Hypno-birthing

[CumbrianYellowBee89]

Hi all,

For those that have tried it...are hypno birthing courses worth the cost?

It seems a lot to fork out and with money being tight I want to know if it's worth going for before we spend so much on it...

Agree with everyone - the PBC are great. Personally I didn't pay and just used the free content. I also read YOUR BABY YOUR BIRTH and listened to their free mp3s. Money doesn't have to be a barrier

I had DD2 two months ago and it was amazing. So much calmer and I felt I was psychologically ready for birth unlike the very long hard labour with DD1 (when on reflection I was scared throughout). Personally I found the science of hypnobirthing useful to understand. While not pain free i felt uncomfortable at moments but the sensations were part of the natural process of labour and only transient. I would also highly recommend reading / watching lots of positive birth stories

Just seen on another thread that there's a discount on the PBC digital pack so it's only £20.
(Yes, I bought it. Yes, it's better than the taught course I went to)

I listened to audio hypnobirthing things when pregnant and insomniac with DD, it helped get me through sleepless nights and was soothing but all went out the window when labour actually began I'm afraid.

I thought contractions would start up slowly and give me a chance to sort of ground myself but they were pretty brutal from the get go!

I just don't understand how they can justify charging £200 plus for a course, it's like holding you to ransom!

I used hypnobirthing, some CDs totalling £40 from amazon. It was useful. Helped me occupy my mind and keep in control instead of all out panic!

However I do think it’s a shame that hypnobirthing is so widely known when optimal foetal positioning is far more important and has a much greater impact on how your labour will progress. The difference in pain between a back to back birth versus the ideal position is enormous -from feeling like you are dying to, well, passing a really big poo!

If you are interested OP, look at spinningbabies.com and spent £20 on downloading their exercise video.

Back to back positioning has become incredibly common in first time mums due to sitting and driving positions, more awareness is needed to help women avoid it.

I did an NHS hypnobirthing course (and was provided with a book and downloads by Katharine Graves). 100% worth the money. The relaxation and breathing techniques were what I utilised most. Echoing a PP, I learnt far more about the labour process than I did in the regular antenatal classes. DH also learnt better/more support skills.

My community midwife advised me to "do whatever I needed to in order to give birth without fear, because fear increases pain". Hypnobirthing definitely did the job.

Hypnobirthing didn't make my labour pain free, but it did relax me and it made the experience manageable. I had a long labour, but I managed at home with a TENS machine until I started feeling as though I needed to push (neither I or the midwives thought I was as far along as I was - I got to the hospital 9 cm dilated!). I used a birthing pool plus gas and air in hospital and genuinely didn't feel as though I needed any other pain relief. I would be very happy to have the same experience again.

I am pro hypnobirthing even though it didn’t work out for me (I know where I went wrong with it)

I wouldn’t pay for a course, I would go with everyone’s recommendations to teach it yourself and online. I paid too much for a one on one course that I wasn’t feeling and I think after the traumatic birth I was left with a feeling that I had failed to bring my baby into the world in a relaxing way for him and it brought on some PND.

I think it's great. It's a way to keep calm whatever is happening. Obviously it can't birth your baby for you but it gives really great techniques to cope.

The positive birth company pack is £20 today compared to the regular £35- I can't remember the discount code but if you google it should be there.

I didn't buy a course but instead read Your Baby Your Birth by Hollie de Cruz which had everything I needed to understand the skills! It also comes with two free audiotracks.

This book completely changed my outlook!

I am an advocate of Hypno-birthing. I live in rural France so no access to a class. I purchased a 'book' on audible quite close to the birth of #4 (now 18 months). Despite three previous labours I was keen to 'hone my skills' with number four :-) I benefit from very fast (although furious) births and with #4 she arrived less than 10 minutes after we got to the hospital. Medicated pain relief has never been an option with any of my births but I would 100% say that hypno-birthing taught me to listen to my body and use controlled breathing. I felt the pain but this time I absolutely knew that I was in control of it. Ultimately, I would buy the audio book and listen avidly and trust yourself and (without wishing to sound airy fairy) believe that your body can do amazing things! The £300 may be better spent on a recovery weekend away after the birth - Good Luck with everything :-)

Another recommendation for the Positive Birth Company online course. I had a very positive birth experience and I credit the breathing techniques and the positive affirmations for that. I also had the experience of the midwives not realising how far along my labour was as I was so calm. Nor did my husband, who later admitted that he thought I was being a baby and that we’d be sent home when I told him we had to drive to the hospital at 11pm. Little did he know I was well into established labour and our son was born 3 hours after arriving at the hospital. The speed of it all caught my husband quite off guard as I’d managed the early phase of labour at home so well.

Great for relaxation but if like me you end up with a breech and planned c-section you may as well have chucked the £250 out the window

@mooglycrunch hypnobirthing can be just as helpful for a c section!

Where can I find the positive birth company discount code? Thanks