Hypnobirthing online courses

[Hendyg]

Just wondering if anyone has done any online hypnobirthing courses (as everything is online nowadays!) And any recommendations? Seems to be so many to choose from.
Going to look at the antenatal videos from local hospital which do cover a bit about breathing but wondered if would get more from a course. Baby due end sept so starting to think about getting prepared...

I really liked The Positive Birth Company.

I did the Positive Birth Company. In some ways very educational about how labour progresses etc. However in other ways actually did me a lot of harm - set me up for a water birth/no pain relief etc. When actually I had a very difficult birth I felt I had failed. So beware, I think hypnobirthing needs to come with a warning!

Thanks both, I have also heard about this one so will check it out :)
Sorry to hear you had a difficult birth Poppy, as you say need to be prepared for things not to go as planned!

HypnoBirthing is the brand name - I used to teach this, and trust me - there is none of this ‘you will only have a ‘natural’ birth with no medical intervention’ (which is actually pretty unethical to say anything like this).

I was trained to teach the birthing process, relaxation techniques, health & nutrition, what happens at each stage and what happens if there is the need for a medical intervention (how to keep cool, ask questions, see what choices you have, be calm and unstressed.....). I had just the one mum who had to go for an emergency C section - dad called me up to say that it wasn’t exactly what they hoped for (as a best outcome) but they used the relaxation techniques and felt as if they were in some control of the situation and didn’t panic, so were grateful that they’d taken the course (because we’d gone through what could potentially ‘happen’ and what this could entail). It’s more ‘keep calm and be prepared’ than anything. No magic wands!

also would recommend the positive birth company

@toffeebutterpopcorn birth trauma groups on Facebook are full of women who have done hypnobirthing, had a traumatic birth and in part attribute that trauma to having totally unrealistic expectations for birth, as a result of hypnobirthing. No course says ‘you will not have intervention’ but lots imply that you are more likely to have the ‘dream’ Instagram friendly water birth if you follow their advice. It’s a totally unregulated business. The PBC even says birth isn’t actually painful, it’s just that your cervix gets tired because it’s a muscle. Ok then. Just gaslight all the women who need epidurals.

I did the positive birth company course and thought the breathing techniques were really useful. In general the course helped me feel empowered. However I thought it was overly negative about the need for intervention, promotes refusal of induction to an extent (when going overdue can present its own risks) and I didn’t buy the contractions aren’t painful l bit either. So a mixed bag but overall I’m glad I did it as helped me feel in control a bit more.

I think it depends on your mindset a little bit. I did the PBC digital course and it certainly helped me a lot, the breathing exercises are great and it gave me something to focus on.

But I didn’t pin all my hopes on having this dreamy, pain free, breathe the baby out labour experience. While Siobhan (and I’m sure a lot of other hypnobirthing and antenatal course leaders) is critical of interventions, inductions, pain relief and so on, I know my own mind. If I agree with medical professionals that an induction or an intervention is necessary, or I decide that I want all the drugs, then that’s what I’m going to do, and I’m not going to feel guilty or like a failure just because of what some woman in a video thinks. You have to know yourself and what your limits and opinions are, and not let hypnobirthing or NCT courses or whatever be your be all and end all, because you may well be setting yourself up for disappointment. Just keep that in mind.

Thanks all, that is helpful. I also watched Life and Birth doc series on iplayer as wanted to be prepared for things that might go wrong too! Have read a few pregnancy books but guess just want to know more about the process and honestly feel like if I know all the gory details I will feel better. Knowledge is power after all.
Get what you're saying about unrealistic expectations too. Thanks for comments :)

Poppy1789 - I never sugar coated it. Ever. That is just setting people up for a fall as far as I’m concerned.

There is no ‘right’ or ‘correct’ birth - things might not go the way you would have wanted it but the whole ‘fault’ thing is just wrong.

Some of the wording is your basis ‘reframing’, basic language stuff. The premise is that if you go in expecting agony and scared to death then that’s not going to help one bit. At my hospital pregnancy group there was one mum who looked like she was going to faint or throw up at ever session - when the nurse showed up the epidural she just looked terrified (nurse ended up taking her aside). That’s why mums need to know what happens at each stage and yes what pain relief is available.

I agree with others here. I did the positive birth company and it was good for understanding what happens in labour. It's great to have breathing techniques etc. However, I needed an emcs and also felt like a failure because of some of the messages from this company. Looking back, I also agree it is really dangerous the way it tells women not to have inductions (I needed one). An old work colleague had a still birth related to being very overdue. Yes natural birth is great but my baby and I would have died without intervention. The course makes it seem as of all midwives and medical professionals are trying to trick you when really they want you and your baby to be safe. I'm not saying don't do it at all, I think if you do hypnobirthing then as others have said, take what you need from it but remember that not everyone can have a "natural birth" that is pain free and breathing the right way isn't going to change that.

Just make sure whoever you use is qualified, insured and if possible is someone you get a recommendation for...

When I was setting up as a therapist I called around a few clinics to get an idea of how much they charged, waiting lists etc... I got into a conversation with one and mentioned that my dad had (terminal cancer) - the absolute quack implied that he could cure cancer (this was in Harley street). This was almost 20 years ago and I am still so bloody angry...

Wow this is really interesting. I'm planning to do the positive birth company online course when I'm a bit further along and I'm glad I read this first. Currently 27 weeks and It's terrifying being a first time mum and having no idea what to expect!

If you’re happy reading books then you don’t really need to shell out for an online course.

I bought the book Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better by the lady who set up the positive birth company. But I also read lots of others.

I found milli hills book Give Birth Like a Feminist: Your body. Your baby. Your choices really interesting, it isn’t very much about ‘how to give birth’ but it contextualises modern maternity care.

Watching videos of births outside of a hospital setting on YouTube was also something that helped me I think more than any of the reading that I did. It meant I really understood what actually happens and when I was giving birth I could relate the sensations to what each part actually looked like. It gave me a lot more confidence in what my own body could do aswell.

I am definitely on the more hippy end of the spectrum and was able to have a home water birth with my first baby. I think luck plays a big part but being informed does too. It sounds like you’re already doing a great job of getting as much info as possible

@Emelene
@Poppy1789
Me too definitely recommend it

I paid for one - the Positive Birth Company one, I think - and was so hacked off by it that I never got past the beginning. The recommendation right from the start of my pregnancy was for me to be induced at 39 weeks, which I was on board with. The opening section of the course talked about how we carry around lots of negative ideas about birth and how letting go of those can be helpful - great, I thought! And then it launched into a lengthy anecdote from the person delivering it about how she'd been induced with her first, and how it had been terrible and she should never have done it and blah blah blah, and I turned it off and never went back to it.

I did subsequently try a hypnobirthing book, by someone else entirely, and the exact same thing happened. Chucked that away too.

My induction, incidentally, was fine. Lovely experience, no problems to speak of.

I'm pregnant with my first and have been reading various books on hypnobirthing, including the one from the Positive Birth Company.

I'm a bit surprised that some people come away feeling that hypnobirthing is only for unmedicated births in a birthing pool. I mean, yes, the author is clearly in favour of this method of giving birth; however, to me the book makes clear that births do not always go to plan. In fact, the book actively encourages women to think about what they would like to happen if things don't go to plan: how do you want your birth to look if you need to be induced? What do you want to happen if you need an unplanned C-section? There's a whole section on how to set out your birth preferences in the event of various scenarios.

She also talks about how you need to consider your options and think about what is right for you in your circumstances. That may well be an induction. In other cases it won't be. For example, I know someone who was still pushed into having an induction that had been scheduled, even though early labour had already started that same day. She regrets not refusing the induction and letting nature take its course. Having an induction purely because you're already booked in the hospital diary is not a good reason to have one.

Someone else I know practised hypnobirthing and ended up with a 4-day labour, culminating in an unplanned C-section. However, she still found hypnobirthing worthwhile and was able to have a relaxed birth in spite of that.

I don't know what the online courses are like, and I suppose it depends on the tutor. However, I don't think the books pretend that hypnobirthing will automatically lead to a perfect birth. They seem to be more about giving you tools to have a positive birth experience, whatever the circumstances.