Hypnobirthing

[Char2994]

Hey! I’ve been doing a lot reading about hypnobirthing.. I mean what I’ve read sounds great but I’m just not convinced that if actually works! I’m all for trying these things but the classes are quite expensive so just want to be certain it’s right for me. Anyone got any personal experiences they wouldn’t mind sharing?

Hiya! I'm 20 weeks pregnant with first baby and just bought the digital pack by the positive birth company - it was £39. I've slowly started working through the short videos and joined the Facebook group. So far a lot of what she says makes sense and it's given me more confidence to try and stay at home as long as possible and chose a midwife led unit over panicking and going straight to hospital. I am a very sceptical person and so far my partner thinks it may all go out the window but it's really instilling confidence in me and taking some of the fear away! Worth the money already IMO

Positive birthing company online package for me too. It made sense and although my birth plan went to pot when, at 36 weeks, my little boy turned to breech (and would not turn back) I was booked to having an elective c-section which then went to pot as my waters broke at 38 weeks - 1 week before planned c-section! I used the techniques throughout even if it wasn't the beautiful, natural birth I'd been hoping for (still amazing though). I also used the techniques in the early days with a newborn, it helped me visualise and achieve effective breastfeeding, and doing what came naturally to me (ignoring books) to introduce my baby to the world. I thoroughly recommend. Good luck

My husband and I did a hypnobirthing course and it was absolutely brilliant! I tell every pregnant person I know about it! Helped me feel calm about the prospect of giving birth (something I never previously would have imagined possible). Really helped to learn exactly what would be happening in my body and what I could do to work with it, rather than fight it. And it was brilliant for my husband to learn how he could have an active and involved role in the whole thing. I think he was previously worried about being a spare part. In the end my birth did not go according to plan, but having hypnobirthing skills meant I could accept what was happening and go with it. Honestly can't recommend it enough!

Hey! Thanks everyone! It’s nice to hear positive feedback. I’m already feeling fairly relaxed and positive about the birth. The books I’ve been reading and the audios I have listened to do make a lot of sense and with your recommendations I think I’ll spend the money and give it a go! Wish you all the best with your pregnancies/births! Thank you ☺️

I had my baby 18mths ago and did hypnobirthing. I didn't do any classes, I bought the Hollie De Cruz book and mp3 and did it myself at home. I made a playlist of music that relaxes me (piano based stuff) and I would practise listening to it and breathing at night in bed or during the day if I had time for a rest.

I was quite open minded about it and always said if I needed pain relief I would take it.

Anyway it was awesome. Labour started slowly, period pains on and off for a day, the following morning I thought my waters broke in the shower, so we went in for a check and they confirmed they had and I was 2cm. Went back home and this stage I spent mostly on the sofa, listening to my playlist, breathing/walking out the contractions, eating when I could. The pain was fine, I hired a Tens machine from
Boots and used that at home it was really good. By the contractions werent that regular so I had time.

I took paracetamol around 7pm. By around 1:30 am the pain was very succinct, very deep in my lower abdomen and I felt we should go in. As my waters had broken I was booked to go in at 6am anyway so they said to go down and get some pain relief and as they had a bed we could stay in.

We arrived around 2:30, trying to settle on the ward, got some coedine. Next thing I know 'something changed' and instinct to ring the bell. Midwife came, did a check, I was 9cm and ready to go. Whisked me off to a delivery suite, and literally feels like 'hey presto' baby was born. They registered my time from arrival to birth as 56mins. Phew!

The midwives were so shocked, as I had presented so calmly they thought I was miles away from active labour. As my contractions were irregular, once they actually hooked me up they could see they weren't irregular I was just only feeling half of them. when I mentioned hypnobirthing the midwife continued to coach my breathing using gas and air.

My body did the work there was no pushing it or screaming from me, I just let it happen. It was exactly how the book said. You become a passenger of the birth process, your body knows what to do it you let it. No stitches afterwards either.

We were home by 10am. I honestly was elated at how it had happened, I could not believe that I had a birth like that. Especially as I was high risk and told to expect quite a clinical birth (I was booked for inducing the following week).

So, go for it. At the very least it will help you stay calm and manage any situation that arises at the time.

I did a weekend course, but had a bad birth with mental and physical health impacts 🤷‍♀️ It didn’t seem to do it for me.
Lots of people love it though.

I don't think you can go too far wrong with one of the online courses that cost a few tens of pounds. Some people really benefit from it, and if you don't you've not spent too much.

I did half the bump n baby hypnobirthing course. It definitely helped me through the early bits of labour, I was confident and able to stay home using breathing to control the pain. We went to hospital at 11:30pm and baby was born at 3am in the pool, only had gas and air. In hindsight, the course helped me feel in control and able to breathe through 90% of the pain. It also really helped my DP to be an excellent birth partner.
However, visualisations weren't for me and my optimistic idea of seeing contractions as waves for me to swim under went out the window early on. I also remember that during one of the few windows where I lost control of the pain, I furiously shouted at the midwife that hypnobirthing was an effing waste of money and I'd been lied to and it effing hurt.
However, would definitely recommend and I'll use it again for my next one.

I did a course and it did nothing for me bar make me feel calm in the run up to the end of my pregnancy.

But during actual labour... it was a waste of time if I'm being honest!

I did it on zoom from 20-24 weeks and listened to a mindfulness soundtrack daily from then. I felt calm (ish) in pregnancy most of the time from that point.

As soon as my waters broke in labour, all bets were off. The pain was excruciating and I had all the pain relief going. My dh put my labour soundtrack on and I promptly told him to, "Turn this shit off!". It just didn't work for me.

I'm a big hypnobirthing fan so would advise to go for it with the books and apps and try to tune out negative birth stories, but at the same time keep an open mind about all of the options available.
I used hypnobirthing, a tens machine and gas and air to get me through both of my labours, with my second baby weighing in at 10lb 10oz, but I was always slightly reassured that if it all got too much I could ask for an epidural

I envisaged climbing a mountain during labour. It did work a bit I think. It helped that we had been shown to a dark and surprisingly cool otherwise empty room

I attached the pic of the dvd I did at home. I'll be honest, I was not prepared for the amount of pain I experienced in labour and no amount of hypnobirthing could take it away. However, I followed the dvd every night/every other night from about 20 weeks and just practicing the breathing got me through labour in the end. I didn't take anything for the pain but wouldn't judge someone who did. It's horrendous. I tried gas and air but I was so into the breathing I couldn't do gas and air as it required in through mouth and out through nose and I'd been practicing in through nose and out through mouth for months! 🙄

It doesn't take away the pain, but it did give me an element of control and calmness. I didn't do affirmations, or visuals, other than telling myself that each contraction was bringing me a step closer to meeting my baby. I found the breathing effective, I just used the Maggie Howell natal hypnotherapy cd, was around £12 off Amazon. I did read some of the book, but not much. I managed without pain relief, but I also had a quick labour.

Please tell me if I’m being stupid but I’m finding practicing the breathing really difficult. Not because of bump or anything like that but because I absolutely cannot stop yawning when I do it. Only time I get good practice is when I’m using it to try to manage bouts of severe indigestion... but on a normal day it’s almost impossible to keep a rhythm - am I being super stupid?

I didn't do classes. I listened to Mindful Hypnobirthing by Sophie Fletcher on Audible.

Amazing tracks. Chilled me right out. Id fall asleep within seconds in the meditation tracks.

It works better for some than others. It helped me significantly during early labour for both my babies. Helped keep me calm when things didn't quite work out for baby no.1 (birthing pool wasn't available, completely new experience etc.)...

2nd baby was a home birth in a pool. I was labouring all day from 5am to 12.30am the next morning. From 5am til 10.30pm I just utilised my hypnobirthing breathing techniques, kept moving, got on with my day. By 10.30pm I needed a bit of extra help...

But I'd recommend it to anyone, even if it was just for the amazing sleep you get from the meditation tracks 😂 chilled, well rested mum = happy baby

I'd also recommend reading Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. It's not hypnobirthing but it was all about the mechanics of birth, the hormones, how our bodies are perfectly made for our babies, no matter their size, birth positions etc. Shes American but she does mention the UK NHS and reassuringly, how its much better with treating women and children in all aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care. I found it really inspiring and it melded well with the hypnobirthing stuff.

I wouldn’t spend too much money on an expensive course tbh. You can download digital packs as pp have mentioned above, they are not too expensive. The whole point of hypno is also to practice as much as possible so do that if you can.
I had a 40 hours labour that ended in an emcs. I “managed” with gas and air, incredibly painful, all I could do was to try and breathe in and out and count whilst having contractions, didn’t manage to do the whole “imagine x relaxing scenario” thing. According to the midwifes and my husband, I seemed to have apparently dealt with the pain very well (!!!). I supposed they were used to seeing much worse scenes...
I can’t say hypno took the lain away but at least it gave me something to focus on whilst having contractions so whatever little thing you can do to help you go throught it it’s worth it.