is well worth doing IMO.

Even if you choose to accept drugs, hypnobirthing helps.

I hynobirthed my 3rd, 4th and 5th children after having a horrific first labour and realising with my second that they didn’t need to be like that.

My 4th was so relaxed that the MW was trying to encourage me into the pool as the birth was imminent but I wanted a cuppa first. I drank my tea, got in the pool and 2 and a half minutes later I was holding my DS.

I find using a tens machine with hypno really helpful but I also love gas and air and happily take the edge off any pain I have felt in the later stages.

If it's free do it! I really wanted to do some but we had already paid out for NCT and the hypnobirthing near me is £300

Oh I just saw your last questions. I am currently chatting away with my NCT friends on whatsapp as we speak. Our children will be 2 in June/July. You get good and bad groups from what I've heard but ours was great. We are all close except for 2 of the people.

I used hypobirthing to help me get through a c-section. Highly highly recommend!

I'm currently pregnant so not exactly what you're looking for, but this is my 2nd child. I didn't do anything to prepare for birth last time and very much buried my head in the sand and thought "what will be will be". This time I've done hypnobirthing research and feel much more in control as I approach the birth.
Some free resources I would really recommend, which would give you an idea of whether hypnobirthing is your sort of thing, are Siobhan Miller from the Postive Birth Conpany 's videos on YouTube. I also love the book "The Positive Birth Book" by Milli Hill which brings in elements of hypnobirthing but is just a great, informative book all round.

I should have added my local area offered free hypnobirthing classes via the NHS (wise hippo ones) and they were garbage. The old lady running them clearly had no belief in it and had been told she had to deliver the course anyway. I didn't go back after the first week. The free YouTube resources I mentioned above and the book were much better for me. Hopefully your experience would be better though, always worth a shot!

If it's free, do it. Go with an open mind and expecting to learn some useful techniques. Take what you like and drop what you don't - and if any aspect of competitive woo-ing raises its head, get out of there.

Childbirth is just childbirth and it's perfectly understandable to want to make it as calm and pain free as possible BUT how you birth says nothing about you as a person or a mother. The slight superior air of people who'd breathed out a baby (in real life not on this thread as there aren't any) put me off a bit.

I had the book and listened to the meditations before bed. I agree with others, it didn't magically transform my birth, but I spent three days in early labour having contractions, and the breathing and relaxation definitely helped with that. The other thing that really made a difference for me was the stuff about reducing fear and dealing with the anxiety around birth. Funnily enough the other thing it helped with was making me feel empowered enough to insist on getting help after the third day of contractions. I knew something wasn't right, (turned out my bladder wasn't emptying and it was blocking the head from engaging fully, which was agony and stopped me getting to the active stage of labour) and the hypnobirthing stuff i read definitely made me more confident about knowing my body, recognising something wasn't right and pushing for help when I needed it.

I loved it! I has an EMCS the first time and it really gave me her confidence to believe my body could give birth naturally, it also really helped my partner prepare for birth. He was pretty helpless the first time round and an absolute rock the second time.

My labour was very fast, very intense, and I’m not going to lie, extremely painful. Hypnobirthing did not make it magically pain free. 😂 I did however manage on gas and air, and it was an amazing experience. I would absolutely do it again tomorrow!

I did natal hypnotherapy using downloads from their website. Really rate it. With DC1 it calmed my anxiety right down, and got me through my sweep and first 12-18 hours of labour beautifully. (There were some issues after that which meant I needed to go on the drip so I had a mobile epidural, which I can also highly recommend! Stayed on my feet or the bouncy ball the whole time and pushed in an upright position).

Also used it for my ELCS with DC2 and the anaethetist commented on how impressively zen I was whilst getting prepped, and I used the tracks to manage the pain when I had a fractured dislocated ankle when pregnant with DC2 and I was only given shit painkillers.

Breech births tend to be all or nothing - they either progress quickly or not at all. My first labour was quicker than my second. Contractions ramped up quickly. A contraction would start. I’d use a technique, one of the breathing ones. The contraction would get stronger and more painful. And keep going. And keep going. And keep going. And I’d be all out of breath and the contraction would be so, so painful, I couldn’t think of anything else. And then it would start to decrease, and there wouldn’t be enough time before the next one to get any kind of control back. None of the techniques taught were worth a damn in the face of either of my labours. And none of the sensations talked about in the course bore any resemblance to my labours. The course talked about sensations and waves and breathing, and feeling in control. Those words do not do justice to what my labour was. I didn’t feel out of control, it was just agonising and I wanted it to stop but if it did stop then I would have to start again at some point. It’s like if you are totally unable to pay the bills skint, in danger of losing the roof over your head, and someone comes along and says have you tried switching to own brand groceries? Totally inadequate in the face of my labour.

I think most people will have straight forward labours, hypnobirthing or not. And if people do hypnobirthing, they will attribute their “good” birth to HB. Especially with second births, which tend to be quicker anyway, and when people are more likely to do HB after a bad first experience.

Interestingly, both my courses heavily prepared for you to face resistance from healthcare professionals regarding interventions, monitoring etc. In both my cases, the midwives and doctors involved were entirely respectful of my wishes and were utter professionals.

Didn't work for me in a conventional sense on the day (or days!!! It was a 51h labour ) but it helped me feel calm and in control in the lead up to going into labour.

I did end up managing a natural delivery - much to the amazement of the 10 people in my room (ready to intervene! I'd been pushing for almost 2 hours!) without a tear it a graze. Also only had Diamorphine Dr who put my drip in all but laughed in my face when I refused an epidural

I'd certainly say give it a go.

I read the book and religiously listened to the cd and I was calmed by it during pregnancy and the early stages of birth. For me, it did not help with the pain when the going got tough. (Tens and epidural) I would do it again if I have another.

My sister went to classes and used the techniques for 2 children and swore by it. No other pain relief. Maybe I could look into doing the classes and that might make the difference.

I didn't do a class, but used the natal hypnotherapy CD for home births. I listened to it fairly frequently in late pregnancy, and whilst in labour. When in labour and contractions were 3 minutes apart I was still so calm that the midwife didn't believe that I was very far along, and started to go home for her tea. She soon came back when DH told her baby was nearly here, and just got to me in time to catch DS.
So yes, I would highly recommend it, but don't let the midwife leave you for long!