I'm a little confused as to how this works. It seems to me, from what I've read on the hypnobirthing site, that it works by eliminating fear and tension. But what if the pain is not a result of fear and tension?
I am thoroughly convinced of the mind/body connection. (Which is one reason I'm planning a UC.) But what about the kind of pain that does not originate in the head? I'm thinking, for instance, about what in my mind appears to have been a purely mechanical problem at my births -- although the contractions themselves had throughout the labor been at worst like menstrual cramps and at times even painless, and the descent of the baby through my vagina was lovely, right before the baby was born I felt like my back was going to split apart. I mean, literally. (I've never dislocated anything, but the sounds I made sounded an awful lot like when my dad dislocated his hip.) I'm assuming that the baby was posterior and pressing against my sacrum. In this case, the pain had nothing to do with any fear, because none preceded the pain. It had nothing to do with the muscles in my uterus, or the tissue of my vaginal canal.
So you can see where I'm going with this. Does hypnobirthing work only by ridding your head of thoughts/attitudes that create a physical environment that is painful, or does it work also by making you somehow interpret your body's pain signals as not painful, as they are being sent? I mean, does it work only preventatively, or also by transforming your normal perception of the pain sensation to something else?
If the latter, couldn't this be dangerous? There is no reason for most birth pain, but some birth pain could be a valid message from your body to do something. The pain I was feeling from my back made me want to avoid it by moving around, changing positions -- was it that which facilitated the birth of the baby? If I'd not felt the pain, would I have just lain down comfortably and not been in a position conducive to the baby descending easily and safely? Or would my body have told me in some other way what I needed to do?
I am really conflicted by this. I don't believe that birth pain is necessary or inherent to the process, and I do believe that affirmations are a valuable part of preparing for birth. At the same time, I have not yet come across any evidence that pain never occurs outside of the pain/tension cycle, and that it never has a valid and important reason for being there.
I would love some insight from someone who understands hypnobirthing more in depth, or from anyone who has used it successfully or not.
I am thoroughly convinced of the mind/body connection. (Which is one reason I'm planning a UC.) But what about the kind of pain that does not originate in the head? I'm thinking, for instance, about what in my mind appears to have been a purely mechanical problem at my births -- although the contractions themselves had throughout the labor been at worst like menstrual cramps and at times even painless, and the descent of the baby through my vagina was lovely, right before the baby was born I felt like my back was going to split apart. I mean, literally. (I've never dislocated anything, but the sounds I made sounded an awful lot like when my dad dislocated his hip.) I'm assuming that the baby was posterior and pressing against my sacrum. In this case, the pain had nothing to do with any fear, because none preceded the pain. It had nothing to do with the muscles in my uterus, or the tissue of my vaginal canal.
So you can see where I'm going with this. Does hypnobirthing work only by ridding your head of thoughts/attitudes that create a physical environment that is painful, or does it work also by making you somehow interpret your body's pain signals as not painful, as they are being sent? I mean, does it work only preventatively, or also by transforming your normal perception of the pain sensation to something else?
If the latter, couldn't this be dangerous? There is no reason for most birth pain, but some birth pain could be a valid message from your body to do something. The pain I was feeling from my back made me want to avoid it by moving around, changing positions -- was it that which facilitated the birth of the baby? If I'd not felt the pain, would I have just lain down comfortably and not been in a position conducive to the baby descending easily and safely? Or would my body have told me in some other way what I needed to do?
I am really conflicted by this. I don't believe that birth pain is necessary or inherent to the process, and I do believe that affirmations are a valuable part of preparing for birth. At the same time, I have not yet come across any evidence that pain never occurs outside of the pain/tension cycle, and that it never has a valid and important reason for being there.
I would love some insight from someone who understands hypnobirthing more in depth, or from anyone who has used it successfully or not.
“CHILDBIRTH WITHOUT FEAR” back in the 1940s. You should definitely read it. He was a OB/GYN who pioneered the idea of fear+tension=pain. He saw numerous women across the globe give birth relaxed and without pain (HypnoBirthing was not commonplace when he wrote the book.) But the point is, this is a fact. (His book is out of print, but I found a copy at my local library. Try to buy it on Ebay (last time I looked) and expect to pay $100+.)
4 days (unproductive). 
)
I did however, feel endorphins when I was even more deeply relaxed - in the shower. 
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