Hypnobirthing: (cheaper) Positive Birth Company Digital Pack or (much more expensive) KGH Face-to-Face Course??

[IslayBrigid]

Hi guys! I am planning on doing a hypnobirthing course as it sounds like it would really help labour.

I'm not sure whether to do a cheaper option such as the Positive Birth Company digital course (£40) or go to a two-day course with an independent midwife who teaches KG hypnobirthing (£300) - also includes mp3 for affirmations and book. I have heard great things about KG and think it is the creme de la creme but is it worth the price tag??
Does anyone have experience of one or the other?
Thoughs very much appreciated xx

Hey I did the KG course about a year ago locally and it was less expensive (£180 I think?) than yours but more than the online one. I’ve not done the online one but the advantages for me of doing the face to face course with my husband were mainly:

• they also offered 1:1 advice and support throughout the rest of your pregnancy from the instructor
• it really helped my husbands perception and understanding of the whole process. This helped me so much in the lead up and during labour.
• the lady who ran the local course worked and had had her babies locally so knew more about local services which was an advantage in helping us prepare for birth and baby fully.

After I’d done my course my local hospital started offering a Hypnobirthing course for just £100 so it may be worth checking if anywhere else does one a bit more cheaply.

Oh and I found the course so helpful I’m so glad I did it, I had a great birth

Good luck whatever you decide! X

Check out wise hippo hypnobirthing I have just done this course fave to face and was amazing and more modern and up to date highly recommend xx

Oh yes the course @khall84 is talking about was the one my hospital were offering!

I did the positive birth company one and I found it really great! Well worth the £35 (as it was then). I am a person who finds doing relaxation exercises in front of other people utterly cringeworthy though so doing the exercises in bed with just me and my OH was sooooo much better for us. When it came to it though, the only bit I really used was how to breathe properly as my labour and delivery was quite speedy. But I think doing the relaxation bits helped me during my pregnancy and possibly meant my body was more ready for the off with all the oxytocin going on...

Hi I did wise hippo hypnobirthing with my daughter and will be 100% doing it again this time.
I could not fault it and this was 10 years ago when hypnobirthing was very new.
Def would recommend a face to face course too.

Thanks everyone :) It seems there are quite a few different hypnobirthing courses available!

I live abroad and hypnobirthing courses are really hard to find/incredibly expensive here so I bought the PBC digital pack and it is such good value for money. I have watched it all twice and then watched a lot of it again with my husband.

It is so useful being able to rewatch and have access to a private facebook group which is a lovely resource. I also like the privacy of doing it at home, pausing and discussing, practising etc.

I am sure I would have benefitted from face to face as well but I think the PBC pack is excellent value for money and highly recommend.

Disclaimer: I am 38 weeks and have not actually had the baby yet!

Thanks @catsandchocolate (love your user name btw!). That's useful to know! I feel like I'm getting sold on the face-to-face course as it does sound great but it is so much more money! Plus when you add on other antenatal classes and we are also getting a doula... maybe I should just go with PBC! I'm really not sure. xx

Why not go with the PBC digital first (if you can afford it) and see how you get on? If you still have questions or want to get some more classes you could do a face-to-face after. If money isn’t a major issue then it’s worth it as a starting point, depending on how many weeks you have left!

@catsandchocolate yes I might do this... my partner likes this approach ;) The PBC does look excellent... and we are getting a doula as well which I'm sure will be helpful... and many other things to pay for this year, so good to save the pennies where possible!
Good luck for your birth! I'd love to hear how it goes and whether the hypno is helpful :) what kind of birth are you aiming for? x

@catsandchocolate yes I might do this... my partner likes this approach ;) The PBC does look excellent... and we are getting a doula as well which I'm sure will be helpful... and many other things to pay for this year, so good to save the pennies where possible!
Good luck for your birth! I'd love to hear how it goes and whether the hypno is helpful :) what kind of birth are you aiming for? x

@catsandchocolate yes I might do this... my partner likes this approach ;) The PBC does look excellent... and we are getting a doula as well which I'm sure will be helpful... and many other things to pay for this year, so good to save the pennies where possible!
Good luck for your birth! I'd love to hear how it goes and whether the hypno is helpful :) what kind of birth are you aiming for? x

@catsandchocolate yes I might do this... my partner likes this approach ;) The PBC does look excellent... and we are getting a doula as well which I'm sure will be helpful... and many other things to pay for this year, so good to save the pennies where possible!
Good luck for your birth! I'd love to hear how it goes and whether the hypno is helpful :) what kind of birth are you aiming for? x

OMG sorry didn't realise that was going to post so many times!

I really liked the digital course and thought it was great for the money. There’s a related Facebook group too for support and people sharing birth stories. It was my second pregnancy though so a refresher for me, but I didn’t do hypnobirthing the first time round.

I think a few things are caller hypobirthing but the ‘original’ one is the Mongan Method.

You can use the book - it’s all pretty straightforward and easy to follow (has CDs with it).

I don’t know the others but I used to teach this (I was a therapist back in the day) and my parents were always happy bunnies. I also recommended the book to friends and family abroad and they also had ‘good births’.

Honestly @IslayBrigid I’m hoping to use as many of the hypnobirthing techniques as I can, especially in early labour, but I’m not aiming for any particular kind or birth as I know that things often don’t go according to plan so perhaps better not to have too much of a plan in the first place! I’d love a medication/intervention free water birth but if it doesn’t work out, I know I’ll do what’s best for me and my baby.

For those who have done the PBC - does it include visualisations as well as affirmations? I've heard this is very helpful... x

@catsandchocolate sounds good! I have heard that evidence shows if you prepare with hypno and have an idea of preferences even if not a plan, and feel confident about it, this will often mean you don't have unnecessary intervention. Of course if something happens and it can't be avoided, it's important to be open minded to this and as long as you and baby are safe and healthy that's all that matters :)
I'm excited for you! So soon :) I still have quite a while (am 13 weeks) xx

I really liked the PBC digital pack, l found it really good value for money and unlike a course I found it useful to be able to listen to bits again. There are affirmations and relaxations to listen to. There are a few videos on YouTube so you can get an idea of what it is like. The course is broken down into sections and short videos so you can sit and watch the lot or in bits over time. I also used the app they make to time contractions and to do the breathing exercises in labour. Even if you choose to do a face to face course the app was really useful to help focus on breathing and to relax.

Thank you @Bobbinobobbino, @Lordfrontpaw and @Agent13 !

I'll check out the Morgan method book... and yeah think I'm leaning towards the PBC course :) x

The PBC pack is fantastic.
I ended up being induced followed by an emergency section. I can say that not once did i begin to panic, I remained calm and focused throughout. I have a needle phobia, vomit phobia and blood phobia and somehow I managed to remain calm!
Can't recommend the PBC pack enough.
Good luck op!

Hi OP, I said I’d let you know how it went and it has now happened. DS born on Saturday (leap year baby! ) at 39+5.

I can honestly now say that the PBC pack is the best £39 I have ever spent. Obviously I will never know whether it was the videos, Facebook group or luck- probably a combination- but I had the most amazing birth. In the water, no interventions, tears or stitches. Just wow.

There’s no guarantee with anything but if you practise the exercises and really trust your body then, as long as baby has a good heart rate and is facing the right way, you could get lucky too.

Hi @catsandchocolate wow thank you so much for letting me know how it went! Congrats on DS! How exciting!! I'm so pleased you had a wonderful birth. Sounds ideal.
I had actually decided to go with the PBC digital pack, so now I feel even better about my decision :)
Where did you give birth - MLU, hospital or home? Birthing pool sounds wonderful, definitely keen for that.

Thanks again! x

@gottopicklepockle thank you! I didn't realise you had responded :) really useful to know your experience x