Hypnobirthing

[Zoe]

Any information on hypnobirthing would be greatly appreciated!

[Spark]

LOVED IT! I had a homebirth with my first baby and consider myself a wimp at times. HypnoBirthing was great.

Hypnobirthing works to eliminate pain from the birth process, increase confidence in your body and natures, make time move quickly for you, and reduce interventions in birth.

At first i was a bit scared by the idea of hypnosis. But taking the class, I saw how it was much more like guided meditation and affirmations. The process is really simple. In fact, i thought it was so simple that it must not be working. Daily, I listened to guided imagry tape and frequently listened to affirmation tapes. I read the book and my husband and I practiced some of the guided imagry together.

How it worked during labor: It worked beautifully. I had a 17 hour labor that started with my water breaking and contrax 2-3 minutes apart right off the bat. It could have been painful...it wasn't. I sailed through the first 16 hours beautifully. I was laughing, making jokes, talking and dancing with my husband. My concentration got a bit broken for an hour though and I did feel pain then. But, really it was just a short time. That hour flew right on by & I thought it was just a few minutes. As soon as Jude was born I told my husband, "I could do this again." I felt great right after the birth, too.

If we have another child, I will do hypnobirthing again. It worked so well for us! If you need help finding a HypnoBirthing instructor, check out this site. http://www.hypnobirthing.com/ You can also do the Study-at-Home method. But, the class worked better for my personality.

Here is my favorite info about hypnosis and childbirth. It's a Dateline show on hypnosis and childbirth. This is amazing and I really did feel like one of these women. http://www.innerrevelations.com/DateLineVideo.html

Best wishes!

[Spark]

KareninCT--

Great advice to ask for a few instructors. I, too, found a difference in personality & cost. I think it really makes a big difference in who is teaching the class. The woman that taught mine (In Detroit area) was wonderful. I think her story is so inspirational, especially for those who have had other children.

Her first child was born in the hospital without HypnoBirthing. She said it was so painful and seemed to last forever. Afterwards, she heard of HypnoBirthing and thought, "No way! Childbirth is painful!" She tried HypnoBirthing with her second thinking that it would take the edge off the pain. HypnoBirthing worked so well with her...maybe a little too well. She ended up delivering at home, partly because she didn't think she was actually in labor. She was in such little discomfort that she realized she was going to deliver only when she felt it was suddenly time to push!

Yay, HypnoBirthing! I think it most successful when you commit to practice it daily. It seems like repitition is the key. Good luck! I hope it works beautifully for you. Please, post your birth story so we know how HypnoBirthing worked for you!

[Wendyesm]

I hate to be the party pooper here, but I also took HypnoBirthing with my first baby, and found that it did not work for me at all during my labor. I thought it was great during the pregnancy, I loved the practice-- meditating and relaxation. I was totally convinced that it would work for me.... but it didn't. I don't really know why, but I had an incredibly painful birth-- back labor, 27 hours. Now, to be fair, I could never really get deeply enough into the Hypno state once my labor had started; my contractions were so close together, that I never had time to "go deep" and relax completely. To make matters worse, I think that if you do prepare with HypnoBirthing and then DO end up having a painful birth, your preparation makes you feel like you failed, like your pain was because you were weak or fearful or brainwashed into thinking it had to be. But I do believe that some of the time (at least), childbirth just is painful. Which is not to say that it doesn't work for lots of people-- it clearly does, as the videos you'll see during your class will attest. I think the key is to have a really good instructor, practice a LOT, and make sure that you get into your HypnoBirthing zone the SECOND your labor starts-- otherwise, it might be too late. Also, it would really have helped me to have had a HB-type of Doula to help me to get into it and stay relaxed. Part of my problem was that I had an hour drive to the hospital in the middle of labor, which was really an interruption in my focus, and then LOTS of noisy interruptions once in the hospital. So I'm sure that my experience is not to say that HB stinks, but you have to be vigilant about it-- and get a Doula to help you!!!

Good luck-- I really hope it works for you.
Wendy