hypnobirth vs. bradley

[evjolin]

just about 5 weeks preggo....trying to determine the best method for me...thoughts and experiences???

also...i'm leaning towards a home birth if that makes a difference....hospitals where i live are pretty big on intervention..

[mwherbs]

I would say both- because Bradley will teach about physiology and other info about pregnancy and birth
hypno birthing is a method for managing labor
I dont think that they have to be mutually exclusive- and I also think that many women hit a resolve in labor that seems to be very much what I see hypnobirthing women trying to achieve -
infact I am sad to report that of the hypno birthing women I have worked with only one (a mom who had 2 babies already) did it work for or she knew how to utilize the info
and 100% of the first time moms I have seen try to use it needed something in addition

[Dune Lover]

I used hypnobirthing only with my first pregnancy and it was beautiful, joyful, and enjoyable despite being in a hospital and giving birth to a 9lb 3ou boy. Second pregnancy due in January...will be at home using hypnobirthing again. Can't wait! I think my outstanding doula and fantastic husband were key to things going well.

[Veritaserum]

I'd skip both and do Hypnobabies. The founder of Hypnobabies taught Bradley for 10 years, so Hypnobabies has great info on healthy pregnancies, consumer choices, and partner involvement, etc. In addition to all of that childbirth education, Hypnobabies teaches hypno-anesthesia techniques, which is what allows most Hypnobabies moms to be so comfortable. My (home birth) midwife recommends Hypnobabies all the time (over HypnoBirthing and Bradley) because she's seen how helpful it can be--even for first-time moms.

You can read over 200 birth stories of moms using hypnosis here:

http://pregnancybirthandbabies.com/P...th_stories.htm

Here's a collection of first-time moms:

http://pregnancybirthandbabies.com/e...%20Time%20Moms

[tvantol]

We are taking the hypnobirth class now for #2. I would highly recommend reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and skipping the class. Everything you need to know about Bradley is in this book. The hypnobirth/babies class in addition would be how I would do it the first time around had I known. Honestly though, I don't think I would have gotten my waterbirth after 72 hours in labor if I hadn't followed Bradley. I am grateful for it.

[fazer6]

I think there was a hypnobabies thread in birth and beyond in the last month that compared hypnobabies to bradley quite well. Basically bradley teaches you there will be pain during birthing and you have to learn to grin and bear it. Hypnobabies teaches you that through hypnosis you can create hypno anesthesia and actually have a completely comfortable birthing experience.

Kerry who created the programme used to be a bradley instructer and the hypnobabies course is a complete ante natal course which teaches you about pregnancy, birth, birthing choices and comfortable birthing using the hypnosis.

I did hypnobabies and felt absolutly relaxed about the whole thing, there was so much information in the self study course I had no doubts at all as to my capabilities. During the birth even though things were intense at times I never felt I needed anything more than a bit of gas and air.

[evjolin]

thanks for the advice...i had been planning on bradley, but the hypno birth is really intriguing, maybe i will do a combo! thx again!

[Sudonk]

I took a HypnoBirthing class during my first pregnancy, sat through a Bradley series between pregnancies and did the Hypnobabies Home Study for my second and third births. Clearly everyone has different needs when it comes to preparing for birth, so none of them are one-size-fits-all, and all have something to offer the right person. It is up to the individual to research all the options and decide which one best fits her personal requirements.

That said, I found Hypnobabies to be the most complete and useful of the three classes mentioned. It combines a complete natural childbirth education that included everything I heard in Bradley, with deep medical-grade self-hypnosis skills that far surpassed the basic guided relaxation in HypnoBirthing. Honestly, I know people often try to compare Hypnobabies and HypnoBirthing because they both happen to have "hypno" in their names, but they are far more different than they are similar. Hypnobabies teaches deep self-hypnosis skills utilizing several scripts filled with powerful post-hypnotic suggestions that build on the previous one to create an entire toolbox of highly effective relaxation/hypnosis cues that can be used by the mother or with the help of her birthing team. HypnoBirthing uses guided relaxation, visualization and one general chakra clearing CD without creating any real hypnosis skills. I think HypnoBirthing can be a nice choice for a mom who is well-informed about NCB and has already accomplished a few unmedicated births, but is looking for a little extra relaxation. But I don't think it is generally a good choice for a FTM who is looking for deeper skills or who needs any childbirth information. It was fine for my very early birthing, but when things got intense, HypnoBirthing just had nothing left to give me, and the lack of information about birth led to me having some avoidable complications as well.

What I liked about Hypnobabies was that it combined excellent natural childbirth information with the self-hypnosis information, so that it was clear how best to utilize the information and skills together to maximize their effectiveness in achieving a safe and comfortable birth. Hypnobabies goes way beyond what someone would get out of combining a Bradley class and HypnoBirthing, because it is specifically written to intermesh the strongpoints of information and relaxation into one extremely effective method. And it really gives so many clear and exact suggestions for how to use everything that it teaches, so there is none of the, "Ok, that's nice in theory, but how do I *DO* that?" concerns that I and my classmates had coming out of the HypnoBirthing class.

[Bluegoat]

I haven't tried Bradley, but the HypnoBabies program specifically suggests that you should not use another program in conjunction with it. THis is because of what was implied in a previous post - HypnoBabies spends a lot of time "reprogramming" you attitude to birth. By taking a class like Bradley that talks about pain, you will sabotage that reprogramming.

[DCMama01]

Originally Posted by fazer6

I think there was a hypnobabies thread in birth and beyond in the last month that compared hypnobabies to bradley quite well. Basically bradley teaches you there will be pain during birthing and you have to learn to grin and bear it. Hypnobabies teaches you that through hypnosis you can create hypno anesthesia and actually have a completely comfortable birthing experience.

Kerry who created the programme used to be a bradley instructer and the hypnobabies course is a complete ante natal course which teaches you about pregnancy, birth, birthing choices and comfortable birthing using the hypnosis.

I did hypnobabies and felt absolutly relaxed about the whole thing, there was so much information in the self study course I had no doubts at all as to my capabilities. During the birth even though things were intense at times I never felt I needed anything more than a bit of gas and air.

I think your Bradley instructor matters a great deal. Mine will not use the word pain nor will she allow anyone in the class to do so. We moreso talk in terms of ways to manage discomfort if it comes by trying different options and positions. There's also a very popular Bradley instructor in my area who is always booked up, because the midwives and doulas say her moms are always prepared(especially first timers) and do great.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by mwherbs

I would say both- because Bradley will teach about physiology and other info about pregnancy and birth
hypno birthing is a method for managing labor
I dont think that they have to be mutually exclusive- and I also think that many women hit a resolve in labor that seems to be very much what I see hypnobirthing women trying to achieve -
infact I am sad to report that of the hypno birthing women I have worked with only one (a mom who had 2 babies already) did it work for or she knew how to utilize the info
and 100% of the first time moms I have seen try to use it needed something in addition

I have to disagree here Hypnobabies worked 100% for me, that's why dd was a surprise UC after all. I've had paper cuts that hurt worse than her birth.

One thing to distinguish is the difference between the hypnosis programs available. The 2 most popular are hypnobirthing and hypnobabies. Hypnobabies is a full childbirth education course; the lady who developed the course was previously a bradley instructor and so many of the same principles were worked in to it. Hypnobirthing is not a full education course nor do I hear many people have full success with it. A search here and on other baby sites will find pretty much the same review over and over again: women were left wanting more with the hypnobirthing course and it did not prepare them enough and hypnobabies was great and worked well.

Also, at least for hypnobabies and bradley they should be exclusive of each other. The entire point of hypnobabies is to release the fear of childbirth and to retrain your mind into believing that pain from contractions is really just pressure. Bradley basically says "there's going to be pain but here's how to handle it." You can't convince your mind there will be no pain if you're taking a class about how to handle the pain, kwim? So while they teach basically the same concepts (interventions, nutrition, birthing positions, etc) they do it in 2 different philosophical ways.

[callieollie]

I agree with the other recommendation of Hypnobabies. I did Bradley with my first and the home study course for Hypnobabies with my second and I wish I had done Hypnobabies with my first (and will do it with all future kids). Hypnobabies is a complete course and really should not be done with Bradley. Bradley teaches you how to deal with the pain you're going to feel while Hypnobabies teaches you how to perceive the contractions as pressure and not pain. It was VERY effective for me and most people I know had great success with Hypnobabies. There is less success with Hypnobirth so if you're going to do a hypnosis course, I'd definitely recommend Hypnobabies over hypnobirth.