Didn't like Marie Mongan Hypnobirthing book - should I try Natal Hypnotherapy?

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I'm pregnant with DC2 and looking into hypnotherapy / natural birthing methods. Had quite a long and painful labour with dc1. Managed first 10 or so hours ok with tens and breathing / being active, but after that needed pain relief and ended up after about 22 hours with epidural and synto drip. Quite positive about epi / drip though as was total pain relief, dilated quickly after that and had an easy and intervention free second stage.

I read Marie Mongan Hypnobirthing but ended up feeling very upset by it. Felt I was being blamed for my difficult first labour, and that the pain was all in my head. Author seemed quite anti pain relief / medical intervention, which I think helped me in my first labour.

I read Ju Jun Sundin birth skills which I liked and made me feel much more positive, but as more active I'd still like to learn some relaxation type techniques. Have a pg yoga dvd with breathing techniques and have done some basic medidation, but still wondering about natal hypnotherapy cds.

Has anyone tried both hypnobirthing / natal hypno and found them to be different in emphasis? I don't want to try natal hypnotherapy if it ends up being something that upsets me and actually makes me feel worse about the idea of labour.

Ok so haven't actually used the natal hypnotherapy yet but I've just finished the Hypnobirthing and Natal Hypnotherapy books and really loved the Natal Hypno one. I did start a similar thread on this topic the other day which you can find here and got some really positive responses.

I read Marie Mongan's book before birth of DC2 and really liked it. I didn't feel like I was being blamed for my first, also difficult, birth. I actually understood why I had felt such pain and distress and it helped put me at ease during the second birth - to the extent that only one of the midwives believed i was actually in labour!
Will defo use for DC3 if I ever manage to get pregnant again (sigh).

I've used the natal hypnotherapy CD and booklet by Maggie Howell and found it useful despite being a massive skeptic. I tried a hypnotherapy class based on the Mongan method and thought it was a load of tripe with it's pain free birth message.

Ime, the main differences (massively simplified) are that Mongan seems to be suggesting you can control birth and make it painless which is a load of horse shit IMHO but natal hypnotherapy is more about trying to prepare yourself to help manage pain and cope with whatever labour brings.

Both have some fairly wanky bits, including the odd reference to orgasm during delivery hah! But natal hypnotherapy seems more honest to me.

I echo what Cath505060 says. The Effective Birth Preparation book by Maggie Howell is really down to earth and tells it like it is. She doesn't talk about eliminating pain but works to increase understanding about where all the physical sensations are coming from and what they're about, looks at the role of anxiety in pain and gives practical suggestions for remaining calm during labour and keeping the pain manageable. To my mind there's nothing "airy-fairy" about it. You can do workshops too if there is one running near you? And there are loads of CDs available.

I used a bit of both, did the MM hypnobirthing course, listened to her cd & skimmed through the book but I found it very American & her voice got on my nerves so I also got the Natal Hypno cd which was much better. Take only those things that you feel can positively help you from each method, the underlying message is the same but the presentation is very different.

It boils down to fear creating tension which leads to pain (or increased pain) so the more you can find methods to help you relax the better. Our MM teacher was very clear that its not meant to be anti pain relief but just teaching you how to cope with the situation whatever happens and by being able to focus & relax you'll just be more likely not to need as much pain relief as you otherwise might do.

I had DD2 3 weeks ago using my own cobbled together approach based on the theories in both methods, it was a totally different experience to DD1's birth where I hadn't known about hypnobirthing etc. It was amazing & I would do it again in a flash.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do :)

I went to a Natal Hypnotherapy workshop way back in 2007 and used it for a calm waterbirth at home for my first baby.... I also practised at home with the CD and the booklet that came with the CD. The natal hypno/ Maggie Howell book wasn't out at the time. AFTER I had my first baby, I actually read the Marie Mongan book as I wanted to learn more about it, and what was different about the two, and found I couldn't relate to it much at all. I totally understood that my body was made to birth my baby, but the pain-free aspect and the fact that it was also quite 'fluffy' to me really put me off. I only managed to read half the book, and had to put it away. Not sure if it really got me angry or upset, but I had friends who had difficult births (even though mine was very positive) and I too felt that this book said you didn't try hard enough to make it pain free. I found it hard to work with the rainbow relaxation, and got the giggles whenever it talked about fish nibbling at your feet or something like that? I didn't dare mention it to my husband, as he would have laughed me off the face of the earth. He is a real 'bloke'. The natal hypno book came out before I had my second, and I read it and really enjoyed it. It was honest, practical, talked that it may get intense but it could be a manageable experience - which made more sense to me. I also enjoyed understanding why we feel fearful, and lots of stories from real life mums etc in the book.... sorry, didn't mean to go on! I was trying to say yes, read the natal hypno book! They do CDs for all birth scenarios including preparing for a caesarean, so it's real, honest techniques rather than birth is just about doing it one particular way, sort of thing. Hope that helps! It made all the difference to my two experiences of birth, and I now buy the book as a congratulations pressie for all my girl friends who get pregnant, and they LOVE it. x

I wish they'd put natal hypnotherapy on iTunes.

Totally agree about the honest and practical vs the supposedly pain free and slightly blaming of anyone who fails to have a proper woo natural birth experience.

Just so yo know, The Mongan Method now has a soothing British voice to it and has never talked about controlling birth or making it painless. I'd say it is the antithesis of control actually -it's letting your body get on with it.

Thanks for your responses ladies. Will definately give the natal hypnotherapy a go.

Guinea, thanks, also read your thread which has some good info too (although has now turned into a bit of a fight - maybe they all need to use their relaxation techniques a little more?)

I don't think it's a fight. I think the HypnoBirthing lady just came across a bit cheesed off that the natal hypno people were lying about the HypnoBirthing content. There's no need for lying.

I hope it works out for you - perhaps report back?

I can report back, but not due til February! At least I have plenty of time to get the cds and have a listen.

I think that hypnotheraphy is a good way of managing fear. Childbirth is painful, but fear makes the pain even worse. What really helped me was to learn to live in the present. To allow the midwife to do the worrying for me about complications. There is no point in being anxious about something that you have absolutely no control over.

Hypnosis can reduce a person's perception of pain. (Ie. their pain threshold)
It is the secret of how people manage to run over red hot coals with bare feet and appear to feel no pain. Medical hypnosis has been used for full blown operations.

www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1174707,00.html

This link is someone with real courage.

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng_WWmsfQG4] Wisdom teeth extracted with just hypnosis]

I used the visualisation techniques while having my legs waxed or the numerous blood test that you have while pregnant. There is a lot to be said for practicing the techniques with something far less challenging for pain than childbirth.

I hated the Mongon book, found the natal hypnotherapy one much better and a lot more sensible. Listen to the CDs as much as you can, even if you think nothing's sinking in - I used to go to sleep about 2 minutes in and wake up at the end after the most relaxing rest ever! Anyway, when I did go into labour 10 days ago I stayed in our bedroom on my own (DH was at work and I was fine) listening to it on repeat - I didn't really feel ole I was doing anything in terms if the visualisations and breathing but the cd relaxed me so much that I just kept dozing between contractions. I was at 7cm when we got to hospital and lovely ds was born 40 mins later!!

ole = like

I read the Marie Mongan book and thought it was brilliant. I think you have to take it with a little pinch of salt in terms of having a totally pain free birth but I certainly know people who have claimed that they have had pain free births and I think it is definitely possible and why not aim for that? I have actually opted to do a self-study course with Danni Griffiths which uses her own work book and MP3s and which is very affordable. I have also had a couple of Skype sessions with Danni. I can't say whether it will work as I'm not due for another couple of months but the course has certainly helped me to have a very positive attitude towards birth, make some important decisions about where to have my baby and to feel relaxed and calm about the prospect of labour (and where I am having my baby there will be no option for an epidural). Good luck to anyone trying any of these methods. I think they are all great and just really hope it works for me. Will update you once I know! This is the website: www.tums2mums.com/

Coming late to this discussion but hope you have made up your mind and the comments have been helpful. I trained to teach Natal Hypnotherapy after teaching SO many women in my NCT classes who had used the CDs. Self-hypnosis, whatever the approach, really seems to help women feel more satisfied with their birth experiences and the increase in straightforward labour stories with those using Natal Hypnotherapy was enough to convince me to give it a go.

Also coming late to the discussion, but I've just got the Marie Mongan book out of the library (I didn't want to buy it in case I didn't like it, or in fact in case I end up with a c-section for a low placenta which is a possibility, will find out at 32 week scan soon.)

I'm also finding the pain-free message rather strange. Whilst I'm sure some mums do have a pain-free labour and birth, that doesn't mean EVERYONE could have, surely? She makes it sound like spoilt Westerners have worked themselves up to believe birth = pain and that's somehow a big myth. Of course lots of our ideas about birth are probably a bit weird but do women in all developing countries experience no pain? I doubt it!

With my first pregnancy I did NCT and was impressed by the idea of not talking about the "P" word, but it being "intense". I did perinatal yoga, loads of posture exercises and was almost looking forward to birthing. Then I went into labour and the pain was a huge shock, and in fact made me really sick. So it can't have been psychological or fear-based, because I had a very positive attitude beforehand and had prepared for an intervention free birth. In fact I ended up begging for an epidural after 16 hours on the tens machine!

Anyway, I will persist in reading the book for the sake of the techniques - but since it's from the library there's no CD. Should I buy one or can I make my own one up?