Hypnobirthing - is it any good?

[TeenyTinyTorya]

I had a pretty awful birth with my son - I wanted a natural birth with minimal pain relief, but I had to be induced. I managed fine with the pain, and then suddenly I had no break between contractions and had to have an epidural. Then I was unable to push effectively, and ended up having an episiotomy and forceps birth. The episiotomy burst 10 days after delivery, and I ended up with infections for three weeks afterwards.

Basically, the whole experience was pretty traumatising, and not at all what I wanted. I'm quite scared about next time, especially about my episiotomy ripping open, and I'd like to try hypnobirthing. The thought of being hypnotised and out of control freaks me out a bit though, so I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried it. What was your experience - did it work, is it easy to do, and was it any good?

Hello hello,
Sorry to hear you had such a poo first birth! I did a hypnobirthing course during my first pregnancy but found out - shortly after the course ended! - that i had placenta previa and ended up having a c-section. BUT i did find that the relaxation techniques i learnt on the course really helped at the time - one of the nurses in the theatre commented that i seemed really relaxed. The course was really enjoyable, it is relatively easy to learn and certainly made me feel very positive about the birth. There were just 4 of us on the course i attended - only one actually 'hypnobirthed' as three of us had difficult deliveries and needed intervention but when we met up afterwards we all agreed the course had helped us cope with the births even if they hadn't gone as planned!
Don't worry about being out of control - you'll learn how to be very much in control with deep breathing and meditation, not hypnosis. You can take your birth partner to the classes with you so they also learn the techniques and understand how it works.

best wishes
Polly

Hypnobirthing is great!

It helped keep me calm and I only needed gas and air from 5 cm dilated (I do not have a high pain threshold!).

Hypnobirthing uses a mixture of affirmations, self-hypnosis and breathing techniques - you are in control (it is nothing like stage hypnosis so there is no fear that you will be running around the delivery suite pretending to be a chicken!).

You have to practice it though - you can't just do the course or read the book. You have to actually do the exercises they give you and listen to the relaxation CD and affirmations regularly (ideally every day towards the end of your pregnancy) in order for it to work.

You can find a local class at www.hypnobirthing.co.uk

Hypnobirthing is great. I actually enjoyed my 98 hour labour and really didn't find it that painful. Unfortunately it ended in an emergency C-section but as one of the previous posters said I really feel that the hypnobirthing was still of great benefit it helping me keep calm and to heal afterwards.

When you are under hypnosis you are always in control. It is really just a deep state of relaxation and a very natural state to be in.

I didn't much enjoy dd's birth. So when pregnant with ds I decided to do as much as I could within my power to try and influence my second birth.

Including hypnobirthing and yoga.

Both were fantastic. I also was a bit worried about the hypnosis, but had three sessions with a hypnotherapist. In the first session we talked for ages about positive images, coming up with a safe place and giving it body (i.e. beach in Cornwall, waves, the sun through closed eyes, the sound of the sea). She found out what I was worried about, and tried to gear her talk those issues i.e. lack of sleep when pregnant, loss of control during labour, feeding afterwards.

She then put me under, but was strange in that I felt heavy and soooo relaxed and yet still a participant in the process. Didn't feel out of control or manipulated in any way.

The second session was about building upon the first and in the third session she taped her putting me under so that I could play it every night until labour.

I went in for my first session suffering with the crazy legs inability to sleep well and instantly began to sleep well again.

I had a wonderful labour, which lasted just under 3 hours (with some unpainful as in completely bearable contractions during the run up and then painful but still bearable contractions during the active stage) and rather than the gas and air, pethidine and epidural of the first labour, only had gas on air for pushing and for the placenta delivery.

I don't think that I could separate the benefits of the hypnobirhting from the ante-natal yoga which was also fantastic - breathing techniques and birth positions were taught really well and I felt incredibly confident for most of the labour.

Both my births have been hypnobirthing births, and it is fabulous.

1st birth was a 12 hour induction at 38 weeks. Full on monitor, and drip. I used no pain relief and slept through labor and pushing. Dh tells me I woke up said "I have to push now" and then went back to sleep. This phase lasted about two hours, after I said "Wow that was fast, what like 10 minutes" the midwife looked at me and said "You were pushing for about 2 hours".

2nd birth was much faster. labor was only 4-5 hours from first contraction to birth. It was much more frenzied than first birth so didn't go all the way into myself, but just picked a spot on the wall and lost time. Again I didn't use any pain relief.

I went in to hypnobirthing thinking it was stupid, but it really is the most amazing thing.

Thanks, you have all convinced me that it is definitely something I would like to try, and I have found someone near to me who runs the course.

Mom2latinoboys, I had a 12 hour induction, and it was agonisingly painful - I just wish I had known about hypnobirthing, as your experience sounds amazing!

I second the view that the relaxation techniques are great. I used the Natal CDs and listened to them fairly regularly. I was never able to retreat fully into myself (as described by some posters above) and wonder if that would have been different if I'd gone on a course or to a hypnotherapist.

However, like all of these things, yoga, hypnotherapy etc., I personally think the vital aspect is that you make a conscious decision about the type of experience you want and give the whole thing a lot of thought. So at the most basic level you are mentally prepared, have done a lot of visualisation and believe that your personal approach to childbirth can make a positive difference. All these things really do help, I think.

I had a great experience of birth and think that the hypno stuff did play its part in that.

Good luck!

I used hypnobirthing with my first (dd). I found before the labour whilst preggers it would help if I went an laid on bed and listened to my instructors cd and did visulisation techniques...really helped me relax and nearly always fell asleep...the more you practise the better you become.

During labour I used it until I started dialating, this really helped and it still takes a lot to focus, but breathing in and out when getting contractions and visualising did help.

Unfortunately, the midwives sent me walking for the next 5 hours round the hospital, so wasn't able to use the technique and by the time I was pushing it was too late.

Am preggers with 2nd and will be using this method again. Trying this time, to use it all the way through labour. But again, you never know what is going to happen..just don't rely wholly on it just in case.

Have replied today to the other thread on hypnobirthing. It's brilliant.

I hate to be a dissenting voice. I had a pretty bad birth with DD even though I did do hypnobirthing. I ended up getting very cross with Thingummy Mongan, because the whole tone of it is that it's only pain if you believe it's pain/anyone can have a natural birth. That isn't true. I did everything right with a very supportive MW and still ended up with an instrument delivery and felt very guilty and angry about it.
However I do think that it's useful to learn how to breathe to keep the panic out. I was in labour a very long time, and I think that the fact that I kept a lid on the panic for so long was due to being able to focus and breathe properly.
So it wasn't worthless for me, but I wish that it hadn't been hyped up so much as a miracle cure to childbirth woes, because it certainly wasn't.

Hi Mrs TittleMouse,
I'm sorry to hear about your experience with HypnoBirthing, as an instructor myself i would never use the term "It's only pain if you beleive it's pain" A bit part of our training is NOT to use the word pain let alone twice in one sentance. Its really great that the breathing helped you so that in itself was worth it? I don't class it as a miracle cure to childbirth but more like going back to nature and doing what our bodies were created for (i no we were created for lots of other wonderful things too) but we were given a gift of a uterus lets use the way it was meant to be used

Hypnobirthing is amazing. I would recommend it to everyone who is pregnant.

You would prepare and practice for your driving test! So, why not do the same for you and your baby. It's totally worth the money.

I do not have a high pain threshold! And LOVED the whole 3 days of 'surges' and my 1st birth. I love to talk about my great birth, but not many people want to hear about a positive birthing story.

Hypnobirthing uses a mixture of affirmations, self-hypnosis and breathing techniques, you are in total control, nothing like stage hypnosis.

Check this site out for local classes www.hypnobirthing.co.uk