Hypnobirthing and other things to help unmedicated labour

28 replies

GladAquaCritic · 03/03/2026 15:56

Hi! I'm looking for information about labour and hypnobirthing, especially experiences of women who have given birth and what worked/ didn't work for you during labour. What was most beneficial for you during labour besides medication, lighting, scents, music, massages etc? What would you like to try or what is on your birth plan to try if you are currently pregnant? Just want to get some ideas, thanks!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Monsterslam · 13/03/2026 13:44

Pantheon · 13/03/2026 13:40

Hypnobirthing and a tens machine
Relaxing my body as much as I could between contractions

I can't work out how people do this. I had max 20 seconds between contractions for 24 hours and they went to the top of that toca chart every time. I tried the stupid hypnobirthing but honestly I think swearing helped more.

AnotherJaffaCakePlease · 13/03/2026 13:46

I used Freya app which shows a visual on the screen to guide your in and out breaths which I found very helpful. The app also has Audio meditation I think if you want but I didn't use those. I also used a comb to squeeze plus birthing pool was excellent. Towards end of labour I did not use the breathing app and did have gas and air though.

YellowFruitBowl · 13/03/2026 13:55

sorchanim · 11/03/2026 14:53

My first birth was a natural birth and went really well. On paper it's awful (v. long, 2nd degree tear, cord around neck...) but in reality it was a good experience. There are a couple of reasons I didn't want an epidural (can go into more detail if you want), and I just filled my mind with information that supported a natural birth. I read the Hypnobirthing book by Siobhan Miller and did a hypnobirthing course. I didn't use all the strategies in labour, but I felt empowered going into labour understanding what was happening to my body, how I could advocate for myself, and mostly just convincing myself that my body knew what to do. I just wanted a really hands-off approach, so my midwife and I hardly spoke and I leaned on my partner for support.

I stayed active during early labour, listened to upbeat music and did things which made me happy. I laboured overnight and I did just breathe through the contractions and go back to sleep! The next day I was in active labour and just continued to believe that my body knew what to do. Even with irregular and sometimes useless contractions, I just had convinced myself that I could do it and that's ultimately what kept me going.

Things I practised beforehand:

breathing
visualisations
positive affirmations
some exercises from my hypnobirthing course
massage techniques
choosing a birth team who supported my birth (I live abroad, it was a midwife-only birth using external midwives in the hospital, I guess similar to a birth centre)
listening to my playlist
doing a wall sit for 1 minute to get comfortable with being uncomfortable
learning about birth, being informed about rights/options
understanding what I don't like: bright lights, etc.

Things that actually got me through:

breathing
sacral pressure from my partner (I had terrible back contractions!)
remembering that contractions are only 1 minute
knowing/understanding what was happening
my music
snacks, water and sports drinks
constant reminders from my partner to relax
wearing sunglasses on the way to the hospital and in the hallway (I hate bright lights!) - A previous poster said lights don't matter, but they made a difference to me!
believing I could do it and that my body/baby knew what to do (I am such a stubborn person... I think this is probably what actually helped, was just eliminating any doubt that I couldn't do it).

And yet I did literally all those things, read Juju Sundin and Siobhan Miller, took hypnobirthing classes with a practicing midwife practitioner and practiced daily, was fit and healthy and confident in my body, and had been my friend's birth partner for two labours, and I still wasn't able to cope at all with labour pains.

OP, all I am saying is there are no guarantees. If whatever it is you put on your birth plan and practice for doesn't work out, as it didn't for me, don't beat yourself up.

I might as well as been burning fifties for all the use that hypnobirthing was for me, for example.

Flip

1 2