Hypnobirthing

[mahonia1050]

Hello folks, I'm not sure of the best place to post this thread but here it goes. Has anyone ever heard of Hypnobirthing? Has anyone ever tried it or had any experience with it at all? I practiced it with my ds born five months ago. It was amazing. I will share my story whwn I 'm not pressed for time. Thanks so much.

[Drewsmom]

Wow, I'm so glad that you brought up Hypnobirthing. I had ds almost a year ago and he's our first. We used Hypnobirthing and it was GREAT!! I am the biggest advocate of it. Not only did it help with the actual birth but I experienced preterm labor due to reoccuring bladder infections and it actually helped me to curb that without really using medication (I used it maybe 4 times). I absolutely love it. I think one of the biggest tools were the videos of the women who had these totally peaceful looks on their faces. This really helped me during labor to know that it was a peaceful time to let my body do the work. I am so excited about giving birth again so that I can fine tune the process and practice it more next time. I actually had a friend take the class with me b/c her first birth (not to be down on this method) she tried to do using the Bradley method and it didn't work. She ended up almost having a c-section. She had a GREAT birth with the second one and felt totally in control. She said the difference was that although she absolutely loves her husband and I can attest that he is a wonderful guy he just wasn't a good birth coach and she needed to be able to know that she could do it on her own. I totally agree, I loved being able to know how to rely on my own inner-strength. Anyway, I could go on forever. I can't wait to hear about your experience and answer any questions for others.

[Seawen]

I wish it worked that well for me!

I took the class and practiced and was so excited to use in in labor etc. But when the big day arrived I found that I couldn't get my head into it. I needed totally different coping techniques. I still birthed with drugs (which was my goal) but it wasn't the peaceful, easy birth I had hope for!

Maybe with the next one....

[Drewsmom]

Seawen do you mind me asking what happened with your experience/birth? I like to hear about other people's experiences. I have to tell you that it still was different from what I had thought it would be like. I still experienced discomfort, just to let you know. I felt like when I was in transition that I was losing it and I still had to be coached back into relaxing. I remember thinking while my instructor was filming me, "Why in the world are you filming me, is this to show your students what not to do?" Then when I looked back on the film I sure looked calmer than I felt inside. That's why I look forward to giving birth again so I can get even more relaxed. Just so you don't feel bad just know that there are those of us who aren't able to totally block out the pain, it still was a challenge but I think you're great for using it and going as long as you could without any medication. I am a big believer that you do what works best for you and your baby and if you can wait the longer the better for drugs for both of you. So kudos to you.

[kama'aina mama]

I am really interested to hear all this. I considered hypno when I was pregnant and went with Bradley instead. It worked beautifully for me. A woman I was working with at the time was her daughters hypno-birth coach (partner?) and she told me a lot about it, and her daughter had a wonderful birth. I actually met with her hypnotist-instructor while I was pregnant to see if she could help me get my baby to turn (37 weeks and breech). She was a nice enough woman but a little... floaty for my taste and she quite honestly bugged the heck out of my husband, so I think we made a good choice. I love hearing about any method that helps women have good births!

[Seawen]

Sorry it took so long to answer your question Drewsmom. I think the reason why hypnobirthing didn't work for me had more to do with my whole birth experience rather than the hypnobirthing itself. Bad hospital, wimpy midwife, and unfunctioning hospital machinery. If you want the full story read on...

I want to give it another try with a birth center and different midwives. I really believe it can work and managed to really numb out parts of my body in the class it just didn't work in the moment.

******
My birth experience wasn't great from the get go. The hospital that our midwives worked out of closed (and it was a completely midwife centered practice -only one pro-midwife doc on call) so we were in a new hospital that was very pro-drug/pro-intervention/non midwife friendly place and even my midwife was new to the practice and didn't know a thing about hypnobirthing (I kept hoping it would be one of the other midwives on call when I went into labor...) So I'm at the hospital, the midwife is obsessing about monitoring the baby, I'm trying to focus but she keeps forcing me in to the bed on my back (because that's the only way they can get the baby's heartbeat) and the whole thing ends with me purple faced pushing my dd out into the midwives hands as she rushes dd to the pediatricians table because the whole heartbeat thing. 30 stitches for a 3rd degree tear later and my daughter is an apgar 9, perfectly healthy.

I didn't have anywhere near the delivery I'd hoped for. I thought I had a good birth plan and I trusted my midwives but next time I'd avoid a hospital like the plague. I have asthma so I felt that a hospital was the safest place to be... how silly of me!

[Drewsmom]

Ugh, that sounds like it was very hard. I don't think I would've been able to have gotten into it very well if they were forcing me onto my back either. In fact b/c my instructor (who was a nurse at the hospital I delivered at) was there to help coach me...she knew that I wanted a doula but couldn't find one that was familiar with Hypnobirthing and we were lacking funds at the time...I really felt like that made a big difference. Her friend was my actual attending nurse and they were so good at leaving me alone which made all the difference. I am very nervous that I could have the same experience you had the next time around at a hospital. It really depends on the nurse that you get and if their (the hospital's) policies interfere. I too had a 3rd degree tear, I really believe it was due to my dr.s inexperience. He didn't know how to help stretch out the perineum, ds was crowning for a _long_ time, I was using a birthing bar, and I really shouldn't have torn. Next time I will look for someone who really knows the art of helping me to not tear. I wish you good luck on your next birth. Do you think that you will have a homebirth then or go to a birthing center?

[Seawen]

Probably a birth center. There is a really good one near my house and I didn't know about it the last time. My dd's pediatrician works with them because they have the same philosophy-low intervention.

I'm not sure I'd like to try a homebirth but the idea of total freedom from the medical establishment is exciting.

What about you for the next time?

[Drewsmom]

Good qu., it depends on where we live. If we lived in the same place still I would definitely go back to that place, esp. since I know a few of the nurses there now. However, here I would need to really research the hospitals and see what their intervention rates, etc. are. I really like the idea of being close to whereever I give birth so that I can do most of the laboring at home like I did last time. However, there is apparently one of the best birthing centers in the country in Alexandria, VA which depending on traffic is anywhere from 20 min.s to an hour away. Again, it comes down to the issue of wanting to labor mostly at home. So if I can find a great dr./midwife who are respectful of my beliefs and support them as well as a hospital that does I'll go there, if I am lucky enough to be close to a birthing center that also follows my views (as I understand that even birthing centers I may need to research as well) then I would definitely go there. Is that vague enough for you?

[swinginhepcat]

hypnobirthing

Hello everyone!
I'm happy to find this topic. I had my twins (now six years old) in the hospital with an ob and had a horrible birth experience, but still no drugs. I had a birth plan and picked a practice with midwives, hoping to have one, but all they did was let me see one one time for an office visit. I was pretty ignorant of what midwives normally did at the time and didn't realize the choices that were available to me. Now I am pregnant again (due at the end of may) and this time around I knew I could not allow a repeat experience of the last time. I am a much more assertive person now than I was the last time, anyway. So . . . I found a team of midwives in my area and started seeing them in my second month of pregnancy, who also happen to be hypnobirthing instructors! I am planning a homebirth/waterbirth/hypnobirth. So far I have been so impressed with this situation compared with my previous pregnancy experience. My midwives actually care about me, I am not just another number. I get hugs and support! It is wonderful and in return I feel so much more confident that my body will be able to do as nature intended and I am in general much more relaxed. I took the six week course they offered on hypnobirthing recently and it really makes sense to me. I enjoyed watching the videos and seeing a different side of childbirth than we normally hear about. I can see that if you were to do it in a hospital you would need a very supportive staff and/or a very strong advocate to ensure your wishes are carried out. I don't see how it would work otherwise. And that is one of the reasons I want a homebirth--my midwives are very respectful and supportive of my choices and their approach to birthing is that they are there only to assist the woman and her partner in the delivery of their own baby and that it is their right to have the environment be what they wish, not structured as a matter of the midwives' convenience, etc. I always knew this was right and felt this instinctually, but didn't find support for this in the medical establishment.
This is beginning to look like a book, so I'd better stop while I'm ahead! LOL I would love to talk with other people using hypnobirthing.

[Drewsmom]

Lisa-
Congrat.s on your upcoming birth. Glad to know that you took the course and are so well prepared and excited for this birth. I look back on my experience with great memories. If you have any qu.s feel free to ask, I'd be happy to answer any qu.s.

Drewsmom

[Beth]

I used the Bradley method with my first birth. I just read Dr. Bradley's book and tried to implement the theology. But dh didn't read the book so that really hurts the idea of Husband-Coached Childbirth. : He was really great as a support during the birth though.
For my second birth I used Hypnobirthing at home. I took a four week course. I was really excited about not experience any pain. That is what our instructor told us it would be like. He said that he uses hypnotherapy for dental work, like root-canals and theeth pulling. I thought if it worked for that it could definitely work for birth. Dh and I didn't practise as much as we were told to. But in one class I told the instructor, Aaron, that I was falling asleep whenever we would practise. He asked if I woke up easily at the end of a practise. I did. He said that I was actually hypnotized. SWEET. It was working. I loved the time dh and I spent together practising hypnobirthing. It was so relaxing for me and it was easy.
Well to get to how it worked or didn't work in labor. I started labor about 9am. At about noon I was ready for lunch and then I was getting tired and wanted to lay down. For the first 3 hours I was still up and about getting things done. Dh and I went into our bedroom and started my relaxation. I was expecting to go into that totally relaxed state that I had been in during practise sessions, so when I didn't reach that place after about 10 minutes and 5 contractions. I gave up. I continued to lay on my bed and relax but I felt like the contractions (sensations, as Aaron called them) were getting the best of me. I was still in alot of pain. And I thought I would lose it everytime. I started transition about an hour after laying down so I was at the toilet throwing up and other things (diahrrea). Dh and my mom kept saying how great I was doing. I didn't feel like I was doing well at all. I had the baby in the labor pool about 2.5 hours after laying down in my bed. I told my midwife that hypnobirthing was a waste of money. I was pretty disappointed, not with the birth just with hypnobirthing. What is interesting about the whole thing is I watched the video of the birth about 4 days later and I swear they were taping some else's birth, b/c what I saw on the video was not how I was feeling during labor. The video showed a calm and serene atmosphere where everyone was whispering and very calm. I looked like the ladies in the classroom videos. The way I was feeling during labor was that everyone was talking very loudly and too much. I felt like I was losing it. The biggest difference was the pushing stage. I remembered that I had screamed very loud as I pushed 3 times to birth the baby. The video showed 3 short deep muffled grunts. SO DIFFERENT!!!! What does this all mean? Was I really in that relaxed state? After discussing it with Aaron I am still just as confused. He couldn't tell me one way or another. : Oh well. I believe in the philosophy of hypnobirthing so I want to try it again next time. I just hope I can get to the point of no PAIN!!!
Sorry so long!

[swinginhepcat]

Wow Beth! That was an interesting story, thanks for sharing. That would be very confusing!
Lisa

[swinginhepcat]

Thanks Drewsmom!

[Drewsmom]

Beth my experience was similar in the fact that when I was in the middle of it all I felt like, "hey what's going on here? I still feel pain?" I did have a moment where I was starting to feel the urge to push and I kept thinking about an epidural and as soon as I did I started to tense up and grab the sheets. MAN did my pain go up about 20 notches! So I do know that by relaxing it took so much of the edge off. The one thing I didn't like about this class was that my particular instructor (who I adored otherwise) felt like it was OK to offer Nubain and Stadol to help take the edge off. After asking me if I could hold on for another 1/2 an hr to wait and see she offered me those drugs which I very aggitatedly told her NO. My whole point was to have a drug free birth for my baby so he wouldn't have to worry about recovering from it. That was the best part of it was to see how alert he was not only right after the birth but weeks following, everyone always commented on that. Also he went right to nursing and the nurse said she had never seen a baby do so well with his first latch-on. I do know however that transition was the worst of it for me. Pushing actually wasn't as challenging. I could actually totally relax inbetween pushes and that's not an exaggeration. Actually I think I slowed down too much. He crowned about 3-4 times and went back in before he came out. I needed a little more umph and less relaxing at the very end. Good luck with everything swinginhepcat

[Beth]

I wish that on the videos we saw in class they would have interview the moms after the birth and asked how they were feeling in the middle of it all. Knowing that other women felt like they were losing it althought using hypnobirthing would have made me more confident in my experience. I don't know what to think of it all. I was looking forward to no pain. But I guess that is all a part of the experience.
Anyway, hypnotherapy actually worked wonders for my husband's allergies. He has had allergies for 13 years. VERY bad allergies. From April to October he was a blurried eyed, sniffling, sneezing mess. We had tried everything, nasal lavages (sniffing salt water into the nose and holding it there for 30 seconds to a minutes 9 times), he chewed on horseradish, he took all the prescriptions drugs and herbal remedies we could get our hands on. NOTHING worked!!!! After our hypnobirthing class we decided to try hypnotherapy for his allergies. He is completely allergies FREE now. He had one session with a hypnotherapist and it helped a little bit, but he wasn't completely cured. So he went to a different therapist ONE time and hasn't had a sniffle since. It is great. Now I just need those kind of results in birthing.

[swinginhepcat]

hypnobirthing classes

Hi everyone! I guess the hypnobirthing classes must really vary from instructor to instructor. Mine were taught by a midwife, who also happens to be one of the midwives who will be assisting me at home for the birth. She does not encourage any kind of drug and actually had a few extra videos she showed besides the hypnobirthing ones. One of them was from Baby Story(?) and their was an interview with the mother before and after and with the husband. That one was hypnosis, but not technically hypnobirthing. She also had a video of one of her recent hypnobirth clients, a local woman, but it didn't have an interview with it, but she did include some comments the woman made to her to share with the class. That video was quite a bit different from the hypnobirthing videos in that it was a home birth, but also the woman was quite noisy. It was interesting and a little bit uncomfortable for me to view because she was making noises like she was having sex! LOL Her baby also crowned many many times and went back in before it was born. It was torturous (for the audience anyway). LOL But the instructor/midwife said that there is nothing wrong with that, it actually does the job of stretching the perineum gently to prepare and reduces tearing.
:cool:

[swinginhepcat]

allergies and hypnosis

P.S. Hey I didn't realize that hypnosis worked with allergies! I might look into that, I have terrible allergies for as long as I remember--year round! Thanks for the info.

[Drewsmom]

One last thing...I really felt like my labor progressed a lot faster using Hypnobirthing than if I hadn't used it. That may be what helped you give birth Beth only 2.5 hr.s after you laid down on the bed. I think a lot of women fight it and it slows down the progression. I agree, I think interviews would be great. My friend, Mindy (that I told you about way at the beginning of my posts who tried Bradley first and almost had a c-section then used Hypnobirthing and had a wonderful experience) they actually got an interview with her afterwards and Marie Mongan is wanting to use mindy's video. I think that will help a lot of women. Beth....I didn't realize that was you It just clicked when I saw your post in the spirituality forum.

[mountain]

i've had 2 wonderful home births and hypnotized myself with #2. i can see how it would be very hard to do it im a hospital, with all the pain in the arse people and bleeping machines. i laid in the water, on my side and felt every muscle relax all the waY down. beautiful midwives rubbing my feet & doing pressure points. i remember trying to treat the pain like it was a wave, like water or light. i think u have to find ways to make the pain part of yourself, something u can identify with or else it's going to be freaky and harsh. i don't think there's any way to make it go away or pretend like it doesn't exist (even epidurals hurt in the morning), but if you prepare 4 it, relax as much as you can, and treat everything like it's what u are...we create our own birth experience...make it an empowering one by putting yourself in a comfortable space with intelligent people.