Natal hypnotherapy CDs - can I listen to them at bedtime?

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It says not to listen to them when you would normally go to sleep, but I don't really have much other time to listen to them and really I am hoping that they will help me get a good night sleep. Is it a problem to listen to them at night?

I'm doing the hypnobirthing stuff and have the Marie Mongan CD too, which the tutor says is fine to listen to at bedtime. It always helps me have a good night's sleep if I listen just before bed. I always get 'time distortion' where I think I'm asleep but as pregnantpeppa says, the tutor says you're just deeply relaxed. I normally hear nothing at all after the irritating voice of Ms Mongan herself saying, 'And nooooooooow, it's tiiiiiiiiiime..... ((pause)) to relaaaaaaaaax'.

I don't normally like these sort of things, I'm pretty crap at forced relaxation, plus the whole 'your body is functioning perfectly' thing is really hard to stomach when just laying down hurts my hips and my neck and I haven't slept properly in 3 months...

But I promised my mum I would try that or Paul McKenna, and I thought this would kill 2 birds with one stone. I've tried everything else, including sleeping tablets forced from my dr.

Well my DH is the same - totally NOT into anything he perceives to be 'lentil weavery', but he is snoring within minutes of the CD starting. It's worth a try surely? I don't consciously feel myself becoming relaxed, it's more a case of putting the CD on and then before you know it, the CD has finished and it feels as though it's lasted 5 minutes even though the relaxation track is just under 30 mins.

It's not that I am 'not into them', I think they are great, it's just the minute I try and relax and be still my bottom itches or my hair is in the way etc.! I'm just rubbish at it!

I listen to them in the bath, in bed - whenever I can really, if thats the only time you can then go for it, better than not doing it.
I do find them fairly difficult to totally relax to, have only once or twice got the proper feeling of being hypnotised, however got the chance to try the techniques the other day during an ECV, (quite painful at times) and think it helped, although probably won't get to use them for the actual birth, as now having c section! think the relaxation one might come in useful beforehand though.
Just use them as often as you can..and the natal hypnotherapy ones sound better that the hypnobirthing - less annoying anyway! I did yoga too, which helped as you have to do the breathing exercises then too, so it got easier to relax.

Well, I did it before bed and did the usual adjusting pyjamas, getting an itchy nose. I tried to ignore my gut response when it started telling me how comfortable I was, how well my pregnancy was going, how well my body is functioning, trying to remember that it is aspiration rather than fact. I did start to get quite distracted and think about a presentation that I had to give to today then get pissed off because I missed what she had said and didn't know what part of my body I was supposed to be relaxing.

Anyway, miracle of miracles, even though I still woke up several times in the night and DD was up at 6.50 I actually felt more human that I have in months. I didn't feel as tired or crabby. It may be just a fluke, going to try again tonight, but this might just be helping.

I haven't used any hypnobirthing ones as am newly pregnant, but other ones I have used advise against listening to them in the car, as you don't want to get into that relaxed state whilst driving.

Yes, you can listen to them when going to bed. Even if you fall asleep, your subconscious will still absorb the messages. Would recommend listening to them with headphones though. I have loads of (non-pregnancy) hypnotherapy CDs and they do work!

Just out of interest, where did you buy the Natal CDs and how much did pay? Have seen the full set for £40. Is that good?

Not sure, sorry. My mum's partner bought it for me from one of the baby shows.

I've got the Maggie Howell ones which also say don;t listen when you are normally about to go to sleep... but I do, as it is the only time i really get to do it. Have no problems with that, and I find I wake up at the end anyway when it tells you to come out of the hypnosis (sleep!) and then roll over and go back to sleep again.

Well so far I have fallen asleep within about 5-10 minutes of putting the CD on so I hope it's OK if you fall asleep. I also don't have a lot of time in the day so I do resort to putting them on at bedtime.

I have no idea what is a past the first couple of minutes as I am so busy sleeping!

I used the Maggie Howell CDs for my first pregnancy and pretty much always listened to them at bedtime - when else are you supposed to do it if you work full time and run a household?!

They worked brilliantly for me. I still had quite a few things wrong with me while I was pregnant (chest infections, major back pain etc) but I'm sure the CDs helped me stay positive and more chilled than I would have been.

And the midwives couldn't stop going on about how chilled out I was when I was in labour (they got a bit annoying actually) so it definitely did the trick!

So my experience is that you can listen to the CDs at bedtime and even fall asleep nearly every time you listen to them and they still work!

I am the creator of the Natal Hypnotherapy Cds so thought I would answer this query. I have recommended that you do not listen to them at bed time as it encourages you to take time out of your day to stop and relax. As a mum of 5 and running our own business I know how hard it is to find the time, however it is so important to make the time especially in the last few weeks of pregnancy.

You can of course listen to them when you go to sleep and no harm will come from it. However you are likely to get the additional benefit from listening to them at a different time during the day.

Hello Maggie, can I just say your "preparing for a Caesarean" CD really helped me come to terms with my ELCS and I used your breathing techniques when the epidural was going in. Thank you.

This is an interesting thread. I've been using the birth preparation Natal hypnotherapy CDs and find them excellent.

A couple of times I thought I had gone to sleep during them, but "came out of it" when she counts up through 5 at the end, so I think I was just in very deep! Quite amazing actually.

Last night though I did it and woke up an hour later - I think that time I was just knackered and really did go to sleep.

I think it's helpful to listen to them in a waking state, as there are some really good visualisations (I like the sense of slippery, slidey, smoothness for transition!)

I used them and thought they were great! Often at bedtime as that was the only spare time I had with a job, toddler , house, dog and all the usual stuff to do during the day.

I used the VBAC Natal hypnotherapy CD and found it really helped me cope with labour and the prospect of a normal delivery. I never listened to it any other time than bedtime and more often than not fell asleep but not too early on. Funnily enough when I did hear all of it I found it hard to sleep afterwards! I did try very hard to use the relaxation techniques when i was having Braxton Hicks and then in labour too - so I would just listen whenever you can - if it's only at bedtime I think you will still benefit. Thank you Maggie if you are still reading this!