hypnobirthing advice/recommendations

[sarahrose]

I am pregnant with my 4th baby unplanned but my last time to aim for the type of birth i would like to have!

I had gestational diabetes with my other children and very big babies with traumatic births for my 1st two. My third labour was fine but very medicalised because of previous experience.

midwife this time has said if i can keep the diabetes under control and the baby is a normal size i can have a home birth yay!

anyway i know with my third baby i had post traumatic stress and a fear of labour because i knew she was big and what had previously happened.

i would like to deal with my fear this time and have heard great tell of hypnobirthing. I have looked at a few local classes I live in epsom and a class in st thomas's hospital. has anybody done any classes in my area of the st thomas one? or any classes that they could recommend please i don't mind a bit of travel within reason.

also i wondered when the best time to start the classes are? I am now 12 and half weeks.

Thank you

Hi Sarah, I can't answer your questions but I'd like to share with you that my friend read a book and listened to a hypnobirthing cd in prep for her third. She to wanted a chance at a normal natural birth after the first two being all the works! It worked for her, she arrived at the hospital 8 cms dilated and popped babe out within minutes of getting there!

She lent me the same book and cd, and although I have nothing to compare it to as it was my first baby, I had a very straight forward birth with only gas and air and I do think it helped a lot.

So I hope it works for you too! Good luck!

Sorry I meant to add, that I feel just the cd and book worked so I guess doing a class would be even better but I couldn't do it due to time and funds.

Thank you, thats really positive!

Do you remember the name of the book and cd that you had please?

Ha! You see that would have been sensible for me to have given you that in my first post ....only..... I can't remember and that's after listening to it every day for 4 weeks ha!

So I'll find out and get back to you on here Sarah.

I have no idea whether it works or not but I've got the Birth Preparation CD and companion book.

I'm seeing a hypnobirthing therapist in one on one sessions - approx 4/5 in total starting from next week when I'll be 26 weeks. She is providing CDs etc. Sessions are £30 each which is quite a lot but I figure any investment in having a happier birthing experience is worth it.

My therapist told me that obviously hypnobirthing can't guarantee a particular type of birth (but it makes things like caesarean and intervention much less likely). What it can do however is prepare you to deal calmly with whatever situation you find yourself in and help you feel in control.

We did a one day course with Judith Flood at St Thomas' and did lots of practice using her CD afterwards. It was really great & would highly recommend her. It was really reasonably priced too (think approx £95) but got booked up quite quickly.

Hello,

i've done the course and would recommend this book and method: www.amazon.co.uk/Hypnobirthing-Breakthrough-Easier-Comfortable-Childbirth/dp/0285637711/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346170737&sr=1-1
however the lady is American and some people find that her accent on the CD is a bit irritating (i love her though because she sends me off to sleep when i need her too). i know there are some Emglish versions out there (Natal therapy??) but have no experience of them.

the course was really good and i would definately recommend it.

thank you this is all really helpful.

Hzgreen what course did you do was it linked to the book specifically or just one that follows the morgan method?

I've been recommended the calm birth method but seems to only be available in oz or the usa

there are so many online its hard to choose from. thank you Vikm I'm going to relook at the judith flood sessions

thank you all once again

Hi sarahrose
HypnoBirthing will help you - if you've previously had post birth trauma,then it would be worthwhile seeing a practitioner who's also a hypnotherapist. With the Mongan Method, one of the sessions includes a fear release,that you won't get from just reading the book or listening to CDs...however it also depends how much your previous birth experience still affects you, as you may require a 1:1 session to help you specifically with that.
You can find local practitioners at the HypnoBirthing site,listed by county...If you opt for one of the courses that isn't the Mongan Method, please find one that offers at least 12 hours of tuition. There is so much to learn, it can be a bit overwhelming to just have a 1 or 2 day course...practising is key & the more time you have to do that during a course, the easier it is to ask questions about anything you're not sure of. Most people start when they're around 26 ish weeks, but you can start anytime (best to have a "bump" to practise with)...some leave it until 32ish weeks to start, it depends how much time you want to spend practising the techniques - if you always left studying for exams until the night before,then starting early may not suit your learning style
Also, please don't automatically choose based on price. Choose based on the option that will give you the best outcome for your circumstances. Ultimately, any option you choose will be better than none!

Also, it's fantastic that you have a supportive midwife -check out www.homebirth.org for some great resources on reasons why you can have a homebirth even if you get told you can't (e.g. your baby is too big). The great thing about learning self hypnosis is that you can use it in any situation/location should circumstances change.

If you want any more info, pm me x

Ditto dontpanic my course was over six sessions, one per week and it was really helpful to have some practice time in between and a chance to think up questions. i went with a practitioner who used the Mongan method so it was based soley around that and followed the book. For me the continuity was really important. i started at about 28 weeks but you can beging any time really.