Does Hypnobirthing actually work??

[Luxmum]

Hello,
I've a VBAC planned for mid September, and wondered if it was of any use or just a waste of money? Some of the web sites sound sooo flakey, but I'd like to try something which will help me relax and approach this VBAC in a fairly calm manner..? So, has anyone used it, or did you forget all about visualising tropical islands when it actually came to pushing?

I don't know about hypnobirthing (though, having been hypnotised in the past, I'm sure it does work) but have a look at this thread. For me it was inspirational!

Hypnobirthing worked for me. Midwives kept commenting on how calm I was! I used G&A too from 5cm until the 2nd stage. Well worth the expense IMO. The Mongan Method of Hypnobirthing has a website - you can get a list of your local hypnobirthing instructors from there. You have to work on the exercises they give you to do at home between classes and listen to the CD they give you lots to get full benefit - it isn't just a matter of attending the classes then magically being able to achieve a deep state of relaxation during labour! I found the breathing techniques particularly helpful. Also when the going got really tough during the (2 hour!) pushing stage it helped me stay calm and not panic and also have the confidence that my body could do what it needed to do!

Oh I forgot to say I'm a cynic when it comes to stage hypnotism (don't reckon they could hypnotise me on stage) and not at all a hippy, flakey type!

I used the Natal hypnotherapy cd's - and there's a set especially for vbac- [natalhypnotherapy.co.uk] and I found it enormously helpful and only £50 for the set of cd's.
I ended up with a horrifying birth experience- emergency section without enough anaesthetic and the surgical team from hell- but I automatically used the techniques because I practiced loads and it sticks in your head.
Also I met a midwife who does hypnobirthing and she said it makes a huge difference.

It helped me with my 2nd
You definitely need to practice it a lot to get the full benefit

i did a course based on the Mongan method. it required alot of practise. i def did not end up with a birth like the Mongan cds advertised. things went wrong and i ended up begging for an epidural after being put on induction drip. however some of the visualisation and relaxation exercises we learnt really helped keep me calm and distract me.

The vids they show you are spooky and weird and the classes made me cackle but I found the breathing techniques very helpful with my third - having had a somewhat grotty labour with number 2 and having got self in an anxious state. I think it's worth doing.

I had a hellish birht with DS1 and was scared to getpregnant again. When I fanally plucked up the courage 3 1/2 years later DH and I began to panic. We went on a hypnobirthing course purely out of desperation.(it was the Mongon Method) It was brilliant. I learned so much more than I had on the NCT andNHS ante natal classes I'd had with DS1. It worked brilliantly, untill I became panicked. Waters suddenly breaking, bitch of a midwife.I had an hour of pain, demanded an epidural etc',untill DH insisted on playing the relaxation tape. It worked like magic. I'm really not good at aplying myself to things, but even I was able to lye around listening to relaxation tapes. A lot of it is to do with deep relaxation, visualisation, correct breathing,and feeling comfrtable and safe during labour.I was so cross with the hostpital that I vowed never to go back. DD was born at home. I used the Hypnobirthing tecniques I'd already learned, had a fantastic labour, and didn't need any pain relief. It is expensive, but I found it very worth while.

I used the Mongon method for birth no. 5 and must admit I forgot to do any of it

I used the natal hypnotherapy for birth no. 6 and although it wasn't pain free the methods really helped me to feel in control of the pain and not to panic. I was able to call on techniques taught.

More importantly I found listening to the cd pre birth enourmously relaxing and comforting. Infact it always made me fall asleep!!

You HAVE to listen to it alot though and your birth partner needs to be very familiarwih it too and needs to know how they can help you use it during labour.

Btw my last two births were vbacs 3 and 4 at home

I bought the natal hypnotherapy homebirth CD. Fell asleep almost every time I listened to it - enormously relaxing. DDs birth was brilliant, very relaxed, no pain relief, exhilirating and I'd LOVE to do it again. I used a lot of the relaxation, visualisation and breathing techniques that were on the CD. But I reckon all the other stuff also went in subconsiously as it seemed too easy. Must admit it all went out the window when it came to pushing. But I was only pushing for 6 mins.

I reckon a course would be great! They CD certainly helped with breathing and relaxing and was a pretty cheap way to do it.

Hi we have just had 12 hours of Hypnobirth teaching lessons with Katharine Graves - sounds a lot but really it's a great way to fully get you on the road do making this a daily habit in the run up to your birth!

We mainly decided to do hypnobirthing as i really would like if possible to have our baby at home, which fingers crossed, will be able to happen. I was scared about pain v lack of pain relief available while doing a home birth and thought this tecnique would be helpful in channeling energy v pain when I give birth..

I am 26 weeks preg now and trying to practice what we've been taught at least every other day.

I am convinced that I am sleeping much better now too which is GREAT when I haven't been sleeping well due to large bump!! DH reads positive scripts to me every night, before we both listen to the relaxation CDS and we practice breathing too.

In terms of positive mental attitude and drowning out the 'horror' stories I've been told by others about labour & birth ever since I've been pregs - it's really working !

I guess the test will be when I finally go into Labour in June!

I also feel that this for my DH has validated his role in our birth plan and made him feel far more included in the preparation for the impending birth It has also made us very very close and it's nice to share something very special. This is a good website if you're still thinking about HB. I defo recommend!!! www.thehypnobirthingcentre.co.uk/

To get the most benefit out of it, you'd need to give it 110% as somebody else said - do the course, practise loads.

On the other hand, me and two of my friends got a lot of mileage out of merely reading the Mongan book many times, listening to the accompanying CD many times and practising the techniques many times in the last couple of months. We all swear by it, but we were all fit and healthy and on our second baby, so it was probably going to be easier anyway.

We all enjoyed our second births and felt much more relaxed and in control, whereas our 1st births ranged from annoying to positively-out-of-control-and-nasty.

Yes and No. I wasn't in a hypnotic state visualising islands and stuff during the birth BUT I was was very calm and relaxed - and kept on commenting to the midwives how manageable it all was - and was having totally normal conversation with them between contractions - about random stuff!

Did use tens and G/A until I was ready to get into the pool and then didn't have anything (hospital didn't allow G&A in the pool) while he was born (was probably in pool for 45 mins). No tears, just a graze.

Also it was very quick (2nd birth) - got to hsopital I thought far too early (wouldn't really describe it as established labour) but DS born 2 hours later. It gave me a lot of confidence.

First birth was straightforward VB with no intervention but was pushing for ages and had tear.

spent ALOT of money on hypnobirthing one to one classes.....feel asleep every session....lovely sleeps, just extraordinarily expensive! Hope you have more luck than me.

My experience of hypnobirthing was great. Had DS2 at home in pool last June. I wasn't picturing waterfalls (!) but was calm, controlled and laughing with midwife in between contractions. DS2 was 8lb 9oz and born with no pain relief. Three hours later I was dressed and having tea with neighbours outside!

Recently stumbled across some video footage DP took immediately after the birth. We are all grinning like loons and I'm saying "Wow, that was cool!"

The key is to practice, practice and practice!

Worked a treat for me, pain free labour and birth (I did fell 4 painful contractions when I got confused after transition and tried not to push when my body was screaming push).

Didn't even consider not using it this time around and am hopeful of the same sort of birth as I had with DS1.

I used the Mongan Method which was slightly altered by my hypnotherapist and have used the same book/CDs this time around.

Love that I am actually looking forward to experiencing labour again rather than being worried about it.

I practice at least 2x a day and if the opportunity presents itself will pop my mp3 player in and drift off whenever I can.

I would say it depends on what you mean by 'works'. It didn't guarantee me an easy painfree labour by any means, but it did keep me calm and relaxed during the pregnancy, and gave me the resources to deal with a very difficult and very long labour. At first I was bitter that I'd put that much effort in and still had such a rotten time, but with hindsight I think that things could have been a lot more difficult if I hadn't prepared in that way. So I'd say it was worth doing.

It worked well for me (and I am a complete wuss) for first baby. I spent a very boring night in labour. Of course you need to practise (it's not a magic wand) but it's all about being calm and in control. The relaxation during pregnancy is also supposed to cause the baby to be relaxed too.

I have not used Hypnobirthing so I can not speak for that technique, but I have used Natal Hypnotherapy for all five of my births and found the technqiques have worked extremely well.

As someone else has said what does the term "does it work" mean? Does hypnosis for birth guarantee a pain free expereince? no, does it guarantee a natural birth? no.

However it does help you be more relaxed, overcome fears of birth, teach you to work with your body and not fight it. It helps you take time out during your pregnancy to truly relax and bond with your baby and it helps you feel like you are doing something positive to help you prepare for the birth, putting you back in control.

The vast majority of people who use hypnosis for birth gain some benefit, and many get tremendous benefit, feeling like they have had a really positive birth experience.
Tens of thousands of women have used Natal Hypnotherapy so for the price of a CD you have nothing to loose!

I did a hypnobirthing course whilst pregnant with DS, and I can honestly say that it took away many of my fears about giving birth. My DH is really good at hypnosis as well, which helped. With the actual labour, it did help me for hours, but DS turned out to be in a back to back, brow presenting position with a head size that was just off the scale at all the scans, plus an arm over said big head, and I only reached 10cm momentarily, and in this time had an epidural, syntocin, etc etc before they decided he was brow presenting. I then had a c-section.

Now, like you I have a VBAC "planned" for mid October, and would like to use all the hypnobirthing methods again, however, I can't see me going into it with the same fearlessness because I now know firsthand what can go wrong and what a traumatic experience birth can be. At the same time I have to remember that every birth is different, and as far as I am aware there is no reason why I can not give birth naturally and I think the hypnobirthing will help. There is no question that hypnosis can help with pain management - we held ice cubes in the class as an experiment, quite amazing.

You have to practice lots of lots with your other half (which might prove even more difficult for us this time), that is really important.

It helps you cope with the pain I think (or possibly the placebo effect does). I found using G&A (just before transition) broke my concentration so doing it again I wouldn't use G&A and felt much better when I stopped.

I bought a cd for homebirthing (I think they're all essentially the same) for about £12 I think. I also bought a cd of the music that plays in the background to have on during the birth.

I got to fully dilated without any pain relief other than TENS (which I actually found an irritation rather than relief but was too scared to take it off in case it was working!) and birthing pool (which was 100 x better than TENS).

I had practised a bit half-heartedly sleeping listening to the cd but in labour I did visual turning down the pain dial... which looked like the controls for the hob on my mum's old cooker from the 80s... at first turning it down, then wrenching and smashing the ancient cooker on the floor. I found that helpful

Had DC3 since i posted earlier. I did not achieve pain free birth, but I was so calm and i was coping so well that midwife didn't think I was in established labour until my waters went and DC3 born minutes later. I did use tens and G%&A. As a result did not get my waterbirth (no time to fill pool!)

I would definitely recommend hypnobirthing, having used the Mongan method for DS2's birth at home last June.

I was a bit cynical and thought it all sounded a bit like alternative hippy nonsense but after a couple of classes I was converted. You have to practice every day to really perfect the techniques. But it is totally worth the effort and expense.

Although I wasn't visualising sandy beaches etc, I was able to make myself very relaxed and felt completely in control. I had absolute confidence that I was going to achieve the calm birth that I wanted. Lots of laughing and joking throughout labour and almost pain-free, apart from the actual delivery. I look back on my labour with very positive happy thoughts.

If you're looking for a way to remain calm and focused during labour, no matter what path your labour takes, then hypnobirthing is it.

After a tricky time with DS, bought a natal hypnotherapy cd on ebay and was WELL worth the money.
Just gave birth a few weeks ago to DD on only gas and air, and she weighed in at a hefty 10lb 10.5oz!!!!

well done mummymellie - that is great news! one of mine was a good 10lb'er so I can relate - however I still had a wonderful natal hypnpotherapy birth with him as well.