Hypnobirthing practice

[TheNewShmoo]

Has anyone attended a course? Me and DH cannot attend a course. I've read the Mongan book (I know it is not a stand alone course book) and was just wondering how to initiate a daily practice routine?

I've got the 3 breathing techniques sussed (I think), but having difficulty practising the relaxation, visualisation and deepening techniques- and not sure how to get DH involved.

Do I just listen to some relaxation audios everyday (I listen to the Effective Birth Prep Natal Hypnotherapy by Maggie Howell)?

Is this the order of technique utilisation on the big day?

• Relaxation, visualisations & sleep breathing when feel of onset of labour
• Slow breathing (20/20) during surges, then revert back to visualisation/sleep breathing when surge subsides
• Assume positions which help labour
• Birth breathing nearing completion

and will DH apply light touch massage and deepening techniques somewhere in the midst of all of this??

Will this cycle of relaxation/visualisation/breathing have to be constant from the onset of labour?

Any pointers will be much appreciated!

IMHO, don't overthink it! The whole point of hypnobirthing is to enable you to stay calm and centred during your birth. There is no official order (according to our teacher), you don't have to do all the exercises. It is a really personal journey for you and your DH and I reckon the best thing is to set regular time aside to relax and practise using the techniques in whichever order works for you. For example, i found the depthometer visualisation overly complicated and so didn't use it, but the blue satin ribbons really calming.

In the end i was induced, and hypnobirthing didn't really work for me but i think this was mainly my fault for not putting in the pratise hours. I have a friend who used hypnobirthing and didn't need any pain relief at all and loved her birth experience.

Good luck!

Although i didn't do enough practise , i found best time was in the bath, sometimes on my own, sometimes with DH, candles lit, rainbow relaxations cd (or your preferred calming music!).

I know other people in our class wrote the affirmations on paper and stuck them up around the house - they said it helped

Thanks Gnome- yes I'm finding the depthometer and gate visualisations hard to get. I think being able to listen to the rainbow relaxation might be easier... if only I knew where to get it from... are these the cds you used?

www.thehypnobirthingcentre.co.uk/cds-and-downloads.html

So if I do use the cds to get into relaxation mode, what can be DH be up to? Don't want him to feel left out! Can't imagine him reading the scripts being very conducive to relaxing... so I guess he can do the massage whilst I listen to the cd?

If I can learn how to use the anchors that's another way DH could be useful!

That's not the CD that we had, but it looks pretty similar - I've already passed mine on to a friend, otherwise I would have sent it to you.

We didn't use the scripts either - tbh, it made DH feel like an arse, and made me giggle so it wasn't going to help. He did a lot of the light touch massage whilst I was listening to the CD which was nice. My attitude to the whole course was very pic'n'mix - just have a go with what works for you and DH. Instead of the scripts you can have your own narratives, e.g. DH could talk to you about something you find relaxing, calming, empowering (e.g. a holiday, a special time you shared, how generally brilliant you are (), and reassuring you that your body is made to give birth but in his own words, rather than the scripts which can feel a bit phoney (they did to us anyway).

FWIW, I found the breathing exercises to be the most useful things. I think the most useful thing is to practise so that DH can support you almost intuitively - you don't want to be interrupted mid visualisation by DH asking "do you want light touch now?"!

Also, start using the techniques from your first contraction - it is likely to be difficult to start once they start getting more intense. Chilled out from the start, thats the way to do it

I am reading this thread with interest - thank you for starting it TheNewShmoo

I had a traumatic birth first time round, and am now 20wks pregnant with #2.

Am considering hypnobirthing to try and cope better this time and not panic, but I don't yet know if I want to invest in a course (about £350 around here !! )

Do you think it is worth getting the book even without doing the course, you said it is not meant to be stand alone. Or I wonder if they do some kind of taster or short course.

I don't think my DH would be very "up for" scripts or what he terms "hippy stuff" I am more open minded, but I am certainly not of the no-pain-relief school of thought either!

ouch, that is really pricey! It was about £100 up by us, I used my health in pregnancy grant (although i think good old Dave 'n' Nick have cut this now?).

I'm not sure I would pay £350 for it - tbh, our teacher, although lovely, basically read out bits of the book to us in the classes - the NCT were far more helpful (although not sure anything prepares you fully for your first birth!).

I would get the book and the CD (you can find them on ebay and amazon quite easily i think), and as I said the most important thing that I took away from my course is to tailor it to yourself - not everyone will get on with all the scripts and visualisations, so it is a matter of finding what works for you.

Maybe we should ask MNHQ to start a hypno birthing thread for support!

Good luck!

AngryGnome - was this really a Certified HypnoBirthing Practitioner? How many hours did you get for that and how big was the class?

I am a Certitified HypnoBirthing Practitioner. I charge more than £100 but then I do a lot more than read out of a book! I'd be really interested in your experience since it is not good enough if your instructor was just reading from a book. I take my book to classes but I can't remember when I last opened it in class. Did she give you a link to file an on-line report on her course provision?

GetDownYourWillFall - is the £350 your quoting for a group course? That does sound steep for a group but about right for a private course? That equates to less than £30 a lesson and a Practitioner may well travel to you too. If you take a look at the link below you may find someone cheaper:

Official HypnoBirthing Practitioners List

On whether it's worth buying the book on it's own, I guess every little helps but the course is more than talking about the book. It involves demonstrations, discussions, various hypnosis exercises, including the Practitioner showing the birth partner how to hypnotise the mum which is always fun! The exercises remove the fear that prevents the mum having an enjoyable birth. You won't get that from a book.

HTH

Hi NoseyNoo - I hope she was! She showed us certification when she started - actually made a point at the start of the course of showing it to us. I got her details from this website : www.hypnobirthing.co.uk/

She was also recommended by my midwife. There were 14 of us in the group, and it was a 6 week course, 2 hours per week in the evening. I hope she was a genuine practitioner, and I haven't been passing on misleading information to anyone - I apologise if so.

The classes were made up of watching birth videos, and readings from the book. There were exercises, but to be honest nothing we could not have tried for ourselves through reading the book

TheNewSchmoo - the hypnobirthingcentre cds and downloads are not the Official cds. They are by Katharine Graves who is not a Certified HypnoBirthing Practitioner.

AngryGnome - this is really quite odd - it's the right website. Were there 14 people or 14 couples? I normally work with between 1-3 couples at a time. Any more than this and the couples can't ask the questions that they need to ask.

I just don't get why she was reading from the book. Did she hypnotise you, did she teach you how to self-hypnotise, did your partner hypnotise you? She should have given you a link to do an on-line report of the classes which would have been useful if you were unhappy.

I'm sorry if she hasn't delivered the course correctly :(

*Noseynoo" - it was 14 people, 7 couples altogether, we did do exercises but she was just reading extracts from the book to us. We practised the visualisations, and light touch massage. She did give us a link to do an online report, but tbh we have never filled it in - bit of a traumatic birth and then never actually got round to it.

If the course wasn't as they are usually delivered, I really hope I haven't misled people. As I mentioned above, one of the most important lessons I took from the course is that hypnobirthing is a personal journey for each woman, and each couple and that as a programme you should take what you need - i hope that is ok?

sorry, "NoseyNooNoo*, not noseynoo

Yes perhaps the £350 was for a private course - I just remember reading that and being shocked, don't think I looked into it a great deal. I don't think it was for as many as 10 sessions though.

Perhaps I'll have another look for other providers in my area and compare prices.

I agree that the book on its own can not be as good as practising with a teacher. I would like to learn some of the techniques properly.

NoseyNooNoo do you see many people who've experienced traumatic births before, and is it possible to move on from these experiences and be calm a second time round?

GetDown if you can get down to London there is a basic course at St. Thomas's Hospital for only £95 or a 'plus' couse for £190:

www.hypnobirthing-london.co.uk/www.hypnobirthing-london.co.uk/Courses_Dates_Fees.html

or group sessions for a complete 12.5hr course in Saffron Walden or Royston for £150:

www.birthfriendly.co.uk/hypnobirthing.htm

I've read a lot of posts on the hypnobirthingforum.com about women who have successfully self-taught. The main point seems to be practice practice practice, and then practice some more.

Sorry to hear about your first birth experience... the book talks about 'fear release' work as you really need to remove your preconceptions about birth being painful. I think listening to birth affirmations everyday would help. For me, the book explains really well what causes the pain and once you really understand this (the two sets of uterine muscles work against each other if you are not relaxed- there's more to it in the book!) this was enough for me to believe that I could achieve a comfortable, natural and gentle birth. I think you really have to believe/understand it for it to work.

.

Thanks for all your responses guys. Anyone know where can I get a copy of the rainbow relaxation and birth affirmations CD?

The American version of the Hypnobirthing website does sell it but can't seem to find it in the UK.

NoseyNooNoo - do you think my practice 'schedule' is ok?

Kathie at the American website (vice president) said the rainbow relaxation should be the 'cornerstone' of my practice- once I get hold of this I'm hoping this and my breathing practice should put me in good stead on the day?

GetDownYouWillFall - I recently worked with a mum who had for her first baby planned a home waterbirth and ended up having to go to hospital and had a C-Section. Second time around she came to me. I could see that she was scared and had not got over her first birth. During our classes, where we spent a lot of time removing fear and visualising her wonderful birth, I saw a real sea-change in her personality and she went on to have a great home birth.

The NewSchmoo - I am not sure what your schedule is. I recommend that my couples try to do something short every day. It is important for your husband to be part of it. I know it's embarrassing. I know you'll both laugh but once you've done it a few times it is easier (I say this as someone who had to practise it with my husband all those years ago). It's not possible to say what you will want to do on the day of birth itself but by trying out everything you'll work out what works for you so on the day you'll 'just know' which techniques will work for you. Incidentally, the first link you give for the HypnoBirthing practitioner doesn't appear to be for a Certified HypnoBirthing Practitioner.

AngryGnome - please don't apologise (again!) for incorrect information. I suppose different Practitioners, like anyone, have different levels of skill. The HypnoBirthing Institute only know whether someone is good via the information they receive from the survey. If you still have the link you should follow it up. Just doing that might bring you some closure.

As a guide:

• look at www.hypnobirthing.co.uk/hypnobirthing_classes.shtml for a full and up to date list of Certified HypnoBirthing Practitioners.
• check how big the class is. Anymore than 3 couples and it may not be possible for you to ask the questions that you need to ask
• ask for testimonials from previous clients.
• classes should be 5x2.5hrs or 4x3hrs. If you aren't getting that many hours you aren't getting the full course. You also need to have a gap between classes (e.g a week's gap) so that you have chance to practice what you've learned and also work out what you want to ask the practitioner next week.

I hope this helps and I wish you all the best with your births.

Thanks NoseyNooNoo - will give it a try, hopefully should be able to get over ourselves!

Oops, I assumed the first link would be endorsed by Tommy's as its in the hospital? It's well over subscribed too... couldn't get any of the dates that I wanted...

I recently attended the course at st thomas' (the one day course) with DH and have to say it was really worthwhile. We learnt alot about breathing and visualisation, how Dh could read hypnosis scripts to me in labour, massage and we were hypnonitised to release fears. We just couldn't afford any of the other courses (some are over £300, if i had the money i would pay for one but it's such a expensive time eh?). anyway we have been practicing every day and i'm sure it's going to help! I investigated quite a lot before booking the couse cause it's a bit confusing - not all people teaching hypnobirthing are with the american group which have the big website. it seems some teachers teach independently - katherine graves at the hypnobirthing centre for example. We picked this course cause the teacher (judith flood) is a midwife and cause it was so much more affordable. It was a great day and i would recommend it.

Thanks for all this info, I am trying to decide who to do a Hypnobirthing course with and find it quite confusing. Seeing as I am off work for a few days (been told to rest by Doctor) I have had far to long at my computer to research it all :)

Price rise, I really do believe that you get what you pay for. Past experience has shown me the cheaper options are not always the best and usually involve cutting corners.

I did also come across this article 'Hypnobirthing Deception Uncovered' in my surfing, not sure how this effects the officiallness of the American group but it sure does make interesting reading!
hypnofertilityfoundation.org/archiesletter.html

Still pondering but going to book a course very very soon, might have a siesta first though!!

Here's the link to download / listen to the rainbow relaxation and affirmations.

Enjoy XX

www.archive.org/details/HypnoBirthing

I did a hypnobirthing course and it was probably the best money I ever spent on anything in my life. I think that we had about 4 sessions with some background as to the philosophy behind hypnobirthing and our hypnotherapist led us through various exercises. The classes were great, not least because of the info that your partner gets. For practice, I listened to the Rainbow Relaxation before bed each night (usually fell asleep within about the first 5 minutes...) and did the affirmations each morning on my way to work. Closer to the birth we listened to the other recordings a bit. A great side-effect of the practise for me was that I slept really well.

During DS1's birth I listened to the CDs constantly and they were really useful. In the end, I didn't really want to be touched very much. Was 8cms by the time we got to hospital with very little discomfort, and although things got a bit complicated and I eventually had to go on a syncotin (sp) drip after everything came to a grinding halt, and I ended up with a pretty long second stage and a third degree tear, I honestly felt that it was a really positive experience and felt really in-control and confident throughout the labour.

Before my second labour I did a bit of a refresher,and although it was harder to do the practice (not so much free time!) I did a fair bit and only ended up letting people know I was in labour just before transition as I really didn't think that anything much was happening up until then.... It all went a bit crazy after that as DS2's heartbeat was a cause for concern, hence ventouse, then shoulder dystocia, but I felt able to remain calm throughout and just do the best I could and sure enough it all turned out fine.

From my perspective, the births of my beautiful sons are experiences that I go back to a lot - they were intense in a really good way - and having positive memories of those experiences - despite the difficulties, is a great thing. I know that not everyone who does Hypnobirthing has this sort of experience, but it really worked for me.