hypno birthing anyone?

[crysmomofthree]

I have had three drug free labors but especially with the last one I felt a little out of control. I was considering purchasing a hypno birthing kit. Has anyone used hypnosis during their labor and if so what program/class did you use?
tia
crystal

[valeria_vi]

as a first time mom, I have some reservations about hypnobirthing. I have heard great things about it and themn I heard about people to whom it did not help a bit. So I am very afraid that if this is the only technique I will rely on for when in labor and it will not work for me, I'll be screwed.

For you it's different. You already have a bunch of other techniques under your belt and if you feel like this might help you in addiotion to all that - may be you should give it a shot.

Again - my reservation would be when this is the only thing some people rely on and it ends up not working for them. Since you already got a bunch of those, hypnobirthing might be something to add.

[darsmama]

I practiced "The Pink kit" and that really helped me get to know my body. I dodn't even really practice it. The 2 hours I spent on it helped so much, I can't imagine what the last 8 weeks would do. I want to use that & the hypno birthing tapes this time. So I'll : & see what others say!!!

Katie

[Debstmomy]

As a Doula, I personally have not had clients use, but other doulas have used. One friend in particular used this last trimester, practicing every night, and woke up in transition. She made it to the hospital at a 10. Or should I say barely??? Another one that I know that used it, felt no need to get to the hospital anytime soon. She was 6-7 when she got there. These were 2nd & 3rd babies for these Moms.
I plan on using Hypnobirthing, with rainbow relaxation tapes.
Good Luck on what you decide.

[crysmomofthree]

well I went to the hypnobabies site and although their kit seems kind of expensive, I know I have seen people selling it on the tp. I will see if I can find out info about the pink kit, do you have a link?
I wish there were some classes I could go to but there seems to be absolutely nothing locally.
When I was pregnant with my first, my mom's boyfriend was a hypnotist, (he did bar shows and quit smoking stuff) when I went overdue he put me under hypnosis to try and bring on labor and said a lot about how it would go smoothly.
My labor was 8 hours (I was on intermittant fetal monitoring) but I didn't feel any of the contractions until I was 10cm dialated, it was bizare, I couldn't figure out why and I assumed maybe that is just what my body does but then with the next two I definately felt the labor, So I figure maybe it was the hynosis, if it is that effective I guess it is definately worth the money.

thanks a lot for your responses
crystal

[gingerlane]

Originally Posted by Debstmomy

As a Doula, I personally have not had clients use, but other doulas have used. One friend in particular used this last trimester, practicing every night, and woke up in transition. She made it to the hospital at a 10. Or should I say barely??? Another one that I know that used it, felt no need to get to the hospital anytime soon. She was 6-7 when she got there. These were 2nd & 3rd babies for these Moms.
I plan on using Hypnobirthing, with rainbow relaxation tapes.
Good Luck on what you decide.

I was about 8cm when we arrived at the birth center and gave birth in four hours... total. This was my first birth.

We went to classes rather than buy a kit and while it was expensive, it was worth it. While I wasn't the picture of an HB labor, I was able to get out of the way of my body and let it work. When I became afraid, I would turn to dh, tell him I was afraid and we'd pull me back together. It was an amazing, awesome, powerful experience and I wouldn't change anything. It was the only "tool" I had and it didn't fail me for a minute. I highly recommend!

[slightly crunchy]

I got through my first labor without pain meds (until the csection when ds wasn't descending after two hours), but only because I asked for an epidural and after two tries, it didn't take. So I know that I CAN do it this time without anything, mainly with breathing and positive thinking/mantras and so forth.

But this time I am doing the hypnobabies home study course. And it is fabulous so far. Only trouble I'm having is getting plugged into the yahoo group.

One thing strongly emphasized in the hypnobabies course, is to NOT study any other natural childbirth methods along with it. There are several reasons given for this. But it really makes sense to me. My feeling is, even if for some reason it doesn't "work" (and from my practice so far I have every confidence it will), it is lots and lots of practice on relaxation. Certainly more than I got out of Bradley. And relaxation is really what other methods are about, anyway. The only other thing I plan to review in the last few weeks is what positions work best for different stages of labor (and if the baby is malpositioned), and practice my scripts in those positions, on the birthing ball, etc.

[Tanibani]

I used it 4 years ago for the birth of my first son (took the class one month before my due date) and had a great experience. Painfree 18 hour hospital labor.

You can read my story in this thread Tell me more about HypnoBirthing

I was a nervous wreck about birth the first time. I was afraid if I hired a Doula and SHE couldn't help me, I'd be screwed. So I was desperate to find something to help me. I was really afraid to be in the position so many women are. THey are determined to go natural. Then they get into labor and after X amount of hours, ask for the epidural. No judgement at all, I just didn't want that to be me.

When I found out about HypnoBirthing, I was thrilled. I signed up.

I ended up not needing anybody coaching me through labor. I was relaxing just fine on my own. But I was very determined to 1) go all natural (no drugs) so I practiced a lot and 2) DH wasn't really into it, so I practiced alone.

My 2nd labor was not completely pain free. I felt a little twinge of discomfort, but it was totally manageable. On a scale of 1-10 pain, it was a 2. It was there, but very minimal. This last time I was a nervous wreck with my "what if, what if..." doubts so that's what I KNOW contributed to it.

And as far as it not working at all for some people there are a variety of reasons:
1) not a good in-person instructor
2) not enough diligent practice
3) letting yourself fall asleep during the tapes (some say it's OK and that the subconscious is taking it anyway. Phooey. I didn't trust that.)
4) still lots of self-doubt during and after the course (you are supposed to check that at the door.)
5) Interestingly, my practioner told us NOT to watch anymore Baby Story. Why? Because it introduces more FEAR to the mom. And it gives a mental picture to the mom what Labor/Birth looks like (women in pain, unable to cope, getting meds). That's what at all what a HypnoBirthing labor looks like. The mom is very relaxed and centered.

I personally feel that my success the first time around was due to the fact I had a great instructor who told true life success stories of HER OWN clients. Those stories (and watching videos of real HypnoBirthing mother) during labor is what helped give me the incredible self-confidence I felt. (And of course, I practiced every freakin' day. It was harder to do that with a 4 yr old this time.)

That's why I think * ideally* you can take a class. Personally, *I* do better in a class. I'm a very visual person. And having someone explain it to me, walk me through stuff, etc... helped.

There are two self-study courses: www.Hypnobabies.com and www.Hypbirth.com