Hypnobirthing

[PolkadotRosa]

I'm 33 weeks pregnant with no. 3 and have just started thinking/reading about hypnobirthing. I had an awful labour experience last time, and although I'm not sure about the lack of pain relief, I feel the relaxation aspect could be really helpful for me.
If anyone could tell me a bit more and share their experiences that'd be great, or just point me in the right direction to learn more for myself (if possible!) eg books or cd's etc worth buying. Anything! Thank you.

Have been recommended this one, going to start it tomorrow, am 32+6 and thought I should probably get a move on :)

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1905220502?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

Ooh thank you, looks great.

Hi there, I cannot recommend Hypnobirthing enough. Please understand I'm not an overly spiritual or hippy person (no offence meant). I don't believe in alternate medicine and crystal healing etc I work in healthcare and I am used to a hospital environment. I had a terrible time with my first birth. I was induced and ended in theatre with a forceps delivery after 5 days of shenanigans! I had some post natal depression and ptsd afterwards.
So when I got pregnant again last year I was terrified of going through the same experience again. My midwives were fantastic and I was put on a traumatic birth pathway. It was through this that I was given some Hypnobirthing sessions 1 on 1 with a midwife/hypnotherapist. I used it religiously in the run up to my due date. I was affraid that if I panicked then that would be it. I managed most of my labour at home and had a water birth with only gas and air. I pushed out a 9lb 4 baby!! And I credit my ability to cope, listen and control my body to the Hypnobirthing!! Please try it. Take it from someone who has experienced both extremes!!
Good luck! X

I loved it. There is often a lot of rubbish mixed in with the good stuff, from the perspective of a bit of a skeptic, but the good stuff is really really helpful, and it also helped a lot for dh to feel calm and have a role!

The group I did it with all found it helpful overall, including the one who ended up with an elcs and the one with an emcs. It's certainly not a guarantee that you'll have a perfect experience but if you are lucky enough to have an otherwise fairly straightforward/natural birth I do think that it helps give you a better time, and my friends who had things not go to plan, found it helped with a sense of control and calm.

The one big thing I'd say is that you do have to have enough time and mental space to dedicate to doing the exercises, which is easier said than done with other dcs - the course alone isn't enough, you need the practise for it to be more effective in the heat of the moment!

I read the book and listening to the cd at home. I couldn't afford a class. With my first pregnancy I used the Maggie howell programme and then tried the Marie Mongan one with my most recent one.
I found the breathing techniques and relaxation techniques very helpful. It allowed me to go with the contractions and go limp with each one rather than tense up and fight it and I felt that really helped me to stay calm and allow my body to work in the way it's meant to.
It certainly wasn't painless either time. With my first I had her back to back and had a long early labour but couldn't get passed 4cm so didnt qualify for pain relief. I think I would have completely lost it without the hypnobirthing breathing and preparation. Once they realised I was in active labour I was 10cm and pushing so then I didn't have time for pain relief.
The second time I had a longer early labour but a very fast active labour and the MWs almost didn't arrive in time (home birth) so no pain relief other than tens machine and breathing. It did help me stay really calm and in control for most of it.

I too am looking into this. I am not in the UK and tend to have gentle birthing courses more around us. Was thinking of getting the hypnobirthing book and cd myself instead.

Roseybee - out of interest which did you find better between the Maggie Howell and Marie Mongan. Would like one which has less filtering to do to get to the useful stuff, if you know what I mean.

Having been recommended to try this by a midwife friend of mine, and having researched the science behind it, I think it's a good thing. I have been listening on and off to the CD by Maggie Howell and understand the rationale behind it i.e. that the less stressed and panicky you are during labour, the less adrenaline is expressed (adrenaline counteracts oxytocin), and the more oxytocin can get to work on making your contractions and labour happen.

Obviously, there are unforseen circumstances where there might still need to be interventions, but even if that is the case, if you rely on self-guided relaxation, you're likely to find the process slightly less anxiety-inducing than if you weren't using it. Or that's the theory! I know from my midwife-friend that she says it makes a huge difference when a woman has been doing it and she says that the mothers are far less anxious about labour etc.

Fingers-crossed it works and I don't think you have much to lose (the CD wasn't expensive).

I'm interested to read this thread as was going to start a similar one. I bought the Marie Mongan book yesterday and started reading it. I really think it will help with my frame of mind if nothing else, and help me feel that I have prepared myself as much as I can.

There are no courses local to me, 60 - 70 miles away is the closest i think.

I read the book and listened to the CDs ( Maggie howell) - they were cheap and I figured I had nothing to lose. not sure how much it helped, but I was calm leading up to the labour after reading about how natural it all was and shouldn't be too painful. I laboured overnight in the dark, a subconscious decision but realised afterwards that's what the book recommended. Went into hospital fairly calmly after a moment of panic that he might be born in the car and was fully dilated so just had to push him out. 8lb5oz so not tiny and no pain relief.

The only bad part was that learning how much worse adrenaline would make things made it difficult to keep calm when labour started getting more painful. I knew I needed to stay calm but it's much easier said than done! Though I managed to get a grip, got my tens machine on and listened to the cd a few times until my waters went.

I had the Maggie Howell book and CDs and cannot recommend them enough. I've had two water births with just gas and air, no tears - which I put down to knowing to (and how to) slow things down at the end and let the head shape. You do need to be quite committed though - that was much easier first time round!

I also had a doula which made a massive difference to me being able to stay calm - especially when OH was stressing! She was also great at providing counter pressure which really helped with some of the very intense contractions. It was expensive but worth it!

Hello ladies thanks for all your helpful and supportive replies. I have ordered the recommended Maggie Howell cd/book and will start as soon as it arrives. I hope it will help me, even a little, to feel more relaxed and in control. It was a really scary experience last time following an induction- rushed, filled with panic and little explanation given to me as to what was happening, no pain relief, failed ventouse (twice!) episiotomy and forceps. I was freaking out. So I get the link between adrenaline and birth experience. Here's hoping for a calmer delivery this time! Lovely to hear your positive stories. Thank you!

Another vote - helped me stay calm and trust that I could do it. Wasn't pain free though.
Also recommend reading Ina May Gaskin's book on childbirth. Helped me understand it as a natural process, rather than a medical one.

I would suggest if you are going to do this, do it early in the pregnancy. I did later (33 weeks plus) - it did lead to me feeling very calm in the weeks leading up to the birth, but I absolutely panicked when I went into labour with very strong contractions. I think if I had practiced more and been able to get into the zone (as it were) this would not have happened

I used Marie Mongan book and CD and also attended some classess locally. DS2 (8lb 9oz) was born at home in a hired pool with no pain relief. I cannot recommend hypnobirthing enough, even though I was completely cynical about it when I first started!

My best advice is to practice the relaxation techniques every day. Then you'll find it very easy to relax yourself when in labour.

Good luck!

I also used Marie Mongan book and CD and local classes. It was v. interesting but no actually help in the event because DS arrived so fast that I didn't get a chance to think about it or use the techniques. I did enjoy doing the daily relaxation techniques and I didn't keep falling asleep during them, oh no.

On the other hand I know someone who did classes run by a midwife and when it came to the birth she sailed through it and the midwife etc couldn't even tell when she was having contractions. So it works for some, and defintiely worth a try just for the daily sleep relaxation.

I used both MM and MH.

I preferred Maggie Howells because she has UK accent. Firstly using the cd gives you an opportunity to relax every day when you are very pregnant and visualise a great birth ( even if you doing actually have one!)

With my 2nd I did it while my toddler napped.

I know hypnosis helped me stay calm through a long labour (23hrs) which included many interventions and eventually a crash csection. With my 2nd I used it again and it helped me so much. It doesn't take away the pain but it gives you the belief that you can cope.

The post natal recovery cd was also brilliant. As an exhausted new mother I did it religiously as soon as new baby dozed off. It kept me sane during sleep deprivation.

Highly recommend.

I've posted about my experience a few times but in a nutshell, I used the Marie Mongan book and CD (no classes as am overseas), and it worked wonderfully well for me.

I was able to stay relaxed, focused and calm through my labor which was just what I wanted and used visualisation (though not any of the methods in the book - with each contraction I just visualised blowing up a blue balloon and watching it float away as the contraction passed). I wasn't particularly fussed about not having pain relief but found that I didn't need it as I was in pain however it wasn't unbearable (at which point I would have asked for pain relief). It honestly was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done and I was high as a kite after DS arrived with all the endorphins!

I was very lucky that DS1 was an "optimal" birth for hypnobirthing, he was in a great position and I had a very quick labor (just under 5 hours from first twinge to babe in arms), along with very predictable contractions. I genuinely loved my labor and birth with him and could not wait to do it again.

I had some complications during pregnancy with DS2 which meant his heartrate needed to remain monitored during labor. I hadn't really had time to practise my hypnobirthing methods and ended up going into labor in the evening, so opted for an epidural so I could sleep through the night and was woken up by my OBGYN letting me know I was nearly 10cm and it was time to have a baby.

Both experiences were amazing and I'd do either all over again, although the hypnobirth requires a little more concentration

Good luck, if you can use the hypnobirth methods, they are amazing to help you keep calm and focused during labor even if you do decide to opt for pain relief. Its the freedom from fear which is the main bonus.

I used the Natal Hypnotherapy and loved it. It didn't take away the pain of giving birth but it kept me confident and positive n the run up, and despite mixed birth experiences I always felt calm and in control. Dozing in a pool listening to the CD was amazing. And it helped me sleep in late preganancy - I would literally put it on in the middle of the night! You can buy the CD on Amazon or ebay. Do it!!

I tried it with DC2. I found it very relaxing and really thought it would help me relax and go with it.

In fact, it turns out I just don't labour that way. I need to be far louder, more mooing cow Amazonian warrior. I can't go limp and let it wash over me. I kind of need to Raaaaaaaaa along with the pain and get into stupid positions. Labours 2 and 3 were very similar in that respect.

That said, I didn't lose anything by doing it. And I've found the techniques very useful for other types of pain - I've used them for stitches with DD2, for a smear (which I find very hard) and for a horrid d&v bug that left me with violent stomach cramps.

I practiced the Marie Mongan Hypnobirthing method with a lovely practitioner called: Lisa Jackson. She put us at ease, and by the time we had finished her course and listened to the CD regularly, I felt better to cope with my labour.
I would definitely recommend doing Hypnobirthing as the relaxation techniques we were taught, helped me deal with any invasive procedures leading up to the birth of our baby. It also helped my husband support me and gave him confidence, to be my advocate and ask questions on my behalf regarding my care in hospital.

I'm another advocate of hypnobirthing. After a horrendous 28 hour labour ending in an emergency section with DC1, I didn't have any faith that my body could birth a baby, but I so wanted a VBAC. I tried hypnobirthing - not the classes, I downloaded some mp3's onto my phone from iTunes and did them lay in bed at night from about 34 weeks.

Made SUCH a difference, I can not tell you. I laboured quietly in the dark alone (in our spare bed whilst DH slept in our bed unawares!) until I couldnt take it any longer, then when I got to hospital I was 9cm and delivered DC with just gas and air for pushing.

Like a pp, I also labour very loudly at the delivery stage! But having got to that point calmly with what hypnobirthing taught me, I just went with the flow and didn't think much about it once I was in hospital.

I'd definitely recommend it. What harm can it do?

Just checked, and the podcasts I got were actually from
www . positive-earth . Com

It's utterly fantastic. I did Marie Mongan and had such an amazing birth I trained as a practitioner! Happy to answer any technical questions