Hypnobirthing did it work for you?

[MRSSGS]

Hello All

With all antenatal classes cancelled I'm looking at doing an online hypnobirthing class with the positive birthing company.

Did you try it with your birth and did it work for you?

Many thanks 😊

I bought the online pack from the positive birth company as I wanted a water birth with little to no pain relief.

I found it a lot to take in, to be honest, listened to it with DH, listened in the bath while I was relaxing... nada.

The labour kicked in, my blood pressure shot through the roof and I was sent upstairs from the midwife led unit to the labour ward where I rejected gas and air and opted for an epidural straight away!

The only thing that helped me through labour was the breathing in for 4 and out for 8 in between epidural top ups and when pushing

I bought into it 100%. Knew my body could do it, trusted it etc. Did hours and hours of hypnobirthing.

My first labour/delivery went v wrong. My body did NOT know what to do. I could not breathe through it.

Afterwards, a looong time afterwards, when pg with my 2nd, I decided to give it another go. I read the Mongan book. I paid a lot of attention to the bit on babies in tricky positions, like my 1st. I read that it was due to my own mental block. I hadn't "let go". I wasn't mentally prepared. Yep. My fault. The double surgeries, haemorrhage, transfusions, birth injury. Cheers. It made for a very bleak and depressed time. I blamed myself. Then I met a consultant obstetrician who was a birth trauma counsellor on the side and he taught me how to work with things out of my control. He talked about physiology and options and care and he talked about choice and empowerment. He saved me tbh and my 2nd delivery - long, problematic, repeat surgery - was a total joy.

It is a useful tool. I do believe that. But there are good and bad advocates. It does not make your labour straightforward. Most of it is sheer luck.

First time I but I had a complicated birth and the doctor said there was now way DD1 was coming out any other way than c section. Second time around I used the positive birth company and I really rated it except I didn’t getting up to the pushing stage as by that point we were expecting DD2 to be an elcs. She wasn’t and I remember saying to DH that we hadn’t finished the hypnobirthing course and he replied well there is no time now.

Yes! A lifechanger. I'm a firm believer everyone should do it , just to feek confident and empowered about birth. Basically not passive and vulnerable like the system often makes you feel.

I did an in person course and while for various reasons I couldn't have the water birth I was after, I found the hypnobirthing course really useful because it gave me knowledge and confidence and I felt able to make the right choices for me at the time. And even though it wasn't the birth I imagined I felt completely fine with it. (Unlike my first which was before I'd done hypnobirthing.)

I gave birth in January and used the positive birth company online course and the Freya app. I think the course was okay and helped me understand what your body does during labour and the different stages. I wanted a water birth and unfortunately ended up with forceps and an epidural (which was the best thing ever, I could of kissed the anaesthetist)
The breathing techniques and Freya app definitely help to a certain point. I would get an epidural again next time if I feel I needed it but agree with PP I did feel a bit of shame that I hadn't done it without pain relief

I read the Marie Mongan book for my first baby and the methods helped me. Mainly the visualization methods to relax but I didn't go in for the whole rebranding "contractions" as "surges" stuff.

It helped that my baby was in the optimal position for birthing and from first twinge to baby was 4 hours but whilst I found the birth painful, I was not suffering and that was the kicker for me. I could cope with pain but when pain turns to suffering was when I would elect for pain relief. Thankfully I never got to the point that I felt I couldn't cope.

The methods helped keep me focused and calm, even when I needed an episiotomy and I didn't feel the pain or panic of that. I think the methods can absolutely work but there is some weird belief that it takes the pain away completely which of course is a massive misconception.

I found it a wonderful tool but I also knew that I would and more importantly could ask for pain relief at any point during my labor and having that knowledge helped me maintain my ability to stay calm.

I found the theory of hypnobirthing to make sense and made me go in to labour with a very positive frame of mind but that quickly unravelled as labour progressed and I found the pain unmanageable and the labour very very long. As some pp have said, it left me feeling pretty inadequate after.

For my second labour I read Juju Sundin's Birth Skills and found that incredibly helpful with active birth techniques I could put in to practice. My second labour was an induction, pretty medicalised and I ended up in theatre after but I found the whole experience really positive and look back on it with pride. I think that book, as well as an excellent midwife, made that experience for me.

I practiced on my own, didn't go on a course but bought a book and listened to the accompanying downloads. While I was going through the visualisations etc I felt like a bit of a fraud as I never went into any sort of hypnosis state as I sort of expected, and I could never fix an image in my mind for breathing techniques.

However I had an amazing home water birth, used a tens machine to begin with and gas and air when I was in transition, but mainly breathed my way through. The midwife almost refused to come out when we called her because I could continue a conversation with her (apparently that usually means you're not advanced enough) but in the one exam I allowed when she arrived I was 8cm dilated. It turns out the baby was back to back (before anyone suggests it was too easy!) but I had an amazing birth and honestly am looking forward to my next one in October. During labour I didn't consciously use any hb techniques other than having the music on, but I think the practice and getting into the mindset obviously helped.

I will say I think there's quite a lot of variation in the courses and techniques out there, so look for one that works for you in terms of the language used etc! I also did a lot of reading around the physiological side and what actually happens during labour, which I think was just as important in helping me to understand what was going on. The breathing techniques etc would be just as useful in a hospital setting and I know someone who had a planned c section but still used hypnobirthing methods to feel calmer and in control. It's not some hippy airy fairy nonsense, it is based on science, but it's obviously not going to be everyone's cup of tea!

Didn’t work for me- I just found the recordings and scripts really wanky, and I was too distracted by them to actually let go and use the techniques.

I think some people’s physiology is just better suited to giving birth than others. For every woman who can breath out her baby after a short labour and later describes it as a pleasant experience, there’s another (me) who has births lasting 24hrs+ and ends up wanting to name her baby in honour of the anaesthetist.

I did it in the loosest sense of the word. I listened to a few tracks, but agreed with the general sentiment (that my body is designed to birth), so from that point of view I went in to labour with a more positive attitude. I feel it helped as I managed both labours with no pain relief.

Agree that the tracks were wanky and most I couldn’t listen to as they were so cringeworthy.

I did hypnobirthing with my second child after having quite a stressful birth first time round. I found it great for keeping me calm throughout pregnancy and labour and it introduced me to much of the science behind labour which was really helpful. I would highly recommend it but bear in mind that it doesn't guarantee the perfect birth.
Best of luck with it, anything that keeps you calmer can't be a bad thing!

This is interesting. I am really interested in learning the breathing techniques etc, so that if I do have an easy labour I can cope better thru it. However, I’m a doctor and am very aware of everything that can go wrong. After what Ive seen, I don’t actually believe that our bodies are designed to do this - I think it’s complete luck whether things go right or wrong - so do you think that means I won’t be able to agree with the fundamental principles of hypnobirthing? I haven’t really looked into it yet

Thank you @MRSSGS for this thread! I was just about to start the exact same thread but you'd done it for me. And to everyone who has shared here - thank you too, very interesting. I'm due to have my 2nd baby in June and need to prepare mentally a bit. First DC, I laboured for well over 24 hours, got induced to speed things up (worst part), got fully dilated, then still had to have an EMC. It wasn't what was 'planned' at all - not that you can plan! I felt okay about it all - my care was good and at the end of it I was fine, baby was fine. However, it's just occurred to me that despite my midwife saying that this time will probably be quicker/easier - it might not be. Despite my child-bearing hips I might just not actually be that well built for birthing.

I'm fully on board with taking all the pain relief I need to, would never feel shame for that, but would like to learn some calming techniques to help me feel more in control of decisions etc. I had thought of hypnobirthing as basically a hippyish cult making women feel bad for not just popping out their babies without any pain relief and with beatific grins on their faces. But maybe not - if some of the ideas/tools are useful then I might go for it and just see which bits work for me.

When are you due OP?

If you are already into hynosis and meditation OP I would say go for it! Aside from learning some very useful breathing techniques, which do definitely help a lot of women to manage the pain and get through labour, the online PBC course also teaches a lot about the science of birth (hormones required, hormones that disrupt, physiology of the birth such as the muscles in the uterus, etc) which is just SO interesting. My partner and I are watching the videos atm and loving them.
It's good to have an open mind, and as others have said, it doesn't work for everyone - but you don't have anything to lose when the course is so cheap. Just be aware that things can happen which derail the plan - it's still good to HAVE a plan (this has been shown many times through evidence to increase positive outcomes), and the PBC has such wonderful information in their vids to help you develop that plan, and what is right for you.
I would highly recommend! I'm a FTM so haven't actually done the birth bit yet BUT feel so much better about it having started the PBC course and I'd also recommend Millie Hill's The Positive Birth Book as a must read xx

The science behind it is sound. Quite often the presentation of that science is, at best, wanky, at worst, setting women up for horrific guilt if they 'fail'.

I did a course and liked the breathing techniques and visualisation. When they did ECV to try and turn the baby I used those techniques and found it fantastic. But baby didn't turn so I had a section. I think the person who compared it to slimming clubs is right. You can gain something from going and equipping yourself with knowledge, but if you become 'all in' for it you'll either end up cultishly obsessed or completely disillusioned.

@Las

@LassoOfTruth you're welcome 😊 I'm also due in June but 29th so I'm looking more like July. Also a FTM xx

@IslayBrigid 29th June so looking like July. I have read that book :) my midwife recommended it and I also have the positive breast feeding book that I'm reading at the moment. Xx

My mind is completely open to whatever is going happen during labour I just wondered what people's thoughts were on it and if it had worked for people in regards to helping them cope not necessarily have a pain free/ drug free birth but I've read it's a good way to keep your anxiety down to ensure my body can do what it needs to.
I'm hoping to have a waterbirth so a lot of the pain relief is off the table but I could change my mind.

Thank you to everyone who has commented xx

I did a Hypno course with One to One Midwifes before they went bust which also incorporated parent education. I felt it was much more practical in that respect. My waters went and 30+ hours later when no progress had been made, I'd spent the entire time.having contractions, baby had pooped, and they discovered he was breech, I dealt with the idea of a C-section incredibly well. I don't know if that was the Hypno or just my state of mind. The course I did they also did an exercise where they listed all the people who could end up in the room if things went to so prepared you practically as well as from a generally hippy, imagine the blue butterflies swirling kind of way.

Yes! A lifechanger. I'm a firm believer everyone should do it , just to feek confident and empowered about birth. Basically not passive and vulnerable like the system often makes you feel.

I think this is my issue with hypnobirthing, having tried it the first time around. I wasn’t at all anxious or stressed going into my first labour - I had confidence in my body, felt safe in the hands of the delivery team, understood the physiology well. But those things were completely separate from the extreme pain of a back-to-back labour with membranes already ruptured, and despite planning not to, I ended up asking for an epidural fairly early on. And afterwards I really resented the idea implicit in the hypnobirthing philosophy that the pain of labour is related to anxiety and not being able to relax, and that if you think of them as ‘surges’ rather than contractions then you’ll cope better.

I haven’t read everyone’s replies, but here’s my experience. I had a premature baby, so no dim lights, birthing pool etc and the room was full of doctors, paediatricians etc and I had no hospital bag or any prep of any kind with me.

I still believe hypnobirthing helped me feel in control, I understood what was happening in my body, the breathing techniques really helped me stay calm and I was able to question things, ask why they were doing certain things and feel that I gave my consent rather than have things “done to me”.

Hypnobirthing can’t guarantee a pain free birth but it did give me a very different perspective and I still came out feeling like I had a positive birth.

I did the positive birth company online course and read “Your Baby, Your Birth” by Hollie de Cruz too.

Good luck whatever you decide

Yes so much so I was at home until 9cm (not intentionally though as when I kept phoning up the midwives thought in was too calm to be ready to go in) and then I only had some gas and air at the end. I personally thought hypno birthing was amazing and I'll be using it again this time round

It was completely useless in my experience. I took it seriously, had one on one lessons with a well-known, accredited midwife-teacher, practised daily, and took it seriously, but when I went into labour I might as well have spent the money on expensive jewellery. For me it’s the ultimate snake-oil pregnancy experience.