To ask if anyone had a bad birth experience despite using hypnobirthing techniques?

[Movingsoon21]

I'm due to have my first child in a few weeks and I've been reading a lot of confusing/conflicting papers and statistics when trying to work out the best options for my birth preferences. None seem to reference specific factors of vaginal deliveries that lead to forceps delivery, which I really want to avoid.

I'm lucky to have a low risk pregnancy, am early 30s and generally fit and healthy. This profile leads the midwives to guide me to a vaginal delivery in an MLU, which sounds like it can be a great experience, especially when coupled with hypnobirthing techniques (e.g. using the BRAIN system for decision-making, using up/down breathing for coping with contractions and pushing, focusing on things that will increase oxytocin and reduce adrenalin etc). I have some friends who have had brilliant experiences in these circumstances.

However, I also have a number of friends who have ended up with traumatic vaginal deliveries, ending with forceps/EMCS and lasting internal damage. I haven't asked them whether they tried to use hypnobirthing techniques as I don't want to pry or potentially upset them, but I'm pretty sure at least some of them didn't.

I was therefore just wondering, as I can't find any studies on this, how much the hypnobirthing techniques actually help to move you into the "good outcome" vaginal delivery group (assuming you are otherwise low risk), or whether it's really all down to luck?

Did anyone on here with a low risk pregnancy follow hypnobirthing and still end up with a bad birth experience/bad post-natal recovery outcomes such as third/fourth degree tears or incontinence? TIA.

It did nothing when my baby was stuck due to shoulder dystocia, luckily the Mcroberts sp? manoeuvre got my son out in time.

Firstly please don’t let other peoples experiences worry you. Everyone is so different and there’s no point worrying about something that may not even happen.
I did hynobirthing but after almost 2 days in labour it just wasn’t enough. The first part was great as the breathing really shifted my focus. But when I started pushing the midwife told me a whole other way to push which actually was what I needed to do. By this point I was exhausted and he ended up being huge so I had a forceps delivery. I was very lucky in that I had no tears (just the cuts they had to do) and so far no lasting side effects 8 months on.

I hope everything goes well ♥️

You’re only going to get anecdata on here.

Ask yourself why there are no good studies on the impact of hypnobirthing, as you point out.

The only birth plan that you can actually rely on (more or less!) is ELCS!

I was 28, low risk, FTM, fully believed in the hypnobirthing stuff. DC1 was an EMCS due to her heart rate, before I even went into labour. Despite it not being what I had planned, it was a good experience overall and I went for an ELCS for DC2.

I thought hypnobirthing sounded like bollocks and didnt do it. Was induced both times and had really lovely, quick, straightforward labours - back on my feet within minutes.

My point is, it almost certainly isn't bollocks and is probably very useful but doesn't automatically mean an easy birth and nor does not do it/a more medicalised birth mean a bad birth experience.

I think too many people get fixated on the type of birth they "want" but really you can't plan for what might happen. Get yourself mentally ready and then trust the professionals who will have experienced a lot more labours than you have.

You can’t control your the hand you’re dealt but you can control how you play it

Hypnobirthing will not prevent any medical emergencies from happening
It may make you feel more relaxed about the situation which would work in your favour but, it wont stop any interventions such as forceps, EMCS etc etc etc.

I also wouldnt bother with a birth plan. I had my DD last year. I had good intentions of having a calm water birth. I knew what pain relief i was happy to have and what I didnt want (unless told it was necessary).
My pregnancy was straight forward, minus the constant hyperemesis, PGP, tendonitis, reflux etc (all of which are standard). I developed hypertension at 34 weeks which became pre-eclampsia at 38 weeks and I was induced due to high risk of me having a stroke and risk of placenta failure for baby.
Needless to say, I didnt get the water birth I wanted, but I did get a labour less than an hour and a half long.

No amount of hypnobirthing would have made my labour better. I would still have been classed as an emergency, I would still have haemorrhaged and I would still have basically crashed twice in recovery.
It may have taught me breathing techniques but in my situation, I wouldnt have used them.

Each to their own though.

Haven't rtft but inductions lead to interventions. So avoid an induction/ leave it as long as possible

I think hypobirthing is more about controlling mindset?

Unfortunately most of what happens is largely outside of your control. My best friend recently had a vaginally delivery and used hynobirthing but ultimately still ended with ventouse and forceps to bring baby safely into the world.

My advice is stop researching or googling, what will be will be and there is largely very little you can do to influence that

@Movingsoon21 OP I've not read the thread, and have nothing on hypno birthing, but have a look at using epi-no. It's a device that helps gently stretch you and prepare you for birthing in the weeks leading up to the birth. A friend recommended it to me and I used it prior to both my babies. No intervention or tear, despite quite big babies. Midwives were surprised. But actually my midwife - who wasn't at my birth - had heard about it and was going to use it herself (she was pregnant). I've since recommended to lots of friends and no-one has torn or had complications. I honestly cannot recommend it enough! (I swear I'm not affiliated. I just can't believe the NHS doesn't tell you about this device. It's German! So not like it's some dodgy thing.)

My birth ended up traumatic unfortunately but I used hypnobirthing and got to fully dilated with no drugs and felt quite euphoric. Id recommend hypnobirthing still 100%

My sis did hypnobirthing, ended up with emcs. I didn’t (had meant to, but life got in the way) and had 2 relatively straightforward (bloody painful, some tearing) vaginal births.

I can tell this is your first pregnancy. Birth plans and plans for staying calm are a great idea in terms of helping you lead up to unknown labour etc. However don't stress over them. More experience parents will tell you birth plans look like this.
1st pregnancy = 50 page book describing your ideal birth and relaxation technique that you will insist your partner learns off by heart. You realise no one had time to read your birth plan.
2 pregnancy = two pages highlighting what your partner forgot last time. You realise every birth is different.
3 pregnancy = baby out of me by due date and don't let anyone forget my post birth tea and toast. Written in large letters.

I did a hypnobirthing class from the Positive Birthing Company, and I found it underwhelming. The only thing I liked about it was learning more about how your body works during labour (although I personally ended up with a pre-labour c-section, so never got to experience it myself).
What I didn't like was the (gentle) pushing of the idea of a "natural birth" with no interventions and pain relief. And also I've always hated breathing exercises, so I didn't find it particularly useful for me personally.

I’m yet another who found hypnobirthing to keep me calm when my lack of progress after 3 days in labour led to drip, epidural and forceps delivery. It ended up fine but I won’t bother next time!

IMO if you want hypnobirthing to have the best chance of success you need to avoid, as much as possible, birthing stories with less desirable outcomes.

Read Ina Mays Guide to child birth instead.

Regardless of how things pan out, hypno techniques - when used flexibly - can help you stay calmer and more relaxed whatever happens. And surely that's only a good thing?

Flexibility and rolling with the punches so to speak, is absolutely key to being a successful parent so you may as well start now

I have three friends who have followed hyponbirthing religiously. One had a dream birth with no pain relief except they had to have an episiotomy. One had a forceps delivery and one had an EMCS after a long labour.
I think hyponbirthing can help keep you calm in a panic, but the birth will go the way nature wants it to go no matter how hard your think and prepare for it!

Hypnobirthing went out the window when DD ended up being back to back, there was no amount of breathing techniques or staying calm that would have helped me.

I used hypnobirthing btw and had a dream labour and birth, BUT it was my second birth. Not sure if that helps.

I used hypnobirthing in my first labour, which ended in a forceps delivery and episiotomy. These were the result of the baby's position and no amount of positive thinking could change that outcome. However hypnobirthing got me through the experience without freaking out and losing the plot, and I was using the techniques to stay calm up to and including being wheeled into the operating theatre, so I absolutely think it was worth doing.

I didn't have a formal hypnobirthing course, but I did inadvertently use the same principles ( twice, and both times water births).

One long labour, but no intervention, no stitches. The other quite a short labour, no intervention no stitches.

Following this thread as I'm also due in a few weeks and have been studying hypnobirthing. I think it's a good tool to have, it certainly can't do any harm. But it won't prevent complications either.

With my first birth, hypnobirthing was actually problematic in that I was so focused on staying calm and breathing techniques that I wasn't making enough of a fuss about the massive searing fucking agony going on in my whole body that might have made them realise that DS was back to back and stuck. I ended up with forceps.
Having said that, with my second birth I also used hypnobirthing techniques and I got a beautiful miraculous empowering waterbirth in my living room with a 4 hour labour and no need for pain relief and I've never felt euphoria like it. Could not have been a more different experience.

I had all the proper pain relief available and wouldn’t have done it any other way. There is an excellent reason why Hypno Surgery isn’t a thing (if in doubt, try smashing your fist or another body part really hard repeatedly against a table then see how much using your breathing techniques helps).

I got induced for both my labours. I used hypnobirthing in both. It didn't help at all because baby went into distress both times. First ended in forceps, second without intervention. The key difference was that I had a better mw team for my second and I was very clear that they must tell me everything that was happening and talk TO me not over me. My first labour had been awful, with the mw ignoring me and leaving me for hours not knowing what was happening and then bringing in a team of consultants who talked over me and ignored me again. So rather than hypnobirthing id take an advocate. DH was rubbish first time around, flapping about, clueless. Second time I ditched him and did it myself and was treated far better as a single mum!