Has anyone used Natal Hypnotherapy CDs? Did they help during labour?

[Dalrymps]

Hey i'm overdure at the moment, my due date was 16th Oct, have been listening to a natal hypnotherapy cd by Maggie Howel to prepare for the birth, just wondering if anyone has used these or any other type and found it helpfull during labour?

but would still do them again for the relaxation and the birth was fine - sorry realised how negative that sounded.

I've been listening to the natal hypnotherapy CD for the last few weeks (am 36 weeks pregnant now) and they've been brilliant in helping me to destress, sleep deeply and look forward to the birth. Having said that, it has SUCH a profound effect that I've yet to stay awake until the end - even when I listen first thing in the morning! I hope that means it's doing a good job...

for those interested peoplle asking about marie mongan's hypnobirthing- i would say reading the book and listening to the CD is pretty much as good as the course, which is a lot of money for essentially just taking you through relaxation exercises that if you were committed enough you could do in your own time. that said, we didnt get much out of the course cos the wording was all so hippy dippy that we couldnt really get into it. i think the breathing methods and just the relaxed approach that the book gives you is really the most i got out of the whole thing, course included..having said that, ive done done the actual birth thing yet!!

I used Natal Hypnotherapy and am a huge fan!

I had the natural, home birth of my dreams without medication. After being terrified of giving birth after watching ?One Born Every Minute?, a friend recommended ?Natal Hypnotherapy? to me. I booked on Dot Parry?s course in Manchester!

My husband and I did the ?Natal Hypnotherapy? day workshop when I was 27 weeks and from thereon I practiced with the CD almost every day for either 40 minutes or 15 minutes depending on how much time I had. As the workshop recommended, I wrote out some affirmations that resonated well with me and posted them in various places round my house. Affirmations such as ?All I need to do is relax and breathe? or ?I know my baby feels my calmness and confidence?.

Before doing the course and reading widely about the natural process of giving birth, I guess that I had believed the idea which I think is prevalent in society that somehow humans weren?t made for giving birth; that we were somehow deficient in this area! However, after learning all I could about birth and doing all the hypnotherapy practice as the course and the CD recommended when I went into labour, I was very confident that my body would be able to birth my baby, just as my body knew how to grow my baby. I knew that my body was perfectly designed to have my baby, if only I would relax!

I had my favourite chilled tunes playing in the background throughout my active labour and the lights in the room were dimmed with fairy lights creating a calm atmosphere. The water was invaluable but the self-hypnosis gave me absolute confidence that I could do it.

The Natal Hypnotherapy gave me a battery of tools to help me relax. Because I was well prepared and had practiced the techniques, these tools came to me easily and naturally when I was in labour.

There were several different visualisations that I used in conjunction with my breathing, for example imagining looking out towards a beautiful red sunset across the sea. I imagined that the sea was a little choppy but with my outbreath, I was able breathe out a thread of golden light to calm the sea so it lay perfectly still. I also imagined a dial which could turn the intensity of the contraction down from 10 to 1. It gave my mind something to do other than panicking or focusing on the sensations. The ?natal hypnotherapy? explained about the ?self-doubt phase? where many women think ?I can?t do this!?.
While it never occurred to me that I couldn?t do it, the sensations were definitely stronger than I ever imagined! Despite this, I found that I had all the tools to help me deal with the pain. I had read Ina May Gaskin?s book ?A Guide to Childbirth? which talked about ?orgasmic births?. The ?natal hypnotherapy? course also promoted the idea that the sensations could be enjoyed. After each contraction, I knew the importance of welcoming each sensation as opposed to dreading it as I knew that it was bringing me closer to my baby.

My husband Dave was taught on the course how to help me and how to remind me to be calm using the 3-2-1 relax cue and how to use, touch, massage and breathing. I know that some men can feel helpless during the birthing process but the course gave us tools to ensure that he was an invaluable part of the process.

The midwives in attendance couldn?t believe how calm I was, especially for my first baby. My mum also attended the birth. Initially, she had been very against me having a home birth and was very sceptical about the benefits of using hypnotherapy for birth but she is now a firm convert and tells everyone how wonderful it was and how calm I was!

Matilda Rose was born on Christmas Eve, 5 days before her due date, a perfectly healthy 6lbs 3oz. My wonderful midwife, Hayley Greenwood knew the techniques that I was using and was very supportive. She guided me only to trust my instincts and didn?t give me any commands to ?push?. Because of this, I took my time and I did not even tear. Having such a smooth confident delivery without medication enabled me to be up and about very quickly. People couldn?t believe it when I put her in the sling on Boxing Day and went for a walk with my husband, our first family outing!

I would strongly recommend Natal Hypnotherapy. So many people have negative birth stories to tell but I am convinced that my birth went so well because I prepared effectively for it. I did not just leave it to chance or hand over the control of my birth to doctors. I would others to do the practice as this course recommends in order to give your baby the very best start possible.

Yes, I used it and it helped me be much calmer going into childbirth, something which I had felt an out of control panic about in the early days. Definitely worth doing x

hello dairymps - you still here or had baby yet? i saw your post and posted back earlier in week and have now had baby. I was induced and it took 2 full days:( I really found the hypnobirthing breathing helped, i downloaded some relaxation albums from amazon and slowly rocked on ball and did the breathing on day one and 2, it really relaxed me. They popped my waters (was on gas and air and quite upset, and focuesed on breathing in that G&A, and found i could really focus. So far so good:)

I am CRAP at visualisation, but suddenly found i could, and when i got pains from exams etc, i visualised without trying to:)

Excuse my spelling.

I went into active labour at 8pm, and was on G&A from then. the mw kept reminding me to do my breathing, but i found i couldn't get focused. i asked for an epidural at 9, and was examined and 5cm - i was examined again 5 mins later and was 7cm, so the mw was questioning IFFF i really wanted and epidural, to which i replied yes in a matter of words. ds was born by 9.30, and i'm really glad i skipped the epi, had one with 1st and this was far better, i felt much more in control and the pain wasn't as bad as i expected at all. it's more the new sensation.

I would say the HB book and cd helped DEFINATELY!! I'm a right fuss pot and it calmed me down.

good luck, off to whinge about sore boobs now

ax