Hypnobabies didn't work for me - Page 3

[Jaimee]

OP, I'm sorry you did not have the birth experience you were hoping for!  I have not done Hypnobabies so I won't comment on that specific program, but I wanted to add my experience with a different hypnobirthing technique in case you could find that your training did benefit you in some important ways that you could feel good about and possibly use again in a subsequent birth.

I used the HypBirth home study course for my first birth and sort of reviewed it for my second.  What I say to people about hypnosis techniques is that there are three levels.  One: you learn affirmations and reach a point where you truly BELIEVE that birth is normal, natural, and something you were designed to do.  Two: you learn some great relaxation techniques that are effective up until about transition.  Three: you actually learn to hypnotize yourself and reach a place where you feel no pain throughout the entire birth process and may even deliver your baby without really pushing.

I reached level two and it was a great experience.  Even though I did not make it all the way to full hypnosis, I did reach 8cm with hardly any pain.  After about 8cm (during transition) my relaxation skills were no longer effective.  I used water, changing positions, and low moaning mantras to get me through the rest. But I believe that the affirmations really put my head in a good place and that the relaxation techniques helped me enjoy the vast majority of my long 20 hour labor.

[Partaria]

To the OP-

Hypnobabies didn't work for me either. I had a 70 hour labor and ended up with with a c-section. I have struggled for a long time with feeling like it's all my fault. I keep thinking- what negative thoughts were lingering in my mind that caused this? Didn't I listen to the cds enough? 

I know people say that Hypnobabies doesn't promise a pain-free birth. But I think when you hear constantly that pain is mainly a construct of your mind, a mind that you can train to translate it into "pressure," and that pain in childbirth is mainly a product of the fear you're working to let go of, well, you tend to go ahead and expect a pain-free, easy birth. All my cds told me to envision nothing but a pain-free and easy birth. When mine was neither, I felt like I had failed and had no tools to handle what was happening to me.

[MichelleZB]

I was highly skeptical of Hypnobabies because it told you that reading other material or taking other classes would "ruin" the effectiveness of the course. So... more information is bad? Screw that.

I read all sorts of stuff and remained calm during labour because I knew exactly what was happening to me.

[lindsayjean]

Originally Posted by MichelleZB 

I was highly skeptical of Hypnobabies because it told you that reading other material or taking other classes would "ruin" the effectiveness of the course. So... more information is bad? Screw that.

I read all sorts of stuff and remained calm during labour because I knew exactly what was happening to me.

To clarify, Hypnobabies definitely doesn't say not to read other material.  It does encourage staying away from fear inducing material- such as shows that show birth as something as scary (think of all those shows being programed into our subconscious as "this is what birth is") and also fear inducing books and stories, but Hypnobabies highly suggest lots of reading- A Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Ina May, etc etc!!  This also includes fear-inducing childbirth classes, or just classes with a different philosophy of birth.

Hypnobabies is a full childbirth ed program, so they are not just teaching you the hypnosis, they are teaching how to stay health and low risk, pros/cons of all interventions, stages of labor, spinning babies/optimal fetal positioning, etc.  So Hypnobabies moms are very informed and don't need to take another class (though reading good books is always good!)