Anyone got through an induction using just hypnobirthing?

[sancerrre]

I've been feeling fairly confident that I could get through a natural birth using hypnobirthing but now have a possiblity of induction looming and not so confident. The hospital don't do epidurals or G&A either so pethidine is the only other solution. Is hypnobirthing doable for the extra painful / quick contractions of an induction?

I found that the main problem was that my induction involved monitoring which meant I had to lie in v specific position on the bed - not ideal, and not what I had planned!

tried, failed, would not recommend it

in retrospect I think - what was I thinking about? put myself though quite a bit of pain, much more intense than normal labour, couldn't move due to heart beat monitor, was in a terrible state.

got a light epidural, no regrets at all.

just got caught up in the whole natural birth thing, and didn't quite suss that an induction is not natural

then beat myself up about it - so, don't do that, really

we are so lucky to have pain relief, use it and don't feel guilty.

I was induced with dc2, I was only monitored for 15 mins, was completely mobile at all other times. I know you said you couldn't use gas and air, which was my saviour!! but I also used pethedine, although dd2 arrived about 4 mins after injection Good luck

epidural here - don't know why i waited so long before asking...

Do you know what type of induction? I was induced with DD2. They only used prostin gel and I coped with hypnotherapy/breathing and a TENS machine. I didn't find it that much more intense a labour than with DD1 although the circumstances were very different and it was much harder to get through emotionally (DD1 had been a HB and we were planning the same).

I think it very much depends on how they induce you and how you react to labour and the induction. If you'd rather do without pethidine then give it a try and just take things as they come - its not an irreversible decision afterall.

Fingers crossed things go smoothly for you, however they start :)

I'm a HypnoBirthing practitioner. I think you should have a chat about this with your practitioner who may be able to help you further.

Thanks for all the responses. I suppose I have little choice but to see how I cope and go for the pethdine if I really need it. I'm not against pain relief but was just trying to avoid pethedine as I'd heard it can be bad for the baby.

Don't know what type of induction, am guessing they start with the gel and then move to more drastic measures if that doesn't work.

I have the Tens machine packed too so will use that. And will contact my hypnobirthing instructor for tips. And in the meantime, it's curry and pineapple for me!

Do you have a date for induction Sancerrre ?

I have been pleasantly surprised today that instead of lots of gruesome induction stories people have been telling me about their experiences of having a date but their LO making an appearance just in the nick of time so induction not needed.

(I'm 40+5)

I'd learn more about the Pethidine so you know what you're getting into, both the good and bad.

Why on earth can't your hospital offer other options though?

Inductions vary hugely - you may only need 1 pessary before contractions start naturally, you may end up needing a high dose of drip. The more you can stay upright and active, the more likely it is that you'll need less extreme measures, just as upright and labour encourages normal labour.

If you're on a ctg, ask for support to enable you to sit, stand or sit on a ball - you shouldn't have to be on your back according to my MW.

I'm heading for early induction due to OC and PE and will be using natal hypnotherapy, tens and then whatever else I end up needing. I'm taking my own ball in so that I have one for use after the pessary, not just when I get to the delivery suite.

Should read " just as upright and active encourages normal labour"

Pethidine is not necessarily bad for the baby. It certainly has an effect on baby, can make it sleepy (as it may do to you) and may make him/her slow to feed. Sometimes it may mean that your baby may need some encouragement to take the first breath (either a good rub, or some facial oxygen) but for the most part, a prolonged sleepy phase whilst in utero is the only sign. Btw, all the above can happen to babies who have not had pethidine!
I don't think hypnobirthing will be enough pain relief for an induction on it's own(from a personal and professional viewpoint)but it will certainly help. I used natal hypnotherapy for dd2 (unmedicated home birth) and it was great. I also looked after a woman who used it but ended up in theatre with a traumatic delivery and a massive post partum haemorrhage and she was completely composed throughout (with is obviously not the norm!)So it is not wasted whatever happens!

why cant you have g and a? Are you abroad? Surely every hospital in the UK has g and a or am i being incredibly naive?

On the bbc midwife led unit documentary series recently, one of the mums had a half dose of pethidine which the mw said would avoid sleepy baby problems, you could find out if this is possible?

Am not in the UK, hence the lack of G&A and epidural at the hospital.

Thanks for the clarification on pethidine, reikizen, and for the tip on the half dose, muslimah. Japhrimel, I will be taking my own birthing ball so hopefully they'll let me stay upright on it if being monitored.

And thanks for the encouragement shoppingstar that induction may not be necessary. I do feel like the baby's head suddenly got more engaged yesterday shortly after induction was mentioned so maybe the baby heard and is trying to get out before that happens!

Sancerre, if you just have the HypnoBirthing book, look at the section on natural ways to avoid induction,eg nipple stimulation,sex etc.

If you did the course, you should have a script to practise at home called the balloon script - that's a great one for doing a mini-fear release for this situation.

Keep visualising your baby in the optimal birth position - stick a picture of it up on the bathroom wall so you see it every time you go to the loo...every time you see it, remind your baby that's where they should be :)

And if you have anything at all that you've maybe got at the back of your mind as on a "to-do" list, and you haven't done yet, then get it sorted as it could be weighing on your mind.

Again, if you did the course, get back in touch with your practitioner for another fear release session.

PS, sorry, hit post too quickly!
If you can't get anyone to do a fear release etc, then change the way you do your visualisations/imagining your birth.

Imagine all the steps through your birth plan should you be induced, just focussing on the induction being manageable and very successful.

Some people find induction is like going from 0-60 in 10secs, but others can manage it. You just need to be prepared for a different experience to your original birth plan. I wouldn't recommend it if you can find any way of avoiding it, but sometimes that isn't possible, so just reframe the experience on making yourself as comfortable as possible in whatever situation you find yourself.

Fingers crossed that everything happens naturally before you need to find out ;)

I would echo what mumtryingtodotherightthing says, as it sounds like she had the same kind of experience as me. I used tens and gas and air, and no other pain relief.By the time the contractions really gripped me I was in too much pain to sit still long enough to have an epidural. The pain was too intense, and the contractions too close together for me to be able to do any of my well-rehearsed hypno-birthing techniques. But hopefully you won't need the induction and can have a natural birth. Best of luck :)

two inductions - first time two doses of gel and yes, no pain relief
second time, two doses gel and waters broken, ended up with epidural. but they did leave me alone for 8 hours which sent me a bit off mentally, so i didnt' cope as well with the pain.

If this is your second baby it may be that just the gel works - I had an induction (rather than my planned homebirth) for DC2, it took 3 hours start to finish, 1.5 hour labour, only used tens machine and birthing ball. Also, they had to monitor me for the first hour but after that I was free to move around and just got on with it.

If they give you a gel and if it works without the need for a drip, the labour would be pretty much the same as not being induced. I did find hypnotherapy breathing helped immensely - I felt in control and it felt much less painful than first time round.

Good luck!

I had an induction with syntocin drip due to pre-eclampsia. My waters had already broken 3 days before and I was already 3cm dilated when I got to hospital.

I just used hypnobirthing and a TENS machine until I got to 9cm. I then had G&A. Not because I felt I needed it but because the midwife kept asking if I wanted a go and I got curious! So I do think it's doable. The midwives did let me control the speed of the drip. They kept turning it up so that the contractions suddenly became very intense very quickly so I got them to slow it down and gradually increase in small increments. That way I had time to adjust to the change in contractions.

You should be able to be quite mobile even if continuously monitored. I was able to spend most of my labour bouncing on the ball even with the CTG monitor, syntocin drip and antibiotic drip at various points! Good luck and let us know how it goes!

I did natal hypnotherapy and got through my induction on gas and air - not because I was brave (I was screaming like a banshee for a lot of it) but because labour progressed so quickly that by the time I was begging the midwives for pethidine, I was fully dilated and it was too late. I was pretty gutted!

I had one dose of gel. Contractions started within 2hrs; established labour 5hrs after that; fully dilated 3hrs after that. DS born 3hrs later. Hypno helped a lot with the early contractions (as did the TENS machine) but by the time I was in established labour nothing really helped. I spent much of it in the bath off my head on G&A. Shame you can't have that - it was BRILLIANT and not sure I could have done it without it.

The hypno also really helped me relax in the last few weeks of pregnancy and to stop me feeling frightened of the birth. Though I yelled a lot when having contractions, DH told me I was perfectly calm between them, just staring silently at the ceiling. I just felt I had to conserve my energy. There was meconium in my waters so I had to be monitored, which didn't help, as I ended up flat on my back.

It was very intense and if I were you I'd keep an open mind about pain relief, especially as G&A not an option.

I also refused to be induced on the date they wanted to and insisted on delaying it for a couple of days (until I was 41+ 5). They didn't like it much and I still didn't go into labour spontaneously but I think it meant my body was more ready and that's why the gel worked so quickly. I was dreading a long drawn-out process with drips etc but it was v quick in the end.

Good luck and keep breathing!

Thanks all for the tips and experiences. Am off to dig out the balloon script. Hadn't thought of adapting visualisations either so thanks for that. Then will do everything I can to avoid induction and attempt to cope if it does come to that. Interestingly, DH reckons G&A is used for something in cars and knows where he can get some so am comtemplating sneaking some in to the hospital, they'd never notice, surely!

I had an induction and no pain relief. I think you will be fine but you really need to have a positive approach to the induction the same as to the rest of your labour.

I was glad to be induced for all kinds of reasons but mainly becuase I already had 3 children under 7 and was worried about childcare if we went off in the night.

Try and view it as a positive choice (even if it's not!) and go with it.

really hope to hear it all went well for you.