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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Reiki /hypnobirthing

19 replies

wowiesis111 · 22/04/2015 11:32

Will be 31 weeks tomorrow.
Feeling that given my horrid labour first time around I may try to prepare used and give myself some self help/ relaxation techniques to try to remain in control when it all starts to happen.
Any advice which to go for.
I don't know much about either so any experiences would be great to hear.

Tia

OP posts:

Original poster

wowiesis111 · 22/04/2015 16:09

Bump
Anyone?

OP posts:

Skiptonlass · 22/04/2015 16:15

Reiki is absolute bunk (but if it makes you feel relaxed, then you'll feel relaxed.) there's no scientific evidence behind it at all. If there was, it'd be mainstream medicine.

Hypno birthing, on the other hand, has an unfortunate name but seems to be based on some quite sound principles of being aware of your body / breathing and relaxing etc to cope with pain. It's dressed up in woo terminology a bit but there's a definite core of sensible advice in there.

Iflyaway · 22/04/2015 16:21

Why not just google Reiki for childbirth instead of listening to sceptics...
After all, they don't know the first thing about it.

Then you can take on board what works for you.

Skiptonlass · 22/04/2015 16:32

I'm as open minded as the next scientist, that's what defines us...we will accept evidence, bring it to us. You have a thousand year old recipe that nukes MRSA? Great! We'd love to see it, let's give it a shot! Most of our current pharmacopeia is based on plant compounds and we are well aware that traditional herbal lore contains a wealth of knowledge... but reiki is still bunk.

You wouldn't allow someone to take a medication that hadn't been trialled in humans, that I'd just whipped up the lab and had an idea it'd be good, or that Sharon from work tried and swore it fixed her lumbago..., so why do people accept alternative medicine with not only zero evidence it works but actual, peer reviewed studies showing NO effect?

There's a word for alternative medicine that works, and it is....medicine.

Use whatever you like, it's your money the quacks are parting you from, but look at the evidence base first.

brokencrayons · 22/04/2015 22:25

That response was bangin' ^ I want to be your friend.

ALittleFaith · 22/04/2015 22:29

I listened to a hypnobirthing thing online in my last few weeks of pregnancy. Not much of it stuck but she did say something like I trust my body to deliver my baby which helped when I was scared!

ALittleFaith · 22/04/2015 22:31

I think it was this link I used. I wouldn't spend a fortune on it though!

avocadotoast · 22/04/2015 22:36

I got a hypnobirthing MP3 today after seeing it mentioned on another thread (it's a Maggie Howell one).

I guess it is incredibly relaxing because I fell asleep and woke up near the end

I'm hoping it works though!

Reiki on the other hand I wouldn't touch with a barge pole because I do think it's a load of rubbish, but it's whatever works for you I suppose!

sparklesandfizz · 22/04/2015 22:40

Skipton lass you rock! Hehe

HellKitty · 22/04/2015 22:42

I'm a reiki master and it's a load of old tosh! If it helps you relax then great but don't expect anything more.

CheeseBored · 22/04/2015 22:49

Hellkitty why are you a reiki master if you believe it is tosh?

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 22/04/2015 22:54

Lots of skeptics have qualifications in alternative medicines - it helps them understand the theory and the practice.

You also get ex-quacks turned skeptics like Edzard Ernst who is a qualified homeopath and a homeopathic debunker.

Also it goes to show how easy it is to qualify in these bogus practices. Groupon is always sending me NLP or nutritionist qualification courses. For a few quid and some online study I too could be a bogus healer.

To answer the OP - hypnobirthing may be of help. Reiki won't.

McFox · 22/04/2015 23:00

I'd highly recommend hypnobirthing, it was brilliant for me, I had 8 hours of relatively pain-free, drug-free labour. The friend that I did the course with managed 18 hours and delivered an 11lb baby with no medication

PutMeInaPyramid · 22/04/2015 23:42

Hi Tia,

I had read and listened to hypnobirthing book/med CD during the last few months of my pregnancy. I didn't practice everyday but it certainly prepared me mentally.

In fact, I felt so empowered thaI I planned a homebirth two weeks before my baby's birthday- even bought a birthing pool.

In the end I had to be induced and was on the drip. The pain, as you know, is insane but what helped me was the visualisation techniques.

I laboured on the bouncing ball and eveytime I had a contraction I imagined I was on a ship in the ocean ... This seemed to work for me. I went from zero to 9 cm in 6 hours without any kind of pain relief. I do wonder if longer labours are a result of our bodies reacting to fear.

Our minds our powerful machines. I think you are on the right tracks. Whatever happens on the day won't matter if you have a positive mindset.

Bret

PutMeInaPyramid · 22/04/2015 23:46

Ps my names not Bret ...that was a typo

HellKitty · 23/04/2015 07:53

Sorry I went to bed without answering! When I did reiki I did kind of believed or wanted to believe, I now know that it's all bunkum. Pretty glad I worked it out for myself rather than being told. It's money for old rope. For something we're all meant to be able to do and have in us why would you pay £30/£40 for the privilege? Even when I did believe or was on the fence, I never charged.

I was pregnant with DC2 when I was a believe and went to hypnotherapy, that didn't work for me. What did work was being informed of exactly what was going to happen - despite having gone through it before (badly).

But as I said, if you can hang onto anything that'll help YOU relax then go for it.

Skiptonlass · 23/04/2015 10:16

Thank you crayons and sparkles ! :)

op, my tone was a little haranguing - I absolutely don't mean to be rude but I get very wound up about alternative medicine. There are people out there dying because someone has convinced them that their stage four tumour can be cured by positive energy and whatever diet/crystal/herbal shit they are shilling, and that the big bad medical establishment is a con. There was an Australian blogger this week who had a site encouraging people to believe shed cured an aggressive brain tumour with an organic diet - turns out she didn't have cancer at all, but how much damage has she done promoting that over chemo ?

Medics and scientists devote their lives to improving human health. We are well aware that we know nowhere near enough and thankfully medicine is now moving towards a much more evidenced based mindset. We are open minded - you bring us something and we will test it. But it frustrates me horribly when I see good people fall for bad quackery that at best will relieve them of their hard earned cash and at worst, kill them through them not taking their medication.
We need a lot more critical thinking in education - we need to teach people to be skeptical of claims , to understand very basic stats etc. that will empower us all to make better, more informed choices.

Hell kitty, very interesting post- glad you are able to see and evaluate evidence and change your mind :)

HellKitty · 23/04/2015 10:45

Skiptonlass, thanks. I think ultimately at the 'woo' point in my life I was looking for anything for answers to escape reality. I'm glad I found out for myself rather than go on other people's opinions. I find it quite amusing now as me, the DP and the DCs are all staunch atheists!

Sorry for hijacking op!

brokencrayons · 24/04/2015 03:59

I have never tried hypno or reiki, however I read an amazing book, Childbirth Without Fear. It explains the whole fear/pain relationship and really helped me to understand the whole labour process in a in depth and non scary way. It's totally fascinating and prepared me for a fantastic 2nd natural birth. It really is worth reading.

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