Natural skeptics -- could you take hypnobabies seriously?

[jenfl]

I like the idea of the hypnobabies labor relief, but I'm not sure how seriously I'll be able to take it. I'm a natural skeptic. I tend toward sarcasm. I listened to one of their samples, but was laying on the couch, making snarky remarks to DH throughout. I just couldn't help it.

I'd love to hear if others with a similar personality were able to take it seriously and get some benefit out of it, or did you just find yourself giggling through the tapes?

[MamaChicken]

Maybe I'm not so much a skeptic, but I am a typical engineer - seeing is believing - prove it to me - what is the equation for that?

At some point, you do have to be able to let go and just allow yourself to give it a try. It was kinda like falling in love for me, I had to actively "let" myself be open to it.

[broodymama]

Originally Posted by MamaChicken

Maybe I'm not so much a skeptic, but I am a typical engineer - seeing is believing - prove it to me - what is the equation for that?

At some point, you do have to be able to let go and just allow yourself to give it a try. It was kinda like falling in love for me, I had to actively "let" myself be open to it.

Yes, this. (Well, I'm a skeptic, cynic and an engineer, so yes there were quite a few snarky comments. ) It's similar to a progressive relaxation that I do at night and when I get (frequent) migraines, so it was kind of familiar to me. The practice of getting into a focused yet relaxed state was helpful in preparing for birth. I used Hypnobabies for all 3 of my births (1 hospital, 2 home) and will use it again for this upcoming birth.

I no longer make sarcastic comments, instead I just sleep through the tracks. They're great for treating my insomnia.

[nameisrio]

We did the Bradley method and my husband and I cracked jokes and snickered through most of the training. But when it came down to the birth, it WORKED. I guess it's OK to be a cynic on the outside as long as deep down, you believe in it.

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I am a huge skeptic. I also tend toward sarcasm and snark. That said, I would put on a hypnobabies cd, and I just relaxed and opened my mind enough to listen. I actually found her voice very soothing. So much so that I fell asleep about 90% of the time I listened to a cd. I felt very rested throughout the pregnancy!

I had a very fast labor. When I woke up in labor, I listened to the "easy first stage" for a couple of minutes, but I got restless and turned it off so I could wander around the house. When things progressed, I used the techniques as long as I could, and I have to say that they did work, though I would not say it was painless. I think honestly, I am just the kind of birther who needs to vocalize, even wail, through the last final moments of labor before pushing out the baby. I felt bad about my vocalizations at the time, as if I was a hypnobabies flunky, but considering I went from zero to baby in two hours and called my midwife during what most people call transition and she didn't even believe I was in labor because I sounded so calm, I would like to think that it actually worked just fine. And I started out a skeptic.

[Astraia]

I thought i might be too critical for hypnobabies. I'm not really a skeptic, and not really *that* snarky, lol - but I thought I might be unable to turn off my "logical" mind.

I put a lot of time and energy into it for awhile. I believed 100% that it was a beneficial program. But despite my best efforts, my mind focused in on grammar problems, the sound of her swallowing, phrases that bugged me, etc (like, "I deserve an easy, fast, and comfortable birthing"- DESERVE? Who actually DESERVES something like that? What have I done to deserve anything?)

Anyway, it's not working for me. My mind won't relax enough to take it seriously, and I'm always analyzing how I feel - am I relaxed enough? Is this relaxed? Damn, I moved. Whoops, now I'm tense because I'm trying not to move. How do you know when you're hypnotized? Is this hypnosis? Probably not, because I'm thinking about it so much.

So yeah. I do think that certain types of people would take to it better than others. I'm just glad I didn't pay full price

[nikirj]

I'm a HUGE skeptic. It helped me to hear that there is no hypnosis involved in hypnobabies. It's all about patterning your brain to respond in certain ways to certain things in labor, through repetition. So keeping yourself "on track" in thinking positive by practicing it.

Not that I use hypnobabies. I just take it more seriously now that it's been reframed as "not hypnosis" for me. I don't disbelieve in hypnosis, either...but hypnosis on a tape working for the majority of laboring moms that try it was too big a stretch for me.

[JorgieGirl]

It's about the kind of hypnosis that happens to everyone everyday. While you're watching tv, or doing something mundane, just before you fall asleep type of moments. It's not something that can really be denied. It's just focusing it and using it to your advantage during another kind of moment.

Also, the fact that it does actually work for so many people is proof enough for many people to at least give it a second thought.

[Veritaserum]

I tend toward the analytical as well, but I made the choice to be open to Hypnobabies. Since I did not want another epidural and I'm not a fan of pain, I was determined to do everything in my power to make it work. Mentally I had to allow myself to believe that it was possible for it to work and that it could work for me. Grammar issues aside , it did work to make my births easier and more enjoyable. I used other things in addition to my Hypnobabies techniques (vocalizing is FINE , movement, water, massage, etc.) as it talks about in the Hypnobabies course.

[Mama_2_Boy]

Well I've been practicing the hypnobabies and I'm due any day now. But really, after further research on this topic I no longer look at hypnobabies as a "belief system"...its' actually a proven fact. If you learn to control your breathing and deal with the pain in a controlled, relaxed fashion, the result will be less stress hormones leaving the brain thus less pain. Hypnobabies/birthing is all about learning to 'be in the moment", to stay focused and relax.
Yes I find some of the dialogue on the CD's to be cheesy. But the narrator is lending their knowledge through a vehical that most find comforting to learn.

Here is a link to youtube video of a story done on Dateline NBC on this subject. There are also several other videos on hypnobirthing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llT30oHxz6g

I say that if you are serious about attempting the methods, to take from it what you can relate to and run with that.

[Bluegoat]

I see the problem as understanding that the irrational, and cheesy, is indeed rational when understood properly.

One is learning a process of deep relaxation, which is related to the hypnosis portion. You might find doing a bit of research on hypnosis and how it works interesting. It has clear and measurable effects on brain activity, and that is what you are doing - trying to induce advantageous types of brain activity.

A lot of it is also conditioning, which is another very scientific approach to behavior. You are conditioning yourself to respond in particular ways to particular cues.

And really, I think what these programs are trying to do is what Ina May Gaskin calls, "letting your monkey do it." Logical brain activity is not always that useful during labour - and can actually inhibit the more primitive parts of the brain that are responsible for dealing with labour. We know this because we are rational beings.

So it makes sense to allow those rational functions to be suspended while we are birthing, as much as possible, and rely on our primitive brain. And rational function for those of us who are very inclined that way can be difficult to overcome, and taking time to practice and learn cues is the only logical thing to do, really.

It does seem cheesy. But when trying to access the primitive brain and by-pass the rational brain, it would be logical to expect that the phrases, etc would have a cheesy, emotional, or irrational tone to them.

[engineer_mom]

I didn't use it during my birth, but it was soooo relaxing to listen. I was raving to my husband about hypnosis during the second or third week, trying to convince him to get a stress relief hypnosis CD.

[Belia]

Originally Posted by Astraia

I thought i might be too critical for hypnobabies. I'm not really a skeptic, and not really *that* snarky, lol - but I thought I might be unable to turn off my "logical" mind.

I put a lot of time and energy into it for awhile. I believed 100% that it was a beneficial program. But despite my best efforts, my mind focused in on grammar problems, the sound of her swallowing, phrases that bugged me, etc (like, "I deserve an easy, fast, and comfortable birthing"- DESERVE? Who actually DESERVES something like that? What have I done to deserve anything?)

Anyway, it's not working for me. My mind won't relax enough to take it seriously, and I'm always analyzing how I feel - am I relaxed enough? Is this relaxed? Damn, I moved. Whoops, now I'm tense because I'm trying not to move. How do you know when you're hypnotized? Is this hypnosis? Probably not, because I'm thinking about it so much.

This was me to a T. I believe(d) that it could work, and I even believed that it could work for me.... until I started listening to the CDs on a regular basis. I was so hyperaware during the whole thing. The secret, safe place was the only thing I found useful. The finger-drop thing?!?!? NO WAY. Plus, I never enjoyed listening to the CDs.

And its funny- that's exactly how I was during labor. Hyperaware. I really sabotaged myself in a lot of ways- I needed to get out of my own way, and I just COULDN'T.

I never finished the program because I went into labor so dang early. I also never listened to any of the CDs once I was in labor. I'm at a place where I feel like HB could work, but maybe not for me and my personality.

[Lexi_029]

I listened to a bit of it and laughed my butt off... I didn't even bother going any farther from there.

[mrsfrenchy]

I'm the same way, and the text actually has recommendations about what to do if you are a naturally analytical person (like, instead of letting yourself analyze/laugh at what they're saying, you try to focus on each word, repeating it to yourself, so that you don't let yourself have the chance to poke fun at it.

I still mentally roll my eyes at some of the stuff on the scripts and its not something that I'll do with my DH (i'm a birth alone kind of person anyway), but I still think it's working for me (I haven't actually used it during birth yet). I'm just in week 2 but I can feel the hypnosis working for me when I practice each night. I get a floaty, numb feeling....so apparently I am accepting it on some level.

Overall though, I think you would have to want to make it work enough and just decide that it's going to work for you. If you don't commit yourself to the idea of "it will work" AND you're still analyzing it, then I would say don't bother.

[Astraia]

I was totally committed to making it work. I thought it was the most awesome sounding program ever. I made DH re-work our budget so we could buy it. I'm really frustrated that it isn't working for me but i don't think it's a level of commitment problem here.

I try to make my head shut up. I'm not trying to make fun of it. Even trying to focus on every word she says, the second my mind starts to wander it's game over.

It's the same reason why I'm such an insomniac. The second i start to feel relaxed enough to start to fall asleep my brain goes, "ooh, perfect, you're falling asleep" and then I tense up and have to start all over. It's exhausting.

I do think that there are some people for whom a self-hypnosis guide will never work- and I firmly believe that it's not because we're not trying hard enough.

[Sk8ermaiden]

Originally Posted by Astraia

I put a lot of time and energy into it for awhile. I believed 100% that it was a beneficial program. But despite my best efforts, my mind focused in on grammar problems, the sound of her swallowing, phrases that bugged me, etc (like, "I deserve an easy, fast, and comfortable birthing"- DESERVE? Who actually DESERVES something like that? What have I done to deserve anything?)

There are grammar problems? I was watching this thread with interest because it is me to a T. But I had planned, for my next birth to maybe do hypnobabies and combine it with my Bradley or do whichever felt best, but if there are ANY grammar issues with the CDs, then there is no way on earth they will work for me. That's disappointing, but at least I found out before I shelled out the $$.

[wbg]

I tried it, but could not get into it. I am pretty open to most things. I take kundalini yoga and chant away quite happily about bathing myself in love and light etc! But I just could not get into hynobabies. But I have heard 90 percent rave reviews from people who do use it.

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by Sk8ermaiden

There are grammar problems? I was watching this thread with interest because it is me to a T. But I had planned, for my next birth to maybe do hypnobabies and combine it with my Bradley or do whichever felt best, but if there are ANY grammar issues with the CDs, then there is no way on earth they will work for me. That's disappointing, but at least I found out before I shelled out the $$.

Not really. The only thing i noticed grammar wise i couldn't even figure out if it was wrong or not, or if it just sounded weird.

The specific phrase is "deeper relaxed." As in, "you will feel deeper relaxed. Deeper and deeper relaxed."

If you can get over that (which in most cases I can, I just repeated it to myself a lot during the day so it didn't sound as weird) then it's not a big deal.

[Mulvah]

Originally Posted by Astraia

I thought i might be too critical for hypnobabies. I'm not really a skeptic, and not really *that* snarky, lol - but I thought I might be unable to turn off my "logical" mind.

I put a lot of time and energy into it for awhile. I believed 100% that it was a beneficial program. But despite my best efforts, my mind focused in on grammar problems, the sound of her swallowing, phrases that bugged me, etc (like, "I deserve an easy, fast, and comfortable birthing"- DESERVE? Who actually DESERVES something like that? What have I done to deserve anything?)

Anyway, it's not working for me. My mind won't relax enough to take it seriously, and I'm always analyzing how I feel - am I relaxed enough? Is this relaxed? Damn, I moved. Whoops, now I'm tense because I'm trying not to move. How do you know when you're hypnotized? Is this hypnosis? Probably not, because I'm thinking about it so much.

So yeah. I do think that certain types of people would take to it better than others. I'm just glad I didn't pay full price

I've been really interested in trying this program, but I'm 100% convinced this is what would happen to me.

Edited by Mulvah - 10/16/11 at 10:22am