Hypnobirthing

[Nathansmommy1]

Has anyone tried hypnobirthing? If so how was it?
The pregnancy and birth of my first child was so awful and 5 years on I'm still so upset about it. So far i havent thought about labour in 20 weeks time, I'm blocking out the thought of it, but now thinking that hypnobirthing might make me more positive.

I did it for the birth of my second after a traumatic first experience and it helped me so much. It made me calmer in the run up to the birth, my husband got involved as well so it made it much more like we were a team and I was able to use the techniques to push out my 9lb 6 baby with no pain relief! I would 100% recommend it!

Thanks for your reply, because that was my next question would it work with a big baby? My first was 9 pounds 6 and was born at 38 weeks, worried if I go full term this time it'll be ten pounds
Really think I'l have to give this a try

Definitely give it a try, what have you got to lose? If nothing else it will help with the anxiety around giving birth. My second birth didn’t go exactly to plan, in fact at one point it looked as if t was going to be exactly like my first traumatic birth but the hypnobirthing training helped me to keep calm and adapt to a new plan and I actually think it helped me get as close to the birth that I’d wanted as I could.

I bloody love hypnobirthing! I did a course when pregnant with DS due to anxiety because of recurrent miscarriages.

I had a really positive labour experience and managed to get him out with no pain relief.

Do it! If anything else it’s great for learning the breathing to relax even if things don’t go to plan.

Would love to hear recommendations too! What are the best resources? Online, courses, books?

Following - have read and looked into Positive Birth Company but any other recommendations are welcome!

I did it. I actually think it made things worse in the latter stages though was ok for first stage.

I'm in the minority though as most people love it.

This time I'm going as medical as possible!

I was so anxious about giving birth but I loved going to my hypnobirth course! I had my heart set on a waterbirth but in the end had an emergency c section. Hypnobirth still aided me as I could do breathing exercises and the staff put my hypnobirth music on for me too. It completely calmed me down and cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had about labour and birth. My partner also loved it as he felt a lot more involved in the process. My course was free as in my area the NHS trust and midwives run it so I'd ask yours

I did it for my second child after a very traumatic first birth with my DS. I would recommend it as it helped me to stay calm and focussed and the whole experience was much better. HOWEVER, I definitely wasn't one of those people who managed to breathe my baby out easily. You will get a wide range of opinions on whether it 'works' but I think it depends on the temperament of the person. Best of luck

I did it for my first DD, combined with a water birth. I definitely wasn’t a calm/serene/‘breathe it all out’ Mum (much swearing happened...) but did manage to have her with no pain relief and just generally felt fairly in control throughout.

Currently “revising” before baby no 2 arrives in a couple of months and it is amazing how listening to the tracks again brings around calm feelings as soon as I hear the music! I used Mindful Hypnobirthing by Sophie Fletcher (book plus mp3s). You can find the mp3s for free if you want to hear what she sounds like before buying the book.

I'm another one it didn't work for in the latter stages of labour - it helped a bit in the latent phase and helped loads with insomnia after DS was born. For me, it was too inward focused and left me feeling very alone and unsupported. With DC2, I read Juju Sanjin's book which is all about distracting yourself and how you can get a partner involved. DC2 was a much easier birth anyway - but DH having lots of ideas how he could support me made a huge difference to how I felt through it.

I did a face to face course with CDs with DC1 and listened to a free course on Amazon with DC2. I know it works for a lot of people and it's definitely worth a go - but don't necessarily expect it to work miracles.

I did it for the birth of my 8 week old (first baby) and I wasn't expecting it to help as much as it did! I used the digital pack from the Positive Birth Company which is only £35 I think. Best money I've spent and it transformed my birth. I went from being very scared to choosing a home birth, delivering quickly using only the tens machine and then the pool, I didn't even have gas and air, because the hypnobirthing helped it be so manageable. Honestly it was amazing and I do shout about it to all my pregnant friends!

Like others, I used the Positive Birth Company’s digital pack and I thought it was fantastic. My first labour was with twins and had lots of interventions. It wasn’t traumatic or anything, but I struggled a lot with feeling like everything was out of my control and that I wasn’t strong enough to manage. The PBC totally changed my perspective on the process of labour and birth. In fact, I was so relaxed and calm labouring at home in my bathtub that things progressed much faster than anticipated and my baby was born in our bathroom, caught by my husband.

I think that one of the best things about the PBC is the emphasis on the idea that the birth might not go entirely to plan, but it can still be a wonderful experience regardless. I was worried that it might present a really negative view on medical interventions, but it actually just encourages you to ask questions, explore options and have a sense of ownership of your experience.

I did it and found it very helpful during pregnancy as I was very anxious about the birth.
I read this book and listened to a lot of free audio tracks.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hypnobirthing-Mongan-Method-Marie/dp/0285643355/ref=mpssa115?ie=UTF8&qid=1546895910&sr=8-5&pi=ACSX2366SY340QL65&keywords=hypnobirthing&dpPl=1&dpID=512ZTdYi1dL&ref=plSrch

Birth was totally fine, I'd do it again tomorrow. Most of labour in a pool and only used gas and air and baby was 9lbs 👍

@Grrrrgah I know you say you're in the minority but I'm interested in why you say it might have actually made things worse in the latter stages?

I used the Maggie Howell hypnobirthing cd and book and it was great for me, the breathing techniques and other things kept me really calm and focussed and I managed without pain relief, not that I was against it, I just felt that I was able to cope at the time :)

AimseyR it made me too confident in my body's ability. If I hadn't been so calm I may have pursuaded them to intervene quicker and recognised more when things were going wrong.

Being calm doesn't necessarily do you any favours!

@Grrrrgah thank you, that's a really good point. I do wonder if once anyone says they're hypnobirthing medical staff are then in a position where they don't feel they can recommend anything. We will make sure we keep all this in mind and take the best bits from all techniques to do what's best for baby and me.

I used hypnobirthing after being induced, and loved the experience, but (if anything) was too calm! The midwives didn't realise how far along I'd got, and almost didn't get my DH back to the hospital in time for the birth.

Thanks all for the replies, it sounds like it is definitely worth a try. I'll get one of the books and cd's, would you recommend doing the course as well?

I did the Maggie Howell course, I’d recommend it.

Such a useful thread, I had the same questions - great to hear people's experiences.

My midwife mentioned the hypnobirthing classes. Has anyone been to the nhs ones? Is there any benefit to doing this over ordering one of the online packs people have mentioned? Seems much less of a faff to just learn what to do at home rather than going to a class.

I'm half way through a 2 session course based on the Katherine Graves method. I'm enjoying it so far but a bit disappointed as DH is quite sceptical and I'm not sure he's totally committed to supporting it & doing all the homework / practice etc. I've been meditating using headspace for a while now and can really see the benefits. How are all you partners' attitudes? I'm worried that if it turns in to me nagging & him feeling coerced the whole thing is counter-productive... has anyone done it 'alone' as it were?

@scarlett176 - I went for classes to get DH involved & onboard (see my previous post). Also the trainer is really nice & encouraging & you do practice in the class with her speaking which I found useful. When else are you going to take 5 hours out of your weekend to devote to something like this?! I know I would always find something more 'important' to busy myself with.
That said it is expensive so it does depend on your budget & what else you want / need to spend money on atm.

Hi there, I found my first labour very traumatic (even though I think it was quite “normal”) and was very worried about the second. Someone recommended pregnancy yoga, so I did that second time round, I bought a hypnobirthing CD which I listened to every day in the later stages, and I also had the yoga teacher come and do me a “birth prep” class for me (I think I paid her £80) where we focused on positions, techniques to help you manage each contraction and remember to breathe etc. I seem to recall also looking at various hypnobirthing and breathing videos on YouTube. Overall it was incredibly helpful and my second birth was quick and not too bad. At least you know what to expect the second time round so if you have some good techniques to manage the pain you’ll be in a good position to start with. Good luck OP.