I’ve had two difficult deliveries with my last two babies, so this time I’m looking at trying some new techniques.
Want to give hypnobirthing a go, but I don’t know anyone whose ever tried it…
The classes are £300 (plus cost of DVDs or whatever there might be) so I’m a little skeptical about paying the fee if its a fad, or if its just a hemp-and-woven-baskets style thing…does anyone have any experiences with this?
Great thread. I am also very interested in hypno-birthing and am excited to see what others have to say about it…
My birthing center is offering a hypno-birthing class and from what my midwife explained to me, the main thing they cover in the class is what you’re going to be feeling and experiencing during birth. She said the purpose of the class is so that when you feel a particular physical sensation during labor, you know what it is and can identify it, which makes the entire thing less mysterious and scary. I won’t be taking the class for a few more months (I’m not due until [name]December[/name]) so I can’t tell you how effective it is, but I do think it sounds informative.
I have never personally done it (my natural doula assisted births have gone nicely) howeverr one of my close friends raves about hypnobirthing and used the techniques during her pregnancies and births of her two youngest. If any of you would like for me to put you in contact with her, let me know. She had an epidural etc with her first, a natural birth with her 2nd and natural hypnobirths woth #3 and #4 so I think she has great perspective. 
She does FB and has an email address of course. [name]Just[/name] send me a private message and let me know. I am also an aspiring doula who can talk about the technicsI have used in my own experiences and what worked for me.
My friend is a Labor & Delivery nurse who had a patient who used this technique. The story was incredible. It’s hard for me to relay the information since I don’t know the terms. But my friend seemed to think everything would’ve gone faster if the patient had gone without hypnobirthing. However, my perspective is: I am pretty scared of giving birth, which is part of why I’ve been happy to put off having kids. But hypnobirthing sounds amazing to me! I’m definitely looking into it when my husband & I start ttc. I remember that my friend said that her patient was completely into it. The room was quiet, and it was all about concentrating. She moved from something (can’t remember what it was in the room) back to her bed when the baby was crowning with help from her husband & my friend but without much struggling. I’ve also read that it requires a lot of training, meaning it’s not something you can just decide on in the 7th month. I’m so curious.
yes nicoleb519 - one of my friends is also a Labor and Delivery nurse and she basically said the same thing. She asked me if I was going to do it, as she knows that I am definitely interested in going the more natural route and when I said I wasn’t planning on it, she said “Good! This woman doing hypnobirthing was trying to ‘hum’ the baby out - she didn’t push at all.” So yes, while I personally don’t see any problem with having your baby when you are good and ready to have it (apparently slower means more stretching, less tearing) it appears to be frustrating for the delivery staff attending these births. She was also irritated because she wasn’t allowed to use the term ‘contraction’ in the room. The husband took her out and told her that they would be referred to as ‘surges’. I say to each their own, and I am sure there are a lot of valid things to be taken from understanding the concept of hypnobirthing, whether you actually use it or not.
Thanks ladies- well I have actually used the same widwife for both my last babies, and shes been there for a couple of hypnobirths so I think I’m okay on that front…
I decided to go with hypnobirth tapes to start with, and try those for a couple of weeks to see how it goes.
Have done it the past two nights, and just ended up falling asleep after about ten minutes! I know you’re meant to be relaxed, and not concentrate too hard on ‘trying to take things in’, so maybe I should just go with it and not worry?
Anyway will let you all know how things get on and a bit about the course (if I remember!)
My mom did it! She loved it so much that she went on to study the course and then taught it. Her friend even requested her to come to both her births which happened to be in the US at the time. (We’re in [name]Canada[/name])
My mother is a big advocate for it, she said that with my youngest brother, who she did hypno-birthing with, she’d do his birth again. Not mine or my other brothers though. lol
It’s definitely not a fad, my mom’s taught it and I’ve heard good feedback from her students and other friends. It has a lot to do with your mindset, I believe. I intend to do it or at the very very least something similar when I have my kids.