To be annoyed by this article / ad for hypnobirthing?

[Boco]

In a local magazine - It starts of saying
'I find it extremely sad that so many pg ladies give birth today expecting a painful and uncomfortable experience'

..and then goes on to say 'The female form has been perfectly formed by nature, so why would nature design such an amazing body and then give it the flaw of not being able to deliver a baby without a huge amount of pain and discomfort?' also 'why are humans the only animal on this earth that needs pain killers whilst in labour?'

It then explains that the only reason it hurts is because we are 'expecting' pain, and therefore diverting blood from the uterus - which causes painful contractions.

This is really annoying. I tried hypnobirthing - it helped me keep calm for longer maybe - was quite good for relaxation - but it didn't stop it hurting. This is implying that the pain is all in the mind of the woman - if it hurts you're just not doing it right - which sets you up to fail because of course it hurts, you're squeezing a big baby out of your vagina and without drugs, that is not 'comfortable'.

I was shocked by how much it hurt and for ages felt like it was a failure on my part. This is pretty much false advertising I think, because hypnobirthing does NOT stop it hurting, it can help, it can be good, but has anyone had a pain free birth?

It's written by a man by the way.

I'm glad it worked for you Katiedd, and I think it's fine to promote hypnobirthing, but I don't think that your experience is the norm, it's quite unusual in fact. What I object to is the idea that our bodies are made to give birth painlessly, it's only our fear and doing it wrong that causes the pain, and that if you pay this man £300 to learn his techniques then it won't hurt. I just find that very hard to believe.

But that is exactly what happened to me, I arrived at the hospital listening to my ipod and they refused to admit me on the basis I wasn't howling my head off, so we got sent for a walk, 15 mins later my waters broke and the head was there, in the car park.
I felt pressure and then the ring of fire, but I ceratinly wasn't screaming my head off and as it was my third birth, I've done that before.

KatieDD - I think that the fact that it was your third birth probably worked in your favour. I certainly don't doubt that you are accurately describing your experience. What I'm saying is that hypnobirthing doesn't result in a painfree birth for most women (even though it is very helpful in preventing panic and the body tensing up etc.), and that promising a painfree birth is not only unrealistic, but also blames the women who aren't as lucky as you.

Actually I think he wants dragging before an advertising standards panel before making some of those claims, and possibly a medical one too.

KatieDD - that's your personal experience. It doesn't necessarily hold true for everyone else, which is what this fella seems to be claiming.

Wll if I'd read that as after DS1's birth I would have probably sought this guy out.............and then slapped him!The pain I had was more than excrutiating(sp?) and thank God for epidurals!

However, I did achieve a pain free birth 3rd time around (lucky?) thanks to hypnobirthing, being at home, having a fantastic midwife, (not to mention a pre-sttretched fanfo and a much smaller baby! )

Annvan I found the epidural at DTs birth more painful than anything to do with DDs birth. Maybe it was because it was an emergency section and they needed to do it fast. Also I have a fear of hospitals and needles so expected it to hurt so maybe that is why it did. DH said that must have hurt (I screamed) when they put the needle in as he now thinks I have a high pain threshold. I do not I just coped with giving birth quite well. I think I upset the aneasthetist when I said "oh my god why do people choose to have an epidural"

I do not think an epidural guarantees you a painfree labour/birthing experience.

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I'm with weeonion and agree wtih pruners on having positive attitude. I used hypnobirthing with dd..whilst it didnt get rid of pain I do think helped me keep calmer in stressful situation (due to previous history etc).. but pain free my backside.. had issues iwth the bollox that the teacher spouted at my class and sounds like this bloke from same school - I actually think its dangerous as some people in class were taking the refuse intervention breath it down mentality as if it was gospel and woman in question had no m/w or other qualifications

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I do think that the advert was slightly much. I used hypnobirthing and my labour (1st) lasted about 4hrs, I was relaxed and high spirited and not frightened. I can honestly say that I felt sensations not pain. I am now training to become a hypnobirthing therapist- however I will not be doctrinating people like that nor will I tell people that it is pain free alternative, it is about removing fear which can cause problems in labour, Tom Cruise woulkd be proud of me because I laboured in practical silence too. Very similar to meditation really.

I have to say that I feel that the stress free labour has attributed to my daughter being very contented and confident, but then I am sure you have babies that are the same.

The only reason I chose hypnoibirthing instead of pain relief was mainly because I am a very sickly person and didn't want to feel out of it during labour.

I don't think that anyone here is saying that hypnotherapy is snake oil, in fact there are a lot of women on here who found it useful in calming down the panic (me included). What really makes my blood boil though is the whole "painfree" claim. It really is a "heads I win, tails you lose" situation, as if the birth goes well then hypnobirthing takes the credit, and if it doesn't then the woman takes the blame.
There are plenty of physical reasons why a birth will be long and difficult, even if the woman is well prepared, well supported and uses hypnobirthing techniques.

With respect though, unless you've tried it you cannot say you wouldn't have the same experience that I had, I'm not selling anything hypnobirth related so have nothing to gain or loose, it worked for me it "might" work for you, open your mind and fango

I did try it!

I did try it too!

And I'd recommend anyone do it by saying it helped me stay calm for longer.

But I certainly wouldn't say that it will definitely give you a pain free labour.

I went into labour very positive and confident. 32 hours and a posterior birth later, not so confident. I wasted a lot of time afterwards believing that I'd done it wrong and hadn't been POSITIVE enough.

Only after it'd gone wrong the second time did I realise that it's bollocks - I'm sure it CAN work - but I think there's a lot of luck with childbirth - how long your labour is, how big your baby, the position of the baby, how well you click with your midwife, whether your baby becomes distressed, if there's meconium in the waters etc etc - they are beyond your control, you can't help that, it's not actually your fault if it hurts and if it's hard and not actually a wonderful glowy spiritual experience, it's not because you just aren't good at it, it hurts.

See, this is what I'm getting at. The wording on the website hints that with hypnobirthing you too can be a part of the secret to a pain free birth, unlike those failures who need an epidural. There's an insidious message: if you don't have a pain free birth, you've done it wrong and it's yer own fault. Not what vulnerable post partum women need to be thinking imo.

The Op asked if anyone had a painfree birth and the answer from me is yes i did, if others didn't then that's sad and I'm sorry it didn't work out. I didn't get any medals for bravery.

I had a pretty painfree birth first time and labour second time (had an EMCS with GA at fully dilated) which I put down to being in denial about being in labour. I kept telling myself it wasn't that bad and would stop soon and it kept me relaxed until it was over.

KatieDD I am with you on this! But agree there can also be implications in birth that can sway the difference.

However I truelyn believe that the exercises and meditation involved in the build up to the birsth calmed my baby and I felt fully intune with her which aided my labour- however I appreciate there are some that the technique didn't work but I see that as a failing by your teacher and not by you as the labouring mother.

You didn't say "yes, actually it can be painfree, because that was my experience" though, did you? You told us to "open our minds and our fanjos", implying that it was because they were so closed that we didn't have wonderful experiences like you.

For what it's worth, the breathing techniques worked too well for me - when I went to the gynae to have my painful vaginal scar examined he didn't believe that I was in pain as my fanjo didn't tense up when he inserted a finger in me. I was very keen for him to be able to do a proper examination, so that he could make a proper diagnosis, so I used the same techniques that I'd used during labour to keep everything relaxed down there.

OK, I need to leave this now. There is obviously no getting through to those who are lucky enough to have a good experience.

I have no idea but I used hypnobirthing for my 2nd (2 weeks ago) who was 9.5 lbs and I can honestly say that there was no pain AS LONG AS I WAS SITTING ON MY GYM BALL rather than lying down / sitting on a chair etc....it hurt then (which makes sense because the ball provides a forgiving surface that allows your pelvis to move as it needs to I guess. It was amazing actually. I do believe that your mindset can alter things hugely one way or the other.

Well...

The reason humans have more problems and pain giving birth than animals is because there has been an evolutionary pay-off. We have very large brains and therefore heads for our body size, and walking upright means a narrow pelvic area to give birth through. It is natural - that humans experience pain and difficulty giving birth - and without medical intervention when required things go badly wrong, a lot.

For the people who used hypnotherapy and had pain free straightforward births, that is wonderful. Please don't say that possible for everyone though, if only they'd do hypnotherapy.

Also interested to know from the hypnotherapy people. I imagine this method is a lot cheaper than administering drugs, having assisted deliveries, giving episiotemies (sp) and providing all the aftercare from these things. Not to mention sections edidurals etc.

Why then are these methods not championed in the third world as a cheap answer to the high mother and child mortality rates? And to stop other problems eg fistula?

For the same reason breast feeding wasn't promoted with all it's benefits throughout the 3rd and 1st world, hate that term.
There's no profit in it.

Breast feeding doesn't need to be promoted in the third world, it's just accepted that that's what you do. I agree that pushing formula in some areas is rife, and that is utterly disgusting, but I don't think the two areas are camparable.

Very poor women in the third world either give birth at home or go to free hospital. They are not saving up in advance for medicalised births.

Do you really believe that most modern birth interventions and drugs are only there because the hospitals and drug companies want to make money? And that if we all did hypnotherapy all over the world there would be very little need for those things? And the mother and infant mortaliy figures would drop?

ChukkyPig, the pain of contractions has othing to do with the pain or difficulty of deliverying a baby with a head larger than is comfortable.

I think the level of pain experienced from contractions has a lot to do with how relaxed the mother is, which is where hypnobirthing can really help.

There are people out there who have popped out babies with out any effort atall, haven't needed pain reliveing drugs, and that's just how their bodies work. Other people, unfortunately experience the most horrifying pain, which untill experienced is unimaginable.

Although hypnobirthing worked for me with my 3rd birth, and while I was in controll during my 2nd, I don't believe I would have had a pain free birth with DS1 without the help of an epidural.

I don't think anyone has been smug on this thread, just told it how it was for them.