Natal Hypnotherapy "v's" Hypnobirthing

[angfirsttimer]

Can someone tell me what the difference is? I bought a CD for Natal Hypnotherapy from the NCT website, and it says throughout the information with it please dont confuse us with hypnobirthing.
Have any of you tried the natal hypnotherapy?

I've got a natal hypnotherapy CD too. As far as I can make out hypnobirthing and natal hypnotherapy are just 2 different brand names for the same thing! I could be wrong though as I only looked into it briefly.......interested to see what anyone else thinks.

hypnobirthing is a brand, and i've heard it's quite geared to the way women tend to give birth in the USA (ie doctor-led).

hypnotherapy is a generic term. i had a tailored hypnotherapy session in my first pregnancy. i found it really good for sleeping towards the end of the pregnancy but i'm so knackered this time round i haven't needed it yet. i also swear it helped me go into labour spontaneously when i was threatened with induction. worth a go, anyway.

I used natal hypnotherapy on a recommendation from a friend, and got on ok with it. Can't comment on the hypnobirthing as I haven't experienced it.

My son was born using hypnobirthing last year. I don't think it really makes much difference which you use, the general idea is that you are relaxed through your pregnancy, do yogic (stomach up and down) breathing in labour and use the hypno music in the labour room to relax you more. You then try to focus on the techniques but when I was in labour i forgot all the techniques and just focussed on the breathing and hypnotic music and it worked for me and I had a very easy time. I really recommend any kind of hypnotherapy for labour and pregnancy.

As I understand it they're effectively the same thing - self-hypnosis for birth. But "HypnoBirthing" is an actual brand/trademark type method designed by Marie Mongan.

I've got the natal CD but have decided to do a hypnobirthing weekend too. It's not an actual "HypnoBirthing" one, as those Mongan classes need to be run over 5 nights (which was just way too much of a time commitment for us, on top of our 8 weekly sessions of NCT classes) but is run by a former Mongan method teacher Katharine Graves

Ang you're from the March antenatal thread as well aren't you? I'm also a first timer due in March (2 March). It's getting closer for us now

Thanks ladies thats what I thought.

Listened to the natal Hypnotherapy CD last night on my Ipod and ended up crying! - bloody hormones. I think it was the way she made birth sound so beautiful - if only!

Hi Caitni, yes I am also due March 2nd! It feels as though once xmas is out of the way its going to go so quickly! I am manically reading every childbirth and birth techinique book under the sun to try to get my head around the whole thing!

Hi, interesting thread as I am due in May and am trying to decide which one, if any, to go for.

I found this comparison (halfway down the page) on the Natal Hypnotherapy site, which ties in with the other posts on the thread :

www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk/23.html

I used natal hypnotherapy for dd2's birth and I didn't realise how much it had helped me until I attended a training day for professionals held by Maggie Howell (the woman behind natal hypnotherapy). It was a wonderful birth, and the training was very inspiring. I plan to take it further as part of my midwifery career. No experience of hypnobirthing personally.

I did hypnobirthing - I think it helped. This is the course I did (SW London). The course was really good and the CDs/book were helpful as well. I will definitely do a refresher course if I have another baby. I was the only person in my NCT group to do hypnobirthing and I definitely had the most positive birth experience and went into it with a positive and relaxed attitude. I can honestly say I wasn't frightened and stayed in control the whole way through. Partly down to luck I'm sure but I think the hypnobirthing had something to do with it.

angfirsttimer the difference is, if you had done the actual hypnobirthing course, you'd never have said "-if only"!!!

Ive done course recently after traumatic first birth (emerg c-section) and can't wait until the birth in 5 weeks.

....off to hug a tree!!

hypnobirthing is american version and gets you to swop words that might possibly have negative connotations for others eg surges instead of contractions. I find this actually increases stress as a midwife as you are so desperate not to say the wrong thing and "spoil" the hypnosis effect. Natal hypnotherapy actually deals with the negativity attached to the words and deals with fears and anxieties more directly. All hypnosis is essentially the same, it is just that they are slightly different approaches. Natal Hypnotherapy also is associated with a lower rate of caesarian, just 9%, compared to 15% for hypnobirthing and 25% ish national rate for caesarian. I used Natal hypnotherapy for both my previous homebirths and also for conceiving number 2 and three (I'm currently 8 weeks pregnant!) I didn't feel the need for any pain relief at all, had no intervention, no stitches and two beautifully calm, quiet and relaxed birth. Highly recommended!!

Don't buy the Natal Hypnotherapy CDs full price from the website, get them cheap from Ebay! Mine cost about £5 each not £40 for a set of 4 from the website.

I am a cheapskate and borrowed both the Mongan HypnoBirthing book + CD and the Howells NH CD from my SIL. Both quite interesting, but I found the voice on the Mongan CD annoying so only listened to it once. I put the Howells one on my mp3 player and listened to it maybe a dozen times when resting (often dropped off by the end).
I am a fairly sceptical person but I really do think it helped me feel less anxious - and less fear means less adrenalin and more chance for the oxytocin to flow and move things along.

Hypnobirthing does rely heavily on the birth partner and mine forgot everything on the day, it all went out of the window.
I still got to 4cm without feeling a thing though and I believe I coped much much better than if I'd done no preparation at all.

i did natal hypnotherapy cd's. really calmed me down and i didn't really panic despite things going wrong in labour (birth partner being sent away, being left alone, bitch of an uncaring unhelpful midwife, waters not breaking, labour pausing) ended up with a natural birth just a bit of gas and air as i really felt i could cope and make it happen naturally doesn't stop the pain though!
saying that though, when the midwives hooked me up to the machine they found i was contracting regularly and with more strength than the woman in the bed next to me who was rolling around in pain. i honestly couldn't feel a thing until much later.

I did Hypnobirthing and gave birth to 2 of my children using the techniques and loved the fact that my husband was involved! The techniques helped not only me but my hubby too, so that we could really enjoy the experience which I am still on a massive high about a year later as i was able to deliver, very comfortably my own babies!! (brag brag)
My husband and i are even closer than ever due to this life changing experience which the techniques also helped change other areas of our lives. I really put this down to the whole hypnobirthing experience and would highly recommend it to anyone making sure you have a fantastic practitioner - which I did. The course I went to was on Hampstead High Street. Definately worth spending the extra on. Will be goin back to the same course practitioner if I have anymore. I haven't yet read any comments on Natal Hypnotherapy in the same way. Anyone??

Mumabee - thanks for the comparison link - it was quite shocking. I am a HypnoBirthing Practitioner and can confirm that what is said about HypnoBirthing on that page is just not true. It makes me feel realy upset actually.

Bizarrely, the founder of Natal Hypnotherapy is an expert because she has been involved in 4 births. I think this says it all...

Maggie Howell here - founder of natal hypnotherapy. Just to clarify to Noseynoonoo, I have been called an "expert" based on the fact that I have been a clinical Hypnotherapist for 9 years, a trained Doula since 2003, founder of an award winning series of hypnosis CDs which have reached in excess of 50,000 women, Author, expert for Pregnancy and baby magazine, trainer of more than 500 midwives...of yes and mother of 5 home born children.

hmmm not entirely convinced by the comparisons on natal hypno site - it seems to pick and choose info to suit - such as using US c-section stats..... (and I havent tried either course yet!). Being in SWales though, I have no option so will be off hypnobirthing (although i do like the idea of DH being very invloved anyway, even if he doesnt!)

Hypnobirthing is an American method that is more full-on (it's more usual to do a full course, costing hundreds of pounds) and (IMO) more "woo-ey".

I chose the Natal Hypnotherapy CDs as I didn't like the American accent with Hypnobirthing CDs, didn't want to do a full-on course, didn't feel that the attitude of HypnoBirthing was for me and just wanted help to learn techniques that I could use no matter what happens with the birth.

Because of OC, I've gone from hoping for a natural home water birth to facing the possibility of early induction. IMO Natal Hypnotherapy is more flexible to change in circumstances than Hypnobirthing (which is more of the attitude that interventions are bad - not helpful when I may well need them to save my baby ).

Maggie - I have the pregnancy relaxation CD and find it very sueful. I am in South West London and really want to go on a natal hypnotheraoy course. What is the best way to find my closest practitioner? I did e-mail someone from the webiste but did not get a response.

Of course I meant useful not sueful!!

prittypea I know your comments were a while ago but can you give me the details of the course you attended in Hampstead? it sounds great! thank you

I used the natal hypno-birthing CD & loved it. It was really very useful tool.

I would have loved to do a hypno-birthing course but they are quite expensive - that is what put me off.

SVH78 - We have a great practitioner in Ewell called Jill Mcandrew who is running the one day Natal Hypnotherapy workshops - go to our site and you can get the dates. There are 2 seperate workshops - one for the hypnosis, relaxation and breathing techniques and one for practical birth preparation covering massage, physiology, birth partners etc. They are £95 each. Hope that helps.