Hi there,
I practised Natal Hypnotherapy from week 30 of my pregnancy (to be clear this is different from Hypnobirthing - it is the UK approach to Hypnosis for birth).
Relaxation, visualisation and breathing techniques can be learnt by reading book, using CD and/or attending a course. You don't need all of the CD's, just one will do and I would recommend the course if you can afford it.
The process of learning about Natal Hypnotherapy by reading book and attending course calmed me down immensely to the point that I was looking forward to the birth and excited by the prospect of labour (something which scared the hell out of me for so long). So many people would encourage me to take all the drugs going and say ?oh I bet you can?t wait for the baby to come now? when I was at 39 weeks and I had to completely disagree with them. I didn't wish the pregnancy away at all (and miss it even now). Towards the end there was so much talk from family/friends about being induced that I shut those comments away without argument. The theory behind Natal Hypnotherapy is that your body will do what it should do naturally at the right time - not all women have babies at 40 weeks; babies will come when they're ready, sometimes before, sometimes after. I gave birth 41+2 and had no intention of being induced.
There is huge focus on your birthing partner - lots of techniques and tools for them so that they are not a spare part. My other half (OH) knew exactly what to do and read me perfectly during the birth of my daughter; he knew when to support and knew when to leave me be - this was all down to Natal Hypnotherapy. During the workshop we put our birth plan together with a central theme (ours being to have a natural healthy birth) and added comforts, practices, music, familiar smells etc around this theme to enable us to achieve it. My OH knew that I didn?t want anything more than gas and air and respected my decision about this and knew what to do if I changed my mind during labour.
The cost of course is a little steep, £85 each and there are 2 workshops, but they are beneficial. Personally I felt the workshops we attended over two days could have been combined in to one day, however, we were really pleased we attended as we learnt so much in relation to the techniques, ourselves and Natal Hypnotherapy. Our Natal Hypnotherapy trainer was a qualified Senior Midwife at our local hospital, and so it was beneficial to peck her brains for 2 days too! By reading the book it gives you the benefit of learning in your own time. The course will benefit you if you are more of a visual/practical person to learn some of the techniques.
My Labour started on Monday, slow uncomfortable contractions every 15 minutes but not painful, this continued until the birth of our daughter on the Saturday. During the slow labour stages (Monday to Friday) I was calm and contented; stopped at home and had some of the best memorably moments with my partner, just him and I (him even filming me in a jovial documentary of a ?mammal? in labour, with full commentary in a David Attenborough voice!!). We did go to the hospital and was sent home twice ? the first time I was pleased I went as contractions were 3 minutes apart and I was 3cm but not effaced; I needed reassurance that everything was ok and the labour was progressing correctly. The 2nd time we went to the hospital, 12 hours after the first visit, was because of family pressure. I knew I didn?t need to go but did so because they made me worry so I was only doing it to please them ? and was sent home (again). This time, we turned the phones off and cut off everyone as I knew my body would do what it should do naturally without stress/distractions. On the Friday morning, everything stopped! I went to acupuncture and came back home and watched our favourite DVD?s all afternoon and evening. Going to bed with no niggles or pains. Then in the early hours of Saturday morning, the ?hard labour? started. Again, I remained calm (and excited) and went to hospital after a couple of hours at home bouncing on my gym ball. There is no denying the labour is hard work and painful (I felt more exhausted rather than in pain) but the techniques I had learnt proved invaluable during each contraction. I gave birth to a healthy baby girl (8lb 12oz) at 12.12pm (10 hours after hard labour started) and used gas and air and a tens machine. I don?t remember the entire 10 hours, it felt like 3 hours to me and the visualisation techniques worked great for me. I got the labour I wanted, although did have complications with my placenta afterwards ? something which is fairly uncommon (retained placenta), but again, I tried to remain calm and think of my ?special place? and got through the most difficult part of the birth.
In summary, as you can tell from my experience, I found Natal Hypnotherapy fantastic. You find yourself asking yourself why birth and labour is so medicalised when 1000's of people a day in different parts of the world give birth to healthy babies without medication. The relaxation techniques I continue to use now and can be applied to anything (work, home, fears like flying or phobias and insomina).
Find out more here: www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk
I would definitely recommend!
All the best with your birth, Lynsey xxx