Hypnobirthing (warning, not necessarily possitive views) - Page 2

[Smokering]

I'm interested to hear more about this. I had some post-birth trauma after birthing DD (planned homebirth, but had hospital induction due to pre-e: only the prostoglandin gel, no Pit, but still.... ghastly experience). I hadn't given much thought to Hypnobabies before I had DD, but I'm totally gonna try it next time. Even if it only took away 50% of the pain or 50% of the fear, that'd be a vast improvement.

Can anyone tell me what makes a person "hypnotisable"? Can some people simply not do it? I've never been hypnotised, and I can't imagine it working on me, but I guess everyone thinks that. I find it very difficult to clear my mind...

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I'm a huge skeptic. And extremely cynical. And don't think I'm a good candidate for suggestion, hypnotic or otherwise.

That said, I did the hypnobabies homestudy course, and am pleased with the effect it had on my pregnancy and birthing experience. I had excruciating nerve pain in my hands, and the techniques helped me cope with that. I used some of the techniques during a couple less-than-comfortable prenatal appointments. I also rested very, very well. Those CD's knocked me right out every time I listened to them. As someone who frequently suffers from insomnia, the restful sleep alone was worth the entire program. The reading was nothing new to me. Spend a couple of months reading the pregnancy boards here at MDC and you'll get mostly the same information. But it was nice for positive reading. I thought the CD's were well done. Overall, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

That said, my labor (or birthing time) was not pain-free. I had a very quick labor, so I'm not sure how to break it up into "early labor" and "transition" but during the first, less painful part, I tried to get the whole anesthesia to my birthing muscles and it didn't numb me at all. It did, however, help relax me. The first part of labor felt like awful gas pains with pinching in the cervix. Transition got a little intense for me (though my mom and husband said I handled it really well), and pushing hurt like the dickens, but I did it very, very slowly, just breathing the baby down with small grunts. I think this was a result of my being very in tune with my body, which was telling me not to actively and aggressively push her out. It hurt so that I wouldn't over do it, if that makes any sense. Going slowing, staying aware, and being mindful of my labor resulted in very little trauma to the girly bits, and a barely-there "scratch" with no real tearing.

Initially, I was pretty disappointed I didn't have a "euphoric, pain-free" birthing experience. I was irked with myself for wailing twice during transition, thinking for sure I was a hypnobabies failure for such vocalizations. But in retrospection, I am extremely pleased with how my birthing went. I'm proud of myself and my body. Everything worked really well. The pain that I experienced, in my opinion, helped guide me to birthing my daughter in the best position and with a good, steady pace.

[velveeta]

Originally Posted by ExuberantDaffodil

Initially, I was pretty disappointed I didn't have a "euphoric, pain-free" birthing experience. I was irked with myself for wailing twice during transition, thinking for sure I was a hypnobabies failure for such vocalizations. But in retrospection, I am extremely pleased with how my birthing went. I'm proud of myself and my body. Everything worked really well. The pain that I experienced, in my opinion, helped guide me to birthing my daughter in the best position and with a good, steady pace.

HEY! It sounds to me like you did WONDERFUL! I think you know that, too. I believe that vocalizations really help the baby to come down. I keep mine really low. I have similar expectations of HB. I will not be surprised if it is not pain-free. I just want to be more present and a little more in control (although maybe my lack of control is why I go so fast? ) who knows?

I am happiest that I have tried HB b/c of the revealing and healing dreams the hypnosis has brought me access to.

I am very open to suggestibility, I think. You have to choose it and want it, and I really do. I also use hypnosis for the dentist, where I don't use anesthesia. Not allergic, I just don't like it.

[freistms]

Sorry, when I read the original post, I misread it and was thinking that you had started the hypnobabies program and were considering trying hypnobirthing. I think from a philosophical perspective, you might find hypnobabies to be more in line with your beliefs. I think the program does a good job of emphasizing that you don't have to experience pain during labor, but doesn't necessarily imply that birth is *meant* to be pain free. It comes from the perspective that you have the ability to control the pain with your mind. Of course, I think it also never tells you that birth *is* painful or to *expect* pain, because some women can and do experience pain free births, and also because your mind creates what it expects. I think it is difficult to walk that line, right? I can see how some women are confused or frightened if they are expecting it to be pain free and isn't.

Also, Terry (Hypnobabies creator) started out as a Bradley instructor, took a hypnobirthing class, decided it was deficient, and then went on to become a hypnotherapist in order to be able to provide her students with the tools necessary to use *medical* hypnotic anesthesia (along with a complete birth class). So yes, the hypnobabies program definitely uses a completely different model of hypnosis than hypnobirthing. Hypnobirthing is, IMO, guided relaxation on steroids. Whereas hypnobabies teaches you how to create anesthesia, direct it, and maintain anesthesia while moving around between contractions.

Having said that, if you already do regular meditation and have a program or scripts that you are comfortable with, I think you may find that they are more than sufficient to get you to where you want to go with your birth. Personally, the complex hypnobabies materials are a little overkill for me.

To the PP who asked about hypnosis, the first thing to realize when you are considering hypnosis is that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Sometimes it is guided by a hypnotherapist, but in all cases you are hypnotizing yourself. Some people are more suggestible to hypnosis, but it is usually very strong-minded people who are the most suggestible because it is self-hypnosis. And try not to think about it as trance-like. You are still completely aware of yourself while under hypnosis. You probably find yourself in a hypnotic state many times in a day. For example, that feeling you get when you've been reading a book and you suddenly realize you don't exactly remember reading the words on the last ten pages because you've been so engrossed in the story on the page? That's hypnosis. Or when you are driving and you realize you are at home but you don't remember the drive? That's hypnosis, too. When we watch dramatic television, we are usually under hypnosis.

[treefrognyc]

Originally Posted by freistms

...if you read a lot of birth stories where women are given the opportunity to birth in peace, you begin to realize that what they are doing is using (natural unguided) hypnosis. Women turn inward, hang out in labor land, take it as it comes, and don't resist it. It's a natural thing to do. It's hypnosis. ...

Thanks for this post. I agree completely.

I'm doing the Hypnobabies home study program for my first birth. I am not easily hypnotized, so I wondered if it would "work" for me. What I've learned is not to take it literally. (The book even addresses this -- just relax and don't focus too much on any one thing.) The best thing for me to do is use the relaxation techniques, which are easier for me since I already meditate on a regular basis.

I don't anticipate a pain-free birth, but I do think all techniques to help us unclench and surrender to the process are good ones.

[Realrellim]

I did a program called hypbirth because both the hypnobabies and hypnobirthing programs didn't quite jive with me. I agree about the "pain-free" aspect. I doubt that most births are pain-free (blame whatever one wants for that), and the program I used seemed to take a more reasonable approach that it would help me reduce and cope with the pain. That sounded good to me (and I loved it).

As far as the hospital aspect: I think it depends on the individual woman. I don't feel there are any hard and fast truths to what can take place in a hospital, because not all women find it too "medicalized" (and some, like myself, feel more comfortable with that safety net in place due to past birth experiences).

However, it is probably true that if *you* find it too medicalized, then it would be difficult or impossible for you to achieve the ideal pain-free birth that your book seems to be talking about.

The main thing is to find something (hypno-related or not) that works for you.

[mummy marja]

I haven't done either, but have some experience with hypnobabies--I've read most of the workbooks and talked extensively with my sister, who is using it for her birth.

Hypnobabies doesn't say that birth shouldn't be painful. What it does is teach you to re-program your brain to feel the pain as pressure instead. You're basically learning how to fool your brain into not feeling pain. And I know that hypnobabies teaches medical-grade anesthesia--the same thing people use when having surgery without meds. This is one of the big differences between hypnobabies and hypnobirthing. From what I've read, hypnobabies is far better.
It's a big commitment though--and I think the more you put into it, the more you'll get out. I'm 18 weeks pregnant right now and will be using hypnobabies for my birth, but I haven't started the course yet. This will be my third birth. Like a PP said, I know I can do it without the hypnosis, but I'm really curious to see the difference.