Hypnobirthing: yay or nay? - Page 3

[Sudonk]

Originally Posted by Italiamom 

I wish I had time to read through all the replies here.  There's some really good info in here that I'll be filing away!!

In my own experience, I tend to shy away from anything with a one size fits all mentality.  If you look through the curriculum and you think that there might be some tips and tricks that will help YOU, then by all means, give it a go.  But to assume that what works for one laboring woman will automatically work for EVERY laboring woman just seems silly.

Put a lot of tricks in your labor bag.  Then, if one doesn't work, you have something else to grab

I couldn't agree with you more, Italiamom, and that is exactly why I chose Hypnobabies!  It includes a complete natural childbirth education, complete with all the tips and suggestions used by other non-hypnosis classes to increase mom's comfort.  It includes a great deal of information on a variety of approaches for moms or birth partners to consider, and encourages moms to follow her instincts and do what feels appropriate.  But it also includes wonderful post-hypnotic suggestions that lead most women to experience increased endorphins, less stress, greater confidence and better sleep during pregnancy as well as increased confidence, comfort and endorphin release during the birth.  My Hypnobabies skills made it far easier for me to use movement during my birth, remain coherent enough to easily vocalize my needs to my birthing team and kept me confident and calm enough to smoothly follow my instincts and meet my body's needs.  Hypnobabies can not only be used beautifully in tandem with non-hypnosis childbirth techniques, it actually makes those techniques more effective for most people.   Your post isn't very clear, but it seemed that you were saying that you consider childbirth hypnosis to be a "one-size-fits-all" approach to birth and I wanted to make it clear that it is most distinctly not true in the case of Hypnobabies.
 

[BK Mommy]

Hi there.  I just gave birth to my first child on Dec. 10th at home.  I recall looking in to hypnobirthing early on, but my midwife shared her concern that the method can set you up for unrealistic expectations of having a pain-free birth. That said, she recommended taking a birth class that covers many different practices and techniques.  We ended up taking a class with other couples who where planning home births.  With all the reading and classes, I have to say that at the end of the day, my body did it's own thing.  Even in the throws of pushing, I remember looking to the midwife saying "It hurts...tell me what to do" and she just said "you are doing it.  keep doing what you are doing."  During the last month of pregnancy, my midwife noticed the baby was in a posterior position, so she recommended I do inversions and check out SpinningBabies.com.  I did the inversion with my knees on the couch and head on the floor in the mornings and evenings for weeks.  I also saw a chiropractor a few times.  I don't know what turned the baby, but something worked.  Good luck with your second birth!

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I used Hypnobabies with my 2nd.  I felt that it was helpful.  My birth was by no means painless, and I had no fear.  I believe some women have painless births - I've met some and I don't think they're lying.  I do not believe ALL women can have painless births, that if you do have a painful birth it's somehow your own fault, or that birth is not supposed to be painful.  I believe hypnosis is a kind of mental trick where you teach yourself to reinterpret what you're feeling, so you believe it's something other than pain.  That does not, IMO, mean that birth is inherently painless, that if you have pain it's because you didn't do things the right way, or because you were too afraid, or whatever.