Does hypnobirthing really mean NO pain?

[USAmma]

There's an ad on MDC about hypnobirthing that says, "No pain for mom, no pain for baby" or something like that. For those of you who have used this technique does it *really* make you feel NO pain? Or does it just help you to deal with it differently and remain in control of it?

Darshani

[rainsmom]

I always thought this would be a technique I could use in labor. Sounded good to me.

Until my friend, who is studying to be a midwife, told me that its a way for mothers to disconnect from the labor process. Which is what drugs do. I had never thought of it that way.......

[OhMel]

Originally Posted by rainsmom

I always thought this would be a technique I could use in labor. Sounded good to me.

Until my friend, who is studying to be a midwife, told me that its a way for mothers to disconnect from the labor process. Which is what drugs do. I had never thought of it that way.......

Wouldn't any childbirth pain mgmt technique fall under this as well? I disagree that it is a disconnecting process -- hypnobirthing is about self-hypnosis. You train yourself to relax at specific cues. "Think of a rainbow. . .feel the red rays relaxing your body. . .." That said, it didn't work for me. You need to believe that hypnosis works, otherwise it won't. I appreciated the relaxation exercises, but ended up using techniques I learned from pre-natal yoga.

[cottonwood]

My understanding is that it helps you to relax your body and mind to the point where the fear-tension-pain cycle is not an issue. But pain that is due to purely physiological causes (as in some cases of back labor,) would probably still be there. In other words, it's preventative rather than transforming. In that sense it's kind of a misnomer, because people usually think of hypnosis as a disconnect between body and mind, i.e., the body is experiencing one thing but the mind is fooled into perceiving it as another. But I think hypnobirthing is really more about putting yourself in a positive mindset and state of relaxation so that there is no psychological reason for the labor to become painful.

[roseselene]

I'm pregnant now and studying hypnobirthing. I did not use this technique with DD, so I haven't gone through birthing ....so I can't say how the outcome will be. I just wanted to add that I took the "hypnobirthing" class but am also supplementing with the student package that I bought online from hypnobabies -- which I much prefer over the "hypnobirthing" stuff (different brand I guess). Anyway, I think, in addition to the relaxation exercises and the prevention of fear-tension-pain...the classes work to dispell some of the myths that create fear of birthing to begin with...thus creating a more relaxing birthing experience since you're not all worked up from the fear of what labor is going to be like.
Amy

[SamuraiEarthMama]

i am currently working my way through the hypnobabies home study course. their motto is "no pain for mommy, no drugs for baby."

and i have to say that even though i'm hoping it works, i feel that it is extremely irresponsible to claim that just by relaxing this method will remove all pain for the mom.

there are just some intense things that happen during a birth, and some of those things are going to hurt... like blueviolet said, back labor being one of them. i've seen two labors where nuchal arms caused a huge amount of tearing that REALLY hurt the very relaxed and calm moms.

the pain will be there. if you are not tense, i understand that the perception of pain will be less... but it's wrong to promise no pain at all.

what i think irks me the most is that the hypnobabies people can just say, "oh, you didn't study enough," if any of their clients experiences pain. it won't be their irresponsibility in making such a wild claim, of course it will be the client's fault.

maybe i'm wrong. maybe once i finish the course (this is my second time through it, just in case! i started at 23 weeks... so they can't tell me i haven't studied enough!) i'll have the perfect, painfree birth. tell you what... if that's the case, i'll come back here and happily eat my words.

i'm 31 weeks now... so we'll find out in just a few more weeks.

katje

[roseselene]

SamuraiEarthMama: While I agree with what you said about it being irresponsible to claim that birthing will be pain free for everyone...i do believe that it happens for some and if another person's birthing was not pain free,...then at least it was made more comfortable than perhaps it would have been without the practice.
The one thing that I picked up in your post though is a hint of disbelief that it will work at all...kind of fairly sceptical. I don't know if I'm reading you wrong or not...but I sort of feel like if you are going in with that attitude, then it won't work for you. I think you need to believe that you will benefit in order for you to benefit.
Does this make sense?
Amy

[mommajubilee]

i took the Hypnobirthing class, and gave birth 6 weeks ago. i had practiced everyday for about 3 months, and got very good at going into a deep state of relaxation quickly.

my labor ('birthing time') was quite fast (15 hours) as compared to the birth of my first child (35 hours), and the contractions ('surges') were much stronger. the hypnosis worked great for me at home and on the hour+ car ride to the birth center. when we arrived, though, i came out of the hypnosis and never could really get back "under." my labor was progressing so fast that it caught me off guard, and i got sort of freaked out by how intense it was. while i don't beat myself up for this, i do know that i let my own head get in the way of really being able to stay in hypnosis through this last phase. i still think i did great! i did experience pain from about 7-10cm, but that phase only lasted 20 minutes for me.
and i definitely disagree with the statement that hypnosis causes the birthing mother to disconnect from her body/labor. that's inaccurate, IMO. if anything, it allows you to more deeply connect to your body and your baby...to see/feel/know that what is happening is totally natural, normal, and that your body is working just like it is supposed to. hence, you can relax, and release the tension+fear=pain cycle. you have to be in touch with your body to be able to relax it that deeply.
good luck!

[bunny's mama]

well, i didn't have NO pain, but i still think that's possible for SOME mamas. everyone experiences pain differently, so i imagine a state of deep relaxation could for some mamas, lead to a pain-free birth. i do know 3 women who had NO PAIN whatsoever using hypnobirthing. one woman actually shouted "I FEEL GREAT!!!" right at the height of transition. she said it was like an orgasm for her (and this was her first birth!) her MW said that statement will go down in midwifery lore. and i saw the pics, she really was loving every minute of it.

also, the hypnobirthing institute has a video that shows quite a few women having really lovely births. they do appear to be working hard, but not in pain.

anyone who wants to can use the link in my sig line to see pics and read my birth story for more specific info.

[SamuraiEarthMama]

Originally Posted by roseselene

The one thing that I picked up in your post though is a hint of disbelief that it will work at all...kind of fairly sceptical. I don't know if I'm reading you wrong or not...but I sort of feel like if you are going in with that attitude, then it won't work for you. I think you need to believe that you will benefit in order for you to benefit.

hi, amy... yes, i am definitely skeptical, especially about the "no pain" claim. the early days of lamaze classes taught women that they would have a pain-free birth if they followed the lamaze breathing techniques, and i'm sure you have seen as well as i have how shocked and disappointed many of those women were when the true intensity of labor was upon them, and all the practice breathing in the world did nothing to lessen that pain.

one of the things i liked about the hypnosis program was that i was told it could/would work even if the user was skeptical. as long as you didn't fight it, you could still benefit from it. maybe i've got this wrong, though...

i know there are a lot of things i use that work without me "believing" in them, or even with me being actively skeptical: homeopathy, acupressure, herbals, chiropractic... so i'm hoping that hypnosis falls into this category.

i am following the directions very carefully, and there are several references in the tapes to continuing to practice and do the exercises even if they don't feel like anything is happening.

if it's going to work, then it will work. my belief won't change whether the process is viable or not. and if it needs my belief to work... well, then that's getting into faithwork and religion and stuff that can't be substantiated very well. and in that case, they shouldn't be making those kinds of promises.

either it works, no pain for mommy... or it doesn't, which means some mommies get pain, and they shouldn't claim that they won't.

they don't say, "no pain only for the mommies that believe."

we'll see in a few weeks, i guess!

katje

[USAmma]

Thanks for all the responses! I am done having babies so this was more out of curiosity than anything else.

Darshani

[Michelle Leigh]

Bunny's Mama's link to birth photos

Thanks for sharing your birth photos!! They're awesome--very inspiring, encouraging, uplifting... definitely helpful to me... here at about 32 weeks!!

[bunny's mama]

hi michelle leigh, glad you liked the photos. i love to hear that folks find my story and pics inspiring. that's why i've made it public

i was definitely skeptical about HB all along (and like you, samurai mama, i also maintain my skepticism about homeopathy, accupuncture and chiro, even tho time and time again they have worked wonders for me). i never expected to have NO pain, but i had a difficult long labor with dd 2.5 years prior and was looking for something that would help lessen or remove the intense fear and anxiety i still held going into my 2nd pregnancy. without HB, i believe i would've ended up carrying all the bad energy into my 2nd birth (and pregnancy). instead, i felt excited for labor and birth, i looked forward to whatever the birth was going to be like, and i felt, above all hopeful and filled with joy. i truly believe HB did that for me, and i will be forever grateful for that.

i would defnintely reccommend HB to anyone who is interested. i didn't even take any classes. i paid $36 for the book and 2 tapes from the HB institute and i had 3 or 4 private sessions with a certified hypnotherapist/HB instructor to do some specific fear-clearing work around my 1st birth. all told, i think i laid out less than $250. absolutely worth it IMO. i'm actually a little sad that ds is our last baby, because i'd loe to do another hypnobirth. it was really fantastic.

[Tanibani]

1) Everybody is going to be different. Some women DO have painfree births AND feel endorphins between surges/contractions (I did, but only when I got in the shower and relaxed even deeper), rather than the typical catecholamines which is what most moms have in their bodies when they are tensing up during labor.

Doesn't anybody remember that great Mothering article?
Ecstatic Birth: The Hormonal Blueprint of Labor

It's not * supposed to be * horrible. But it is, due to cultural conditioning.... we are taught to fear birth from a very young age (TV, movies, stories...) And, right now, I AM a ball of tension/anxiety about my upcoming homebirth! My mind is full of "What if? What if? what if?" I'm going to see my Hypnotherapist/HypnoBirthing practioner on Monday for a fear release session.

Other women find that the techniques help somewhat (like water birth.) It doesn't totally take the pain away (because they are still tensing up) but it helps.

2) For me, it meant NO PAIN. The first surges/contractions hurt a lot, then once I got a handle on it (relaxed deeply) then next 18 hours were completely painFREE.

3) I completely disagree it's "another way to disconnect from the birth." Mothers intuitively turn inward as labor progresses... this is what I was doing... except I wasn't in any pain. And those Ina May Gaskin photos - with smiling women giving birth - do they look disconnected? Give me a break.

Originally Posted by blueviolet

But I think hypnobirthing is really more about putting yourself in a positive mindset and state of relaxation so that there is no psychological reason for the labor to become painful.

I agree. I felt SO POSITIVE about my upcoming labor last time (after my classes were done) and it made a world of difference. This time I don't (haven't taken classes or been very diligent about practicing everyday. But I do have time to catch up (practice every day again.)

[cottonwood]

mommajubilee wrote: "my labor ('birthing time') was quite fast (15 hours) as compared to the birth of my first child (35 hours), and the contractions ('surges') were much stronger. the hypnosis worked great for me at home and on the hour+ car ride to the birth center. when we arrived, though, i came out of the hypnosis and never could really get back "under." my labor was progressing so fast that it caught me off guard, and i got sort of freaked out by how intense it was. while i don't beat myself up for this, i do know that i let my own head get in the way of really being able to stay in hypnosis through this last phase. i still think i did great! i did experience pain from about 7-10cm, but that phase only lasted 20 minutes for me."

This reminded me so much of my own experience I thought I'd throw in a "FWIW":

I also had a long first labor (56 hours) and a relatively short second labor (13 hours) and I *know* that a lot of that had to do with my attitude, which was much different the second time. I was much more comfortable with my midwife, felt like I was much more in control of my choices, was much more comfortable in my body and general life situation, and was really looking forward to the labor and birth. I had convinced myself this was going to be a wonderful labor, and so wasn't tense from fear -- the power of positive thinking, which I think is really what hypnobirthing is all about. The first part of that labor -- the first 11 hours -- was fantastic. I had so much fun. The contractions weren't painless, they felt like mild menstrual cramping, but honestly no big deal. I was excited and happy and felt really good, really felt welcoming of the contractions. My body felt loose and open and very sensual.

When my midwife arrived, though, all of that evaporated and I couldn't get back into it and the labor became very painful and difficult -- my head definitely was the problem because all of a sudden (even though she was very unintrusive) I was SO alert to her presence, like she was a guest in my house and I was the hostess, and I keenly felt my inhibition and became self-conscious. I still did really great -- I felt very powerful and supported, but I really believe that if I'd somehow been able to stay in my body and totally ignore her presence, it wouldn't have gotten so hard.

So for me, it really was "all in the mind", not that the pain wasn't real (of course it was) but that being too much in my head I believe either caused it or greatly exacerbated it. Same damn thing happened with my third birth. This time I'm *really* going to work on keeping my birth environment free of any distractions that will take me out of myself.

[mommajubilee]

The contractions weren't painless, they felt like mild menstrual cramping, but honestly no big deal.

nak

exactly what mine felt like too!

[applejuice]

My mom used this with most of her eight of nine deliveries at home.

She did have pain - she was just able to tolerate labor better.

Editted to add: my mom did go to the hospital with one delivery, a breech, but my Father put her "under", so to say, before they left. She came home four hours after the delivery in 1961 on Mother's Day.

[lollaleeloo]

Originally Posted by bunny's mama

i'm actually a little sad that ds is our last baby, because i'd loe to do another hypnobirth. it was really fantastic.

*sigh*
I know exactly what you mean.

During my entire HB labor (which was only 4 hrs), I felt safe and totally in control, though at the same time, I felt completely tapped into some kind of seriously primal energy. I'm a big geek, so I normally like things rational and intellectualized. However, there is something incredibly empowering about having so much control over your mind that you feel free enough to willingly relinquish control over your body TO your body and let it do what it was designed to do. If I was alone in the woods, I think I might have howled at the moon. As it was though, I was in my living room on my couch with 3 midwives and DH so the howling thing didn't pan out. I was pretty much silent through it all, except I roared like a lion during the pushing surges. That's just what the Power sounded like to me and I couldn't stop it even if I'd wanted to. In between pushing surges, I laughed and tried to explain that it doesn't hurt, this wasn't about pain, it only looks like pain. It was hysterical (to me anyway). My brain was somewhere trying to get my mouth to articulate my observations about the neutral sensation of pain being strangely peripheral and ultimately uninteresting compared to the relative intensity of the blah blah blather, and various other deep and insightful thoughts which I eloquently condensed into GRAAARRRRURH!

*shrugs* For all I know, the 3rd one's always a little more fun, since you have an inkling of what to expect and all -- but only an inkling. As anyone will tell you, no childbirth is a rerun. But I'm crediting hypnobirthing with giving me the tools to withstand the barrage of baseless negativity and hypervigilance that characterize the mainstream's view of natural childbirth, so that I could sit back and finally enjoy (yeah, you heard me) my childbirth experience. If you like to ride rollercoasters with your arms up, you might have an idea of what I mean. It's the same ride, only you experience it a little differently from the tense and anxious person who hangs on for dear life, shuts her eyes, and prays for it to hurry up and end. The only way to loosen up and let go is to *know*, really deep down *understand* that the danger is illusory and you're not going to fall out.

[Tanibani]

Originally Posted by lollaleeloo

But I'm crediting hypnobirthing with giving me the tools to withstand the barrage of baseless negativity and hypervigilance that characterize the mainstream's view of natural childbirth, so that I could sit back and finally enjoy (yeah, you heard me) my childbirth experience.

Thank you for that great post! Though apparently some midwives would argue that you were "disconnected from your birth." Yeah, whatever.

I'm going to print your post and carry it around! Last time I was SO self-confident and looking forward to giving birth (and it was painless) and have been DREAMING ABOUT and so looking forward to doing it all over again... and LATELY I am a bungle of nerves and anxiety. Arggghhhh.... I HAVE to get out of this mindset. But I have time.

I am now taking a HypnoBirthing refresher class (just the last 2, missed the first 2) and am going to have a private Fear Release session with my practioner on Monday.

Originally Posted by lollaleeloo

If you like to ride rollercoasters with your arms up, you might have an idea of what I mean. It's the same ride, only you experience it a little differently from the tense and anxious person who hangs on for dear life, shuts her eyes, and prays for it to hurry up and end. The only way to loosen up and let go is to *know*, really deep down *understand* that the danger is illusory and you're not going to fall out.

That's exactly right! A friend of mine described it as a "leap of faith." I agree. I was able to believe in it and just "let go." Others are too afraid and still hold on for dear life.... which is exactly what causes the pain.

[lorijds]

We have had a couple of women do hypnobirthing for their births--none have taken classes; they bought the tapes and did it at home.

I wouldn't say that any of them had a pain free birth, from my perspective (as the nurse); but I would say that they were very comfortable with the pain, and not fearful. They really were able to focus well with contractions, and got into their "Zone" with seemingly great ease. The birth was still hard--even if it is pain free, it would be *hard* in the sense that anything that emotional is draining and empowering at the same time, KWIM. Also it takes alot of internal power to concentrate that well.

I have seen other women, many other women who have NOT done hypnobirthing also have very comfortable, enjoyable births. Hypnobirthing is not the only means of achieving this; but I think that it is one of many means of comfort, education, and empowerment for women. I think it is especially good for first time moms, moms who are wanting a natural birth after having medicated (esp epidural births), moms who have a great fear of pain, and for moms who live in an area where there are no other childbirth preparation options--only the hospital classes "How to prepare you for labor until you can get your epidural" type of classes.

Even if it doesn't "work" 100%, meaning, you feel some pain, I htink there are aspects of this that will help reduce the pain/fear/tension; in other words, it will work, though it's work cannot be quantified on an individual basis. Do the classes that I teach work? I think they do; we see a much higher transfer rate (for epidurals) and requests for pain relief with moms who dont' attend our childbirht classes. Almost every mom who takes them raves after the birth how much they helped. Did they take away the pain? No (and I certianly don't claim that they do!). But they helped. Each mom takes from it what she puts into it, and it helps her in a way different from the mom sitting next to her. I assume it is the same with the moms with hypnobirthing.