Hypnobirthing, hypnobabies, Bradley method etc

[rubyred84]

Hi all, this is my first post on this site, or any similar site for that matter, so please be gentle with me!

I am 8 weeks pregnant with my first baby and due to being terrified, am trying to look at positive birthing methods to ease my anxiety. My fear is not based around labour itself, but any intervention of any kind (apart from EMCS). I'm therefore hoping the more relaxed and prepared I am, the less likely intervention will be needed. (I do know that each labour is different and nothing can be planned....this is my exact fear!!).

I've started looking into the above techniques with the idea of using these in conjunction with a possible water birth to help me.

Do any of you ladies have any experience of these methods or others (I know there are quite a few!). Happy to hear positive or not so positive stories, but please no judgement, I truly am terrified and trying to work though my fears!!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

If you aren't scared of EMCS, would it be worth considering a ELCS? Without knowing what your fear is regarding intervention it's hard to know whether that would be a viable option or whether it would be just as bad...

My sister and another friend both did pregnancy yoga and both said that the breathing techniques really helped them to stay calm and relaxed (in as much as it's possible during birth!). Maybe find a local class?

They both also looked at DVDs for hypno birthing and chose a few things but didn't go whole heartedly down that route.

I on the other hand did none of them and I think, given your fears, that it's best I don't divulge how my labour ended up!

Have you spoken to your midwife? She may be able to help alleviate some of your fears?

Just thought, maybe a doula could be another option?

Maybe consider a home birth if you're low risk.
I had a homebirth for first baby and found it very relaxing to be in my own environment and very much in control.

Lookslike, thanks so much for your reply. At the moment to be honest I am thinking about an ELCS, I understand that a certain amount of fear of childbirth is totally normal, but everytime I try and think about it I end up crying hysterically and getting in a real mess. I'm definitely entertaining the idea, and am fully aware of the risks, but I really want to try and enjoy the next 7 months, and don't know if I will with the way I'm feeling.

My fear is intervention (particularly forceps, episiotomy and resulting tearing), and long term effects of intervention. I have been trying to educate myself (I have read stories but have also looked at facts and figures), and what I can't get my head around is the fact anything could happen to me or the baby. I'm not scared of the pain; if someone could guarantee me that it will although it will be extremely painful, I won't need any intervention and would only have small minor tears, I wouldn't be as worried, but unfortunately no one can guarantee this to anyone .

I supposed im trying to make the most informed and safe choice, but know that if I can't relax, I'm only going to make it more difficult for myself.

I will definitely look at some pregnancy yoga, that's a great idea!

Archangel, thanks for your reply. Yes I have thought about this too, as I know chances of intervention are much less. I feel like I'm going to end up with one extreme or the other at the moment!!

I was the other way round to you. I went to all the classes, heard about all of the interventions and told myself that I'd not need any of those and that I'd be fine. As it turned out, my labour played out pretty much like your worse fears, with a bit extra chucked in for good measure that I really don't think will help for you to hear!

Having said that, I'm still here!! The long term implications of intervention do depend on how severe it was. My best friend also ended up with forceps but didn't have the experience I did and happily went on to have a second VB with no intervention.

Problem is, with the ELCS, you are still not guaranteed a safe and risk free birth. I think it does alleviate some of the stress and anxiety though. I'm afraid each birth has it's risks.

However, if it's causing you this much stress and anxiety so early, then perhaps it is worth discussing your options with your midwife asap. All that worry can't be good for either of you!

Ive not done the childbirth bit yet (currently 34+2) but have been practicing hypnobirthing techniques, after i found an online course that really made sense to me and is making me feel much more confident about the big day- obviously there are loads of courses, so this isnt an endorsement as such, but the one ive used is the calm birth school- give it a google :)

Hi, and congrats on your pregnancy! I hypnobirthed with my DS and would really recommend it for helping you feel relaxed in the run up to the birth. It definitely can't hurt-you can find courses everywhere now or there are CDs and books available. I did a course at st Thomas's in London - you could even look at private sessions that can deal with your individual fears.

I too was v keen to avoid intervention but did end up with a ventouse delivery as bubba wasn't shifting :-). Honestly, I was a bit gutted about it but I knew there was absolutely nothing I could have done differently. As others have said, speak to your midwife as they might be able to refer you to counseling first. Good luck!!

Get a couple of cheap hypnobirthing cds off eBay. I havnt quite got to the birth yet to tell you if it helped me, but I'm finding it relaxing and positive during late pregnancy. Plus was the only way i could get to sleep around 30-35 weeks

I was into the whole hypnobirthing idea (used the CDs through my pregnancy). I really wanted a water birth, but nature had different ideas. I ended up high risk and was advised against birthing in the midwife led unit. Then ended up being induced, hooked to a monitor throughout my labour then the delivery ended up being a slightly frantic forceps job (with episiotomy) as baby was in some distress. And you know what, it was absolutely fine. Only needed gas and air (plus local anaesthetic injection for the forceps, like you'd get at the dentist only applied down below!). No after effects from episiotomy, no real pain it's healed perfectly and frankly I don't even know exactly where it was, it was a complete non-issue.

I had (TMI alert) a bit of trouble with continence (both types!) for first couple of months - nothing awful, just when I wanted to go I had to go!! But speaking to other friends who had no interventions or tearing they also suffered same thing and it all got back to normal.

I actually enjoyed the labour, I think hypnobirthing really helped with anxiety and perhaps also with managing pain (but can't claim it was magic).

I definitely wasn't as anxious as you sound beforehand but I just want to reassure you that a messy, intervention-heavy birth can still be a positive experience. I was quite anxious in early pregnancy (about the whole thing - pregnancy, birth, being a mum!) and I don't know if it was the hormones or just coming to terms with everything but I felt less anxious rather than more as it got closer to the birth.

I second the idea of contacting a doula or a hypnobirthing practitioner - you can't control your birth, but you can control how you feel about it.