Did you do it? Did it work for you? What have you heard about it?
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I did hypnobabies and loved it. Worked amazingly until transition (then transition sucked but I got through it ~45 minutes). My birth story is on my blog if you're interested (link in profile). Happy to answer any specific questions if you have them- I did the home study course.
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Great thread! I'll be following! Both my births have been med-free, Bradley with my first and go-with-the-flow for my second and both of those are fine for active labor, until I hit transition. I'd like to find something to help me manage transition a little better with my upcoming birth (other than begging someone just to put me out of my misery). Or maybe nothing really helps with transition and I should just prepare to grin and bear it again, huh, @ohapostrophe:?
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This is a really interesting thread, I hope there are loads more comments coming!
When I first found out I was pregnant, I was obsessed with this idea. I bought the Mongan Method book and read it cover to cover. DH wasn't at all sold on the idea though, he called it "hippy crap" and refused to engage with the techniques seriously so I abandoned the idea. The problem is, some of what I had been teaching him has gone in - i.e the idea that pain in childbirth is all in women's heads - and he keeps quoting that to me every time we talk about labour!
I have a friend, though, who did the classes and managed labour without pain meds - she said that giving birth was the most wonderful experience of her life and she would do it again in an instant. So there's gotta be something in it.....!
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@Mrs squirreld: Hi! I "do" hypnobirthing. I have not given birth yet. However, I would stress I don't really think it should be defined in "working" or "not working" in relation to birth.
I just don't believe there is any way to can fail childbirth.
Hypnobirthing is an attitude towards life, more than a method for getting through birthing (In my opinion). Its about how you and your DH approach your pregnancy and the new person coming to meet you.
I am not particularly bothered if it "works" while birthing. I might end up with a C-section, that doesn't change me being a hypnobirther, and I am sure hypnobirthing will be a massive help with any eventuality.
Hands down it has been so, so, so worth it for the help it has given me in pregnancy. I am so, relaxed, connected to my DH and baby, I sleep so well. I am not constantly complaining about being pregnant and being negative all the time. (Sorry, I don't mean that to sound critical but I am genuinely bemused by the attitudes I see from other pregnant women). I am not wishing my pregnancy to be over.
What I am trying to say is... I highly, highly, recommend it.
It really don't matter how you give birth. There is no way to fail it. Hypnobirthing is a way of thinking for the whole of your pregnancy and much beyond.
As with all hypnotherapy it is a therapy of consent. It will only "work" for you if you are open to it. Your DH also has a very important role in hypnobirthing, he becomes a critical component.. This was one of the main reasons I was attracted to it. My DH really believes in it and is a huge advocate of it, so that is a big help.
If there is anything more you want to ask, please let me know.
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I did a class before my first babe was born. Hypnobirthing was cool but it was not for me I guess. I think its promises of a pain-free birth are a bit out there. I did enjoy the educational aspect of the classes.
Ultimately this was not the technique for me. Even in the classes it was hard for me to self-hypnotize. Much less in childbirth!
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@Cherrybee: I became interested in it as I use meditation or the attitude of my mind to deal with other kinds of pain... I also want my birth to be a calm ( as far as I can control) experience, whatever may happen.
@sea_bass: I agree, "worked" isn't the best choice of words... Everything you said rang true to me...although I had never really thought about it' effects during pregnancy. I will be doing more research for sure and talking to DH but I'm pretty sure he will be on board. Did you take classes or were you just self taught? @ohapostrophe: thanks- I will definately check it out
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@Mrs squirreld: Not having a go at your choice of words at all
! I am due this month so it has really made me reflect on why I did hypnobirthing and how it has affected me. It just makes me sad when I hear people talking about child birthing in terms of work/didn't work I have had a few "changes" happen to my plans which mean that I am likely to have a more interventionist birth than I had initially planned. (I had initially planned for a home/hypnobirth). But I have met those changes with nothing but JOY and not FEAR.
To my mind, hypnobirthing is worth it for just that. You honestly sail through pregnancy (Irrespective of what is thrown at you).
I started this pregnancy typical type-a, wanting to control everything, worry about everything etc. Hypnobirthing transformed how I related to my pregnancy in an incredible and lovely way. Anything it helps me with in birth is a bonus.
I am also sure it will help in the adjustment to parenting too. A huge amount of the recordings are dedicated to AFTER baby arrives, which I think is hugely important.
Lastly, I used the book and the standard recordings and loved them so much I bought additional recordings so I have about 6 I rotate between. I also have the CD of the background music which now just works as a relaxing "Anchor" (Sorry, hypnobirthing term).
I wasn't really bothered about doing a course, but then my DH really wanted to, so we did a private two day one in our home which was incredible. I got so much out of it, but equally think I would have been fine with just the books and recordings.
Don't get disheartened though, the first few times you do the hypnosis you think nothing has happened, or you have just fallen asleep
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@sea_bass: which book/CD do have?
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@Mrs squirreld: I have the Marie Mongan book with the CD's that come with the book. Here is the link to it on Ebay AU (You are in Australia right?)
There are two tracks on that. One for you to do, and one designed to be done with your husband. They are both lovely.
I also have a CD of the background music on those CDs which is effective to just listed to alone.
I also bought some additional recordings from positive-birth.com which are great too. You might want to buy ones in your own accent as I am sure there will be hypnobirthing recordings you can get in Australia too. Some people find the US accent difficult to relax into, personally, it never bothered me.
There is also a wealth of excersizes and lessons on youtube.
I also was given some excersizes to do, which are great. Some are in the book, some aren't. Some are pretty fascinating....
For example, hold an ice-cube in your hand for a timed minute. Spend the whole time talking about how much it hurts, what it feels like etc. Then re-do the excersize while you are doing some hypnobirthing relaxation. Its incredible. The minute suddenly feels like ten seconds. Blows my mind!
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@sea_bass: awesome! Thanks so much
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@Mrs squirreld: My pleasure. I really hope you enjoy it. How many weeks are you?
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@sea_bass: 25weeks
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@Mrs squirreld: Fantastic! Wishing you a wonderful pregnancy and birth
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I did it, and found it very useful. I needed interventions that I didn't want to do without an epidural, but it failed. So, I found hypnobirthing really helpful the entire time, even though I didn't get to go medfree.
If you're looking for an instructor in Oregon, I've got some great suggestions.
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@sloaneandpuffy: As a doula and future childbirth educator, I have a real problem with methods that hold up pain-free birthing as their ideal. I agree that fear and tension and expecting it to be bad will make the pain 100x worse, but I also know that when it's all said and done, most women will refer to the intensity as "pain." There's nothing wrong with enduring through that intensity, like a runner at mile 22 in a marathon. But there's nothing wrong with calling it what it is either. I don't disbelieve women who say they had pain-free births because I'm not her, I wasn't in her body- if that's the way she feels about her birth, AWESOME! But those births sometimes happen for women without any prior preparation, no training whatsoever. And many women who've trained in pain-free methods would describe at least part of their labor as painful. And then feel disappointed in themselves because they must not have done it right. So, to me, it's kinda like, oh yeah, first you're supposed to have a drug-free birth and then you're also supposed to be able to be pain-free too. Let's just set up another standard fo birthingr women, why don't we?
That said, I'm looking into HypnoBabies for some additional tools to use in my next labor. -
@FarmWifeGina: I like your train of thought. =) For what it's worth, my mom has 6 children and most of us were natural (not the first two, who were born in the 60's, when being very drugged was most commong). She *always* claims she had very pain-free births, and she had no "training" in any method whatsoever.
Her story with me is that she just felt "off" one night when she was close to her EDD, and they lived WAY out in the country, so she asked me dad to wake up and drive to the hospital in case soemthing was wrong (over an hour drive to the hospital). When she got there, they told her she was about to give birth, and she didn't believe them, because she was in no pain. I arrived 2 hours later.
YUP. For some people, it's just easier. Sadly, my sisters have assured me that for THEM birth has been more of the typical experience (ie., not easy). But it's very funny, because my mom tends to be like, "Oh, stop complaining...birth isn't THAT hard". But she's an outlier! She doesnt get what it's like for normal people.
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@Anagram: Ha! Yeah, my mom had 10 kids and said she never really felt like it hurt bad enough to want drugs. So, either everyone is different or I'm a major weenie (good possibility there too) because I beg for something at least once right before I start pushing. But I've never gotten anything and my apparent low tolerance for pain has never kept me from birthing drug-free. I'm always very glad of that when I get to pushing because it feels so freaking good for me.
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I agree everyone has a different pain threshold. Just like I think everyone has a different methods that they feel are right for them
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@Mrs squirreld: Do you really? (use meditation to control pain). Does it help you to cope?
I became interested in it because it seemed to promise a pain free birth (I thought it would "work"!!!) but I have come to understand that it's actually all about the way in which I view what my body is doing during labour (every contraction takes me closer to my baby) and about giving me coping mechanisms (I can deal with anything for one minute!). DH and I wont be doing the techniques together but reading the book has given me a better attitude - I keep repeating to myself that whatever birth experience I have, whatever interventions I need, it's the perfect birth for me and my baby because it's "our story".
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Yeah just to clarify, I loved hypnobabies and it helped me to achieve a painmed-free birth, but it was not a PAIN-FREE birth. It was a great tool in helping me think of the process differently (as "work" rather than "pain") but it was still a lot of work... not just sit back and relax and feel nothing.
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I did hypnobabies for my second birth. It was useful, to an extent. I agree that it definitely did NOT lead to a "pain-free" birth (I'm amongst the doubters that that exists, at least for the vast majority of women), but it did help me feel more relaxed going into labor.
I actually have a half-written blog post about my experience with Hypnobabies that I keep meaning to get back and finish. This thread is a good nudge to go get started!
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@ohapostrophe: Oh yeah, I understand and completely agree with that perspective.
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I have no experience with hypnobirthing, but my friend who is due in just three weeks took the classes and is SO excited about it. I'll be really curious to hear her outlook on it afterward.
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I can not visualize for anything, so a lot of the Mongan method involved imagining yourself lying in a field of strawberry colored mist...not for me.
I had a very active intervention free birth. The key for me was understanding the technical aspects of birth and moving around. I used so many different positions, all with the help of my two midwives and husbands. It was not pain free and honestly, that wasn't my goal. I wanted to be in a position to manage the pain and I achieved that.
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*bumping for any new experiences*
My midwife said I may not be a good candidate for an epidural because I have permanent nerve damage from previous anesthesia. She suggested I look into hypnobirthing. While looking up childbirth classes earlier, everything is darn near booked through June!! I'm due in June. So, I'm trying to nail something down for April-May timeframe.
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@dc yoga bee: I did the Hypnobabies home course (different program from Hypnobirthing, but similar general idea). I loved the program and will probably do it again next time. But I ended up with the epidural. What happened in my case was that my water broke and my contractions started very quickly. So I didn't get to labor at home and experience a gradual build up, instead I had to rush to the hospital. Even so, I was doing well at the beginning (there are special tracks to listen to during labor), but it was really hard at the hospital to stay focused. I kept getting pulled out of my meditation and so I eventually gave in and asked for the epidural.
The good part was that I was really relaxed through my whole last trimester and at the beginning of my labor. My advice would be if you really want to have a good experience, take a live class (I have a feeling they are more effective than the home courses) and hire a doula if you can. I skipped the doula because I thought I could do it on my own but I was wrong.
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@dc yoga bee: I did not use Hypnobirthing, but I did have a med-free birth! I took a Lamaze-based class, but it's not like the Lamaze of our mother's generation. This was much better and we went over a lot of different positions for labor and birth. Try everything, and make sure to keep your bladder empty. I was on the toilet after every contraction. Talk to your midwife for about their policy for water breaking, mine didn't require you to be at the hospital unless your water had been broken for 18 hours.
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Does anyone with hypnobabies experience have any advice for someone who's getting close to the end but hasn't done the best job with the home study program? I am 36 weeks and I started in plenty of time, to the point that I was doing the home classes basically each over 2 weeks. But I wasn't consistent, and I had one of two problems with almost every mediation. I would either get extremely restless and skin crawling itchy, or pass out asleep . I know they say that in both of those scenarios, you are still benefitting from what you are hearing, but I am still worried.
At this point I am of the mindset that I'll do what I can, and any benefit to my calmness and state of being in labor will be good help. But, how do you think, at this point, I can best benefit from practicing it? Should I try to back track a little? Or just be better about the maintenance phase? I don't even know what I am expecting someone to tell me, I just want to figure out how to best use my preparation time and investment in the program, I guess.
Thanks for reading!
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@dc yoga bee: I did not do hypnobabies, but I also had a med free birth. I took Bradley classes. I labored at home for two days before I went in. Very positive experience!
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I tried to self teach hypnobirthing after starting this thread back in my first pregnancy. I used the Marie Morgan book. I did end up with my med free birth, but didn't follow hypnobirthing as much as I would have liked to, I lost control a bit and went with my own method of coping. I will definitely be going to classes this pregnancy to get more practice, so hopefully I can stay a bit calmer this time around!
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@junebugsmama: I was in the same boat as you- fell asleep during a lot of the sessions, and some of the techniques just didn't do it for me. BUT I was successful in using it once it came to labor. I think you really can just take what you can get out of it; you don't have to buy in to each and every idea on there. The labor track was great for me. I definitely credit hypnobabies for getting me through my first labor unmedicated (I credit my second son arriving in under 90 minutes for getting me through the second labor unmedicated
). GOOD LUCK!
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@ohapostrophe: 90 minutes!! wowza!! Nice job. lol
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@ohapostrophe: thank you so much! I hope I can use it to stay focused and relaxed. But I don't plan to put a "we're a hypnobabies family" sign on the door or insist my nurses refer to my contractions as pressure waves. Lol
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@dc yoga bee: I used hypnobabies home study course and loved it. It helped me stay calm and happy through the last few months of my pregnancy, to the point where my husband asked if I could just keep doing it after the birth. My birth was fast which is apparently common with people using it. When I arrived at the hospital I was complete (I had only been in labor for 5 hours at that point and it was my first.) There were a few techniques that didn't resonate with me but they give you so many and then are great at reminding you of all of your options on the labor CD. My husband loved the labor track because he didn't really participate much in the home study class with me but that track gave ideas for the birth partner to try so it helped him to help me. I really struggled with the first two hours of labor because I thought it was "too soon" to turn on my labor tracks, as soon as I did I was able to regain control of my mind and it made life soooo much easier. I won't say it was magically pain free but it was very doable whereas before I turned it on I was miserable.
@junebugsmama: I was worried about that too and it went really well for me. I second everything ohapastrophe said. I read somewhere that the fidgeting is actually a positive sign and I decided to just embrace it. I started leaving myself in that middle switch place when I was having a tough time and it was fine. During labor I think but really couldn't swear to it, they encourage you to be in that middle switch location anyway.
I also decided to have a few days near the end where I just had a relaxed day at home and did the tracks a few times, so one when I woke up, another late morning etc. If I felt like I had consistently fallen asleep through a certain track I would just jump to a place ten or fifteen minutes into a track and put myself into hypnosis and listen that way so I had heard the track with a more conscious mind. I probably feel sleep 80% of the time I listened so using this tactic made me feel more confident.
Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions!
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@Cole: Thank you so much! This is all so helpful and encouraging. I really like what you said about your husband getting benefits from the labor track, because my partner hasn't really been participating in the tracks or program.
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I bought the home study course but didn't stick to it (kept falling asleep, and finally just gave up), so I can't really speak to how well it works over all. But I did really like listening to the joyful pregnancy affirmation in the car on the way to and from work. It was sort of cheesy but it really did help put me in a good head space. I used some of the techniques in early labor. But I wish I'd done a class focused on physical techniques and positions because when I got deep into active labor and transition, I just couldn't find a position that was sustainable for me and wish I had more tools.
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Bump, Bump!
When did you start the classes or start listening to the CDs?
My doctor's office only delivers at a hospital, but there is a mid-wife on staff. Were you able to have a satisfying hypnobirth in a hospital setting?
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