Does hypnobirthing work?

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

Currently pregnant with number 2- had a natural birth with number 1, didn’t tear, rip or need to be cut, it didn’t last for days and I know how lucky I was, but I am petrified of the pain to give birth naturally again. The thought of it makes me cold to my core!
Does hynobirthing work? Otherwise I’m thinking fuck if Epidural me up!

I found it really helpful. I used hypnobirth cds in pregnancy (old days, it'd be a podcast how!) and found a lot of the imagery useful in labour (and still hold the analogies in my mind when stressed or anxious in life).

What I found really, really helpful was attending active birth classes. I used all the techniques in labour and they wer eV much about helping you cope rather than helping you achieve a perfect birth so v applicable to any circumstance.

Fwiw, I found everything much easier to cope with psychologically in my second (and subsequent) labours, partly because you have a good idea of how things progress etc.

If you do choose to try it, avoid the Mongan method.

I tried hypnobirthing and used the Mongan method. It made things worse. Thankfully, I discovered other practitioners before dc2!

I found it really helpful to learn how the hormones work in labour. Especially the fact that getting scared causes Adrenalin to have a negative impact on your labour and slow it down.

I had a long hard labour with weirdly long contractions but the hypnobirthing kept me calm, so much that when I got into hospital they found I'd fully dilated at home. I had lots of gas and air once in hospital and the final stage was very painful (plus I needed ventouse) but the HB kept me completely calm. So although labour very painful I never felt scared and I think that that's what is so good about HB.

Utterly useless during labour/birth for me. It helped me to relax beforehand and I enjoyed the courses but when it came to it everything went out the window.

I know that some people find hypnobirthing really helpful, but unfortunately I found it useless. In fact, worse than useless.
I listened to the Marie Mongan mp3s at night and read her book (and studiously underlined parts and went back and re-read etc.) I also did the online hypnobirthing course offered by the Positive Birth Company, and attended pregnancy yoga classes which had a strong hypnobirthing element.
Anyway, I was induced as it turns out my baby didn't know when to arrive, and it turns out my body didn't know what to do (why should it? My uterus is not a sentient being). Baby got distressed as soon as I went into labour. I ended up on the drip, epidural, forceps.
The thing is, my care from the midwives and doctors was fantastic. I did not have an easy birth but I was well cared for, when I requested pain relief (breathing techniques didn't do anything at all) I got it straight away. When the epidural stopped working on one side the anaesthetist came straight back to try to fix it.
However I developed terrible PND afterwards and I believe that was in large part down to all of my hypnobirthing practice. It sold me a false ideal of birth. Also I think it slightly fetishises birth - birth isn't always this amazing empowering thing, and that's ok. Being a mum is an amazing empowering thing. I used to follow a lot of hypnobirthing instagram accounts and I had to stop. The Positive Birth Company one posts birth stories and includes comments like 'No pain relief [prayer hands']' which makes me so cross.

Anyway sorry for the rant! But I suspect there are a lot of women out there for whom hypnobirthing has not only been useless, but damaging. If I am lucky enough to have dc2 I will try for a natural birth but I will have absolutely no worries if I end up needing intervention.

Maybe I’m thinking it’s some miracle cure for pain

There is one, it's called an epidural.

I personally found it really useful. I used the Positive Birth Company Digital pack. It gave me confidence and skills to stay calm and manage pain. I had a homebirth with a pool and a TENs machine and it was wonderful and I think hypnobirthing was to thank for that.

For me personally, it undoubtedly helped me for both births. 2nd one was born at home and I held my shit together pretty well even when the midwives nearly didn't make it in time 🙈

it helped early on with first labour but as it was very long and drawn out eventually no use. My body was not playing ball.

However for 2nd labour it was very useful.

I'd always recommend as worth a go.

@Emelene I'm really happy for you that your birth was so straightforward, and I hope that my second birth is like that. However, I think it's important to acknowledge that you were able to give birth at home and also it sounds like your labour progressed without any cause for concern. Those things just come down to good old luck. The fact that you kept calm etc - I'm sure hypnobirthing was really helpful. But I think it's important that people understand that we all get dealt a certain set of cards when we go into labour, and you were dealt much better ones than I was, and no amount of hypnobirthing is going to change that.

Hi @ClematisRose - I'm sorry you had a rough time and I hope your second pregnancy goes well.

But I was answering the OP's question about whether people have found hypnobirthing helpful. I really did and I've shared my experience.

I know @Emelene but I think the problem is when people think that they had a bad birth because they didn't use hypnobirthing properly. When in fact, so much of it is down to luck. I wasn't trying to be critical at all, and I'm glad you found it helpful. I would have absolutely loved to have a birth like yours, but I didn't, it was a nightmare, and hypnobirthing was actually really damaging to my mental health.

Hello,

I am also interested in hypnobirthing and wondering when is the best time to start the digital download pack? I'm currently 20 weeks so wasn't sure if that is too soon.

Thanks

There is one, it's called an epidural this is defo my main option atm- but I am worried about needing to have forceps and be cut. Is it a cop out when I had an “easy” labour last time it’s just that my pin threshold is so low

@OnlyFoolsnMothers Ask your midwife but I'm fairly sure the chances of forceps after a previous vaginal birth are fairly low.

Also, an epidural is never a cop out.

I did hypno with my 3rd and I loved it. Really found it effective until the second stage then I lost it.

It depends what you mean by 'work'. I did enjoy learning more about what your body actually does (or should do) during labour and birth, and whilst in labour did find it calmed me a bit. I still ended up having emergency surgery though and it was bloody painful, so perhaps it failed in that regard. If you approach it as another tool to broaden your knowledge that might help then it's worthwhile, if you're hoping it will take all of the pain away and ensure no intervention then probably not. Personally I would do it (there are free courses online, I wouldn't pay), but also be prepared for an epidural etc if I wanted one.

I agree clematis that hypnobirthing can be very damaging but I think it depends on how it is taught. Our teacher told us to avoid being induced at all costs so I was completely unprepared for it and she basically encouraged us to go in ready for a bit of a fight and challenge everything. She was messaging me all these quotes about mums who go to 42 weeks plus when I was overdue but the midwives told me it was best for me and baby as my blood pressure was high and babies heartbeat was slightly irregular. I was induced for 4 days and I ended up on the drip and had an epidural and felt like a total failure, even though I did what was best for me and the baby. Second time around, I got to 7cms but my waters had gone over 24 hours before so had to have the drip again. A lot of my friends have had great births and really push hypnobirthing and often say things in our group like 'well done, no pain relief you warrior' and 'just breathe and believe.' Even when I was in hospital this time, they were messaging saying don't give up hope, you might still get a natural birth, push for the birthing unit- it was closed because of Covid! One friend was also encouraging anther friend to have a home birth so that the temptation of an epidural wouldn't be there. She's not shown any interest in my birth story. I remember someone saying well done to me and I thought why? I didn't have a natural birth, as if I didn't deserve that. I've had IVF, three miscarriages and an ectopic on my journey to have children and yet I still feel like I failed in some way and like I could've tried harder.

It's not a magical pain reliever, to me it's just empowering you with knowledge and helping you keep calm. I agree I think it's how it's taught as I was told not create a birth plan but birth preferences instead, to keep an open mind and have pain relief options well researched. I had put in mine that I would have an epidural if the pain got bad or I got too tired. I didn't go into it attempting to have the most 'natural birth' possible with no drugs.

@mama202
That's awful, you sounds like you had a really hard journey becoming a mum too. Your birth should be celebrated. Every women experience is unique and as valid as the next regardless of the type of birth it was. I know what you mean about them getting you to challenge everything I got that a bit my course too, use your 'brains' but in the end I just felt it was best to trust the medics around me who'd delivered lots of babies before I wasn't going to refuse the ventouse to get my baby out.

It sounds like your approach was much more sensible and realistic pink. I did a lot of reading myself so I think I was prepared for different outcomes and actually handled it well as I understood everything and made the right decisions but just felt like a failure in the sense that I didn't have the pain free, natural birth that our Hypno teacher was suggesting we would have. That's all we were shown videos of, women in the birthing pool looking completely calm and serene and told to highlight no pain relief on our birth plans. Interestingly two of our group hired her as a doula and both had to have ECS and aren't hiring her second time around!

I agree about the potential to be damaging. My first dc was in a terrible position, unbirthable in fact and I had a difficult first delivery with every intervention going, crash Cs in the end and a haemorrhage. When pregnant with my 2nd, I looked back at the hypno book to see how to prep for another poorly positioned baby should it happen and was delighted to read that poorly positioned babies were due to the negative thoughts of the mother. Nice. My fault entirely then.

Not all hypnobirthing practitioners are created equally.

I also have a relative who swore by hypnobirthing and had 4, calm, easy drug free births and she said it was down to hypnobirthing. Her fifth was in a poor position and she had an emcs after a very difficult labour. She says she's very careful to point out now that it's merely a tool in an arsenal and the mechanics of labour are down to chance. It was near useless during her fifth delivery but useful for after pains apparently!

I did the positive birth company online course and found it very helpful.
I had a long labour mainly in the birthing pool and in the end had a third degree tear, so not the best and not the worst.
I will likely have a c-section next time but would do hypnobirthing again.
I had to have a speculum examination a few weeks ago which I struggled with and found myself going back to my hypnobirthing tools (breathing etc).
I appreciated the scientific background to the positive birth company course (how hormones work etc)
My outlook was if it helps 5% it was worth it.
Sorry, that’s all a bit disjointed and not nicely written but hopefully you catch my drift.

It helped me with breathing and concentrating on that rather than wanting to have a little scream. There's no harm in having a go.
I used the Maggie Howell hypnobirthing from ITunes.
I found sitting on the birthing ball and leaning on the bed better! Could I hell lie or sit on a bed! 🤣
I was induced and needed constant monitoring and couldn't go very far! So just done that along with the gas and air.
Do what you have to do, to give birth! You get no medals for not using pain relief x

To be frank, I don’t think it does. Unpopular opinion here but I honestly think the people it works for would have been relatively ok anyway. I was so open minded about it but think there’s a real danger that it’s just people peddling businesses.

I do however think yoga is very good for the pre-birth anxiety, getting baby in position etc and general well being. But I would write a birth plan which caters for the bit where you lose your shit and need pain relief, I don’t care what anyone says childbirth is painful. Calling it ‘pressure’ does not change that!

I’m going to explore epidurals in greater detail. My first pregnancy I honestly thought if so many women go through this it can’t be that bad- HA! as I said I had a textbook easy labour, so I feel a fraud in someways but I can’t go through it again drug free!