Hypnobirthing and hormone drip

[Decaffstilltastesweird]

Hello!

Just wondering if anyone has used hypnobirthing with an induction with the hormone drip and how that went?

I am currently pregnant with dc2. I am going to be under a consultant due to last birth, (shoulder dystocia, traumatic birth after induction with pessary and hormone drip). The mw said that it is likely I will be induced at term or maybe term + one week as they think that DC1 was a little big for me (induced at term + two weeks), which explains the shoulder dystocia. I'm all for it, except, in an ideal world I'd go into labour spontaneously and hypnobirth my way through a lovely, whale song, water birth .

If I'm going to be induced early, I suspect they will need the hormone drip? If so, I'd like to avoid an epidural this time round as I hated being immobile last time. But I am wondering; is hypnobirthing likely to work as an alternative to an epidural with a hormone drip? I think hypnobirthing is all to do with your body's natural contractions / surges? Hormone drip (from my hazy memory) isn't so natural.

I also have to have IV anti-biotics during labour due to previous strep b baby.

You can use hypnobirthing techniques in any birth situation so long as you are conscious. I think it's more to do with your mindset, and how you cope with any given scenario. You adapt the hypnobirthing to suit your needs and wants. I just did the bits that appealed to me such as picturing certain things in my head, calm breathing, going floppy if I was feeling tense, counting etc. It really helped keep me calm and anxiety-free.

I was induced, with the drip and everything. I didn't have an epidural because I was worried that might slow things down and my waters had been gone for days. I was pretty immobile anyway, due to constant fetal monitoring. The hypnobirthing was a welcome distraction from that as I just closed my eyes and went 'into' myself.

It ended up in an emergency c-section, but I was pretty calm for that too. I think the hypnobirthing helped with how I felt. I'm glad I did it.

Thanks Edgar. That's really helpful. Especially the fact that you felt calm despite emergency CS. I panicked last time when we had to go to theatre (for ventouse). Would have been great not to have that panic.

I was induced had the pessary, followed by drip and had done some hypnobirthing.
I felt it's worth doing to keep you calm both before and during the birth and if all had gone to plan I would have tried to stick with it and not bothered with an epidural.
However my red line was always to opt for an epidural if I was going on the drip. A friend of mine who is an obstetrician said that this was a sensible choice as it is not normal labour as the contractions are artificial and can be extremely strong.
It did take a while to get the epidural however and although even with just the pessary I was not in screaming agony - the hypnobirthing/tens machine really was not cutting it and I was very adamant that I wanted an epidural before going on the drip. I'm sure you're already aware but with an epidural you can control the drugs entering your system yourself. You might not be able to walk around - although in some hospitals this is possible - however you don't have to be completely out for the count or unable to move your legs either.
Personally I really would fight for an epidural if you are going on the drip and get it in beforehand as apparently the contractions can be too strong to get the epidural in once the drip starts.

I used the bit of hypnobirthing practice i had done to get through induction/waters being broken/drip/pushing with mostly gas and air and a bit of diamorphine as i was very tired

i remember, just, breathing through contractions and 'turning' them down

Hi! How big was your previous baby?

AFAIK there is evidence that inducing suspected big babies reduces the risk of shoulder dystocia, but this is if the induction happens between 37 to 38+6 weeks. It might seem to someone like a good idea to induce at 40 or 41 weeks, but I don't think there's actual evidence this will reduce your chances of shoulder dystocia. If there's no good evidence, you need to weigh up the risks and benefits of the induced labour!

I'd be asking for a growth scan at 37 weeks and, if the baby really is big, to be induced 38-39 weeks when there's evidence it might actually do some good. (This isn't personal advice, etc etc etc!)

In terms of your actual question (!): Hypnobirthing is great. It will help you stay calm and feel in control whatever happens - if it gets to the point where it's not enough for you, go for the epidural - there are a lot of benefits to hypnobirthing beyond a "pain relief-free labour". But having had a baby before you may not need the pessary, or the hormone drip, or may only need a little - plenty of women do manage without an epidural.

My DC1 was born under similar circumstances - induction, drip, shoulder dystocia. Horrific - BUT, for DC2 I was under midwife led care (after an initial chat with a consultant) and had a lovely water birth. Do you WANT to be under a consultant and be induced? Absolutely fine if you do of course, but you don't have to be, if you don't want to be. (Apologies if you know this - it's not meant to be judgemental and I'm firmly in the 'women should do whatever makes them most comfortable camp'! I just know women aren't always aware that they have choices in this stuff.)

Hypnobirthing did fuck all for me, except leave my wallet lighter and me with an abject sense of failure. Mobile epidurals should be routinely available now - have you asked about those?

I hypnobirthed with a hormone drip. Active labour was 36.5h, gas and air & she was born with 2 pushes. It was very calm and exactly what I wanted aside from we had to be moved from the room with a pool due to an issue I cant remember

Thanks all for comments.

DC1 was by no means enormous; 8lbs 1oz. The last mw I spoke to did mention the possibility of having growth scans. She seemed to think 8lbs was actually quite large. I thought that was sort of medium-sized, but I was comparing that to my teeny, tiny sil who has birthed three 10 pounders with no bother at all . I am tall and broad, but still, DC1 got stuck. I was a very small baby, as were my siblings. So I wonder if I have a genetically narrow birth canal. Is that even a thing? No idea. I will ask the consultant.

I am very happy to be under consultant care. Mainly because they will have access to my notes from last time. Despite a birth debrief and conversations with several midwives, there is still a lot I don't understand from the last birth. It will be helpful to have a HCP actually look at the notes and explain what (if anything) any of it means for this birth. I will wait to see what happens at the first appointment with the consultant. They may say there's no need for consultant care and send me back to the mws.

Thanks again all.