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Original poster

Is hypnobirthing worth doing?

116 replies

elm26 · 10/05/2023 01:23

After a loooong pregnancy of Hyperemesis, covid, growth scans etc after 13 miscarriages, I have finally accepted that I will be giving birth within the next 3 weeks 🥳

I've been quite disassociated and going through the motions as such, as it's been so hard for me to believe that I may be lucky enough to bring home a much wanted and loved baby.

I've suddenly had a panic that I'm 3 weeks away at most (being induced on 19th) and I've done no hypnobirthing. I have done the baby care and first aid, the labour course (taught different stages of labour by a midwife, what can help such as keeping oxytocin as high as poss etc).

Is it worth doing a hypnobirthing course? Shall I pay for it or are the ones on YouTube good enough? Help!

OP posts:
Ilovetea42 · 10/05/2023 16:41

I used it, it didn't completely take away my fears and I had an elcs but it definitely helped me in the moment to have breathing techniques to focus on. I think it's worth it.

tantrummingterrors · 10/05/2023 16:45

I had a pain free first birth experience. Partly down to the techniques I learnt in hypnobirthing and partly due to walking and being active or sat on a birthing ball during labour.
Second wasn’t quite so painless but the breathing techniques helped me manage better. It’s mostly deep breathing which I use still when I’m stressed, in pain etc.

PurpleSunshineRain · 10/05/2023 16:47

It certainly helped my husband and I! We went through our pregnancy with no family close by and we wanted to be prepared. I was so calm the midwives didn't believe I was so far along and didn't examine me. Sent me home and almost had the baby in the car!

Anderson2018 · 10/05/2023 19:59

I paid for an app it was only a couple of £ and it really helped me early stages of labour and kept me calm, and I didn’t really practice a great deal, only when I was in the bath. I still went for an epidural in the end and am planning on doing the same again with my next in september.

congratulations, wishing you all the best

Changes17 · 10/05/2023 20:05

I had a CD that I listened to a couple of times before giving birth the second time around. (Also left it late). It really helped for the breathing between contractions (which kept stopping and starting over a few days) - I think it had an effect even though I fell asleep while listening. Also rented a tens machine which I used when they really kicked in.

Ndhdiwntbsivnwg · 11/05/2023 14:57

Hypnobirthing helped me with understanding what my body is going through which helped with coping through labour.
I’ve found the meditation part useless myself, but I’m a sciency, logical person so this is how I coped

Tiddlypomtiddlypom · 11/05/2023 15:33

tantrummingterrors · 10/05/2023 16:45

I had a pain free first birth experience. Partly down to the techniques I learnt in hypnobirthing and partly due to walking and being active or sat on a birthing ball during labour.
Second wasn’t quite so painless but the breathing techniques helped me manage better. It’s mostly deep breathing which I use still when I’m stressed, in pain etc.

Pain free? Really? Free of pain?

tantrummingterrors · 11/05/2023 20:01

@Tiddlypomtiddlypom its totally unbelievable but yes the birth itself didn’t hurt. I had contractions all the night before and had had paracetamol in the morning but I believed the contractions had stopped as couldn’t feel them. I just needed a poo (or so I thought!). I was walking around the carpark trying to kick start it all and it was only when I was checked before being sent home they realised I was fully dilated.

I couldn’t feel any contractions at all so just pushed all the time. The pushing was hard work and I’d never have been able to ‘breathe the baby out’ as hypnobirthing suggests but the breathing and affirmations and keeping myself calm and were helpful during both that and the labour of my 2nd (which was definitely not pain free!)

mumlikeaboss · 12/05/2023 14:24

I did the Positive Birth Company online course, not mega expensive and you can watch all the videos in your own time so could probably squeeze them in in the next couple of weeks.

I would definitely rate it 👍🏻 had one utterly shitty and traumatic induction for my first baby and a much much better and calmer induction for my second baby - the only real difference was being more informed and in control the second time around.

The PBC course isn't just breathing exercises and meditation, it's also informative and scientific videos about the whole process which I found hugely helpful.

I'm not a very new-agey / hypnotise-y sort of person so I didn't actually use the app or the guided meditations. But the information in the videos and the breathing techniques were enough to make a massive difference for me 👌🏻

mumlikeaboss · 12/05/2023 14:26

@Ndhdiwntbsivnwg yes that's exactly what I found helpful too. I love how scientific it is, it sounds so woo-woo but doesn't have to be at all.

mumlikeaboss · 12/05/2023 14:33

MargotBamborough · 10/05/2023 09:37

Yes, this is where I think hypnobirthing can be actively harmful.

For every woman who says it massively helped her and she had the most amazing birthing experience, there's another who feels like a failure because she did all the hypnobirthing stuff and then things ended up going the opposite way to how she'd planned. And a lot of the time it is because that bloody video says "avoid interventions, interventions bad!" and then the doctor says, "I want to induce you because I'm worried about the risk of X" and suddenly she feels she's lost control of the whole situation.

For what it's worth, with my son I had a balloon catheter overnight, my waters artificially broken in the morning, continuous foetal monitoring, the syntocinon drip and an epidural before the doctor eventually made the call for an emergency C-section due to my baby's heart rate dropping, 30 hours after it all began. Afterwards I felt sad and disappointed, despite finally having my much longed for healthy baby in my arms. Although I forced myself to move on after a few weeks, I realised I still wasn't over it when in was time to think about giving birth to my second baby. With my daughter I had a sweep, then spontaneous contractions, spent most of early labour in a lavender oil infused bath breathing through my contractions and listening to music, then had an epidural and a quick nap, before being told I'd gone from 3 to 9cm in the last hour and then pushing my baby out in about five minutes. She was in my arms 18 hours after the first contraction.

Two very different birth experiences. Two fairly straightforward physical recoveries. (C-section incision with the first, a few perineal stitches and a nasty bout of postpartum piles with the second, no lasting damage with either.) Absolutely no difference in terms of breastfeeding or how I have bonded with my babies.

Show quote history

I think it must depend on the course. I came away from the PBC one with an understanding that although in an ideal world we'd all like an intervention-free, thoroughly natural birth, in reality we aren't ever in complete control of how it's going to go. And that we can be at peace with however it goes.

I was a bit gutted to have to have a 2nd induction after the first one was so shockingly awful, and I ended up having another epidural and way more intervention than I planned... but I was still SO thankful for the tips and tricks I'd learnt, and I felt so much calmer and in control. It was a beautiful birth, especially compared to my first when I was clueless and terrified.

Pebbleinthesand · 12/05/2023 14:34

I liked the up and down breathing and they helped me during the early stages, especially as I was induced.l but I didn't use a lot else of it myself.

The acronym BRAIN (benefit, risk, alterative, instinct, nothing) actually helped my husband to get a second opinion from a consultant and allow us half an hour longer when the junior doctor wanted to send me for an emergency section. Within 10 mins I had the urge to push and he was born half an hour after that.

I fully believe that if my husband hadn't watched it, I would have ended up with an emergency section.

Saniflo · 12/05/2023 15:24

I did hypnobirthing and had 4 drug free home births. 3 of them were almost pain-free, I just focused on my breathing and it was a piece of cake. The other baby was back to back so was more painful, but still just needed to breathe and keep calm and that was all I needed. I did have some gas and air when they stitched me up though tbh. That is the worst bit imo, when you are in labour your body just goes over and you get in the zone and get on with it. Congratulations x

SarahDrawwater · 08/06/2023 12:14

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Milly16 · 08/06/2023 13:00

It helps massively to feel relaxed, whether you do it or not. I tried during first birth but wasn't relaxed so it didn't work. Didn't bother for second birth, just walked around my kitchen breathing during contractions and had very little pain despite no pain relief

Milly16 · 08/06/2023 13:01

I was extremely relaxed and positive for second birth for some reason I should add

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