Hypnobabies

[susancollins]

I would love to get some feeback on the hypnobabies program? Can you tell me what you birth experience was like. Did the program live up to your expectations. I am thinking of buying the program. Thanks so much! Susan

[WiseOwlKnits]

I used it with DS. I ended up having a scheduled c/s (LONG story), but I would still highly recommend it.

[Plucky]

I've never heard of hypnobabies, but I did self-hypnosis and visualization to get me through my home births. It really worked. It helped me to visualize the opening of my cervix/womb with every contraction. I worked with the contractions/pain. It made a huge difference to me.

[Tangerine]

I had an amazing (second) birth. It was peaceful, quiet, I walked into the hospital at 8 centimeters completely calm and under my own power. I can't recommend it highly enough. I had a very healing experience after a disappointing birth experience with my first.

[Mrs_JWM]

Used it - LOVED IT!!! If you pay shipping from NY, you're welcome to mine! Send me a PM if you're interested!

[Veritaserum]

I love Hypnobabies! :D I liked my Hypnobabies births better than my epidural birth--and my epidural worked. :) Hypnobabies gave me a wonderful sense of control of and connection to the birthing process. It was awesome. I would never again choose to give birth without it. :)

[Sevilla]

I'll send you a PM with my experience - it was very positive :).

[susancollins]

Used it - LOVED IT!!! If you pay shipping from NY, you're welcome to mine! Send me a PM if you're interested!

Thank You! I PMed you! Susan

[teachmejoy]

I had never heard of hypnobabies, but am very interested in hearing more. I had 2 natural births that were horrible. They were long and unbelievably intense. I couldn't help but scream and I've got a very high pain tolerance! How on earth does this work?? I can't imagine being able to control that kind of pain.

 

:bigear:

[12Stars]

I have hear nothing but awesome things from mother's that have used it. I am so bummed that I did not take their advice sooner to take classes or do the home study course. I was so busy with one thing or another with this pregnancy. I kept putting it off and off.

Now I am a bit freaked out because I am due in two weeks and my iron levels are so low that I am not a candidate for a epidural. Because I have been busy with everything else I have not gotten myself into that birthing mode yet. :tongue_smilie:

 

Sorry for the rambling, anyhow I recommend it even though I have never done it.

[scrappyhappymama]

I have had three wonderful Hypnobabies births, after my first birth did not go completely as planned. It is a truly wonderful program!! I would never give birth without it. :D

 

I don't have a lot of time to type right now, but since some folks are curious about how it works, I am going to just cut and paste my first Hypnobabies birth story. I'm happy to share my experiences the next two times as well, but I think reading how it works for a mom using the program for the first time, and from the perspective of someone who's first labor was much more painful and where I ended up needing an epidural to cope, helps demonstrate the power of the program. Feel free to ask any questions!!

 

My Hypnobabies Birth Story:

 

On a Friday evening, my “nightly contractions†began. Even though they were pretty regular, I did not allow myself to believe I was in early labor because I had been having contractions each day for several weeks that would get regular for a few hours and then taper off. In fact, I had pre-term labor contractions at 32-34 weeks that ended up with me off work early and on bed-rest. So, I fully expected to go into labor soon after hitting 36 weeks when I was allowed to be more active again, but here I was six days away from my due date of 11/04 and completely surprised to find I would likely have a November baby after all.

 

I went to bed telling myself that if it were the “real thing†then the contractions would continue during the night and not be gone in the morning as had happened several times in the previous weeks. Each time I woke up to use the restroom, the contractions were still there, but I was able to go back to sleep. I had stayed up all night in early labor with my first pregnancy, and ended up being exhausted by the time I delivered, so I was determined this time to get sleep early on if I could. On Saturday morning, the contractions were still coming, but they were not really painful, so I was not convinced I was in labor. As planned, we took our 2-year-old to get a haircut and then to McDonalds for lunch as a treat (my one regret, if I had truly believed I was in labor, I would not have eaten McDonalds J ). We decided to take our son kite flying since the weather was so pretty. We debated a little, but I told my husband that we should go since this could be our last weekend together as just the three of us. We stopped at home to get the kite and I told him we should put my hospital bags in the car “just in case.†They had been packed since the pre-term labor scares in September, so my instinct to actually put them in the car on this day should have told me this was the real thing.

 

We drove up to a local plateau that is good for kite flying and I relaxed in a folding chair, listening to my birthing affirmations CD, enjoying the breezy day and watching my husband and son playing with rocks and flying their kite. Oddly, our dog wasn’t running and playing with the guys, but mostly laid near me- did she know something was up? After listening to a few CDs and relaxing through my contractions, I suddenly felt the need to start timing them. All day long, the contractions had been coming regularly, but I felt they were not lasting very long and did not consider them to be painful. Nevertheless, I timed several and was surprised to find they were actually lasting about 60-70 seconds and were coming only 4-5 minutes apart. I was not sure what to think because the contractions were quite regular but not painful. So my husband suggested I call my midwife and ask what she thought.

I called the midwife and told her I didn’t know if this was the real thing, but wanted to get her feel. I really expected that she would tell me to go home and relax and call back because I know they judge by how you sound on the phone, and I was really relaxed and not in pain. But apparently the timing and consistency of my contractions told her something was going on, so she said, “Don’t rush, take care of whatever you need to, but come on in to the hospital.†She said she would call and make the arrangements for our water birth (only a few labor rooms could accommodate them) and she’d meet us at the hospital in a few hours. I was a bit shocked as I hung up and told my husband that we probably should head out. It was quite surreal and I listened to my hypnosis CDs as we headed down the mountain. My husband was impressed at how much I “checked out†during each contraction. We dropped our dog off at my grandparent’s house and I told my grandma it might be tonight, that I was going to the hospital and would call her if they wanted me to stay. We then dropped our son off with my parents and got some last minute stuff together. I had planned to make some goodies to bring for the nurses and midwife while in early labor, but instead asked my mom to do it for me and to bring them if I called them to come to the hospital.

Continued in next post...

 

 

[scrappyhappymama]

Hypnobabies story, pt 2...

 

Once we got to the hospital, as I had been warned to expect, the nurses did not take me too seriously at first because I did not appear to be in pain. We asked about the water birthing room, and the nurse replied that we would worry about that after we determined whether I was even staying. She hooked me up to the monitors and fortunately my contractions were registering strongly and consistently. My blood pressure was a little high, but I believe it was because I was nervous about whether I would be told to go home. Only 20 minutes later, my midwife showed up, took me off the monitors and checked my dilation. I was at a 4-5 and she said, “Let’s go to your room!†That was the only time I was on monitors for my entire labor. She wanted me to labor for a bit more before getting into the tub. I labored for an hour or two, walking, using the birthing ball, and listening to my Hypnobabies CDs. It was a wonderful experience- I remained in my own comfy clothes and had no IV or monitoring (just an occasional heartbeat check).

 

Then I got into the tub and it was just heavenly. The floating sensation was so comforting and the warm water soothing. I spent a lot of the time on my knees, leaning forward onto the wall of the tub. We alternated playing my birthing day hypnosis with an ocean sounds CD that reminded me of my special place. Switching them out worked well for me, because I found that if I listened to the same thing over and over, I would start to tune it out completely and lose focus. During this time, I would describe my labor as intense, like a hard workout. In fact, for this reason, referring to it as “labor†did not bother me, because I felt like it required a lot of effort and concentration, just like competing in a sporting event or participating in a difficult project would require. But at no point did I find the effort or intensity to be unmanageable. This was BIG for me, and a complete difference from my previous delivery. During that labor, my pressure waves were pitocin-augmented and were very irregular and uncomfortable, so despite my desire for a natural childbirth, I found myself longing for pain-relief with each wave. In contrast, this time I never even considered asking for drugs- it would have been completely unnecessary. Since this had been my biggest fear prior to the birth, I was relieved to find myself so in control and allowing my body to do exactly as it was meant to do.

At one point, I felt the urge to push, and my midwife trusted my instincts, without even checking my dilation. I remained on my hands and knees and tried to push there, but started to get jittery and to feel a little out of control and scared. My midwife suggested that I switch positions and not actively try to push for a while, but just see what my body wanted to do. So I laid back in the tub and relaxed against my husband and regained my focus. As intense as everything was just moments before, I suddenly felt mellow and even sleepy. This was the “rest and be thankful†stage that I had read might happen, and it really was helpful. I actually dozed for a while between pressure waves. Then a little while later, I have no idea how long, suddenly the pushing urge returned with a much greater vengeance. It was amazing, almost like a freight train roaring through my body that I could not have stopped if I had even wanted to try. I pushed for a while in a supported squat, but after a bit, my midwife felt that the baby’s head was not crowning because my bag of waters were still intact. She suggested that she break them and allow him to fully descend and I agreed. In order to give her access to break the membranes, I leaned back onto my pelvis, still in the tub. As soon as the waters released, the baby’s head crowned. It was incredible. My midwife tried to get me to switch positions, but at that point I refused to move and just wanted to push my baby out.

I won't lie. The last few minutes of pushing hurt. But, I could feel my baby's head- he was right there and I didn’t care at that point if it hurt some. I felt like a powerful she-cat, bearing my young, pushing when the urge hit me, screaming with the intensity of it all, and collapsing to rest in the moments of reprieve. No one yelled “Push†at me or told me when to push, they just completely supported me and my own timing. And suddenly, the baby’s head was out and we could all see him there under the water. The midwife unwrapped his cord a bit and with one more push he floated out. I pulled him up to my chest crying and felt so relieved and blessed to finally have him in my arms. He didn’t even cry, just looked around a bit with his big, dark eyes and snuggled in close to my chest. I had no tearing at all, even with a meaty 8 lb, 10 oz baby. My little water baby was so mellow and peaceful, and didn’t even squeal until the nurse rubbed him a bit to stimulate him. Then he latched right on and nursed while his cord finished pulsing and I birthed the placenta.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't done it myself. I know what painful labor is, having gone through it with my first son, so I know firsthand what a difference being prepared through hypnosis can make. I also later learned that because of the way I was positioned in the birthing tub, the baby’s head actually broke my tailbone as it passed by. No wonder it hurt! This time, I know better how to avoid this and expect to have a completely manageable labor, pushing and all. It really helps to know I have actually done it, and that it really works.

[12Stars]

I will definitely have to come back and read your story when I get a chance tonight thanks for sharing. Maybe next time I wont be inundated with other things. This time around I was overwhelmed with the autism world for our 5 year old it left little time for myself.

[MeaganS]

I did Hypnobabies after my first c-section that I found out later was mostly likely unnecessary. I enjoyed practicing and listening to the CDs every night, but I didn't get a chance to use it because I ended up having to have a c-section with my second (this one was totally necessary). I was kind of upset to do all the work and not get to even use it, especially with my husband teasing me about it the whole time because he thought I was nuts. Oh well. But, I did TONS of research about it before I tried it and everything was positive. And I did enjoy the practicing, and I still use the relaxation techniques to fall asleep some times.

[ocelotmom]

I used it with my youngest's birth.

 

I admit, I didn't practice terribly well. I didn't have a painless birth, but it was certainly easier to manage than the others and was overall fine. I don't think it hurt any less, it just didn't bother me quite as much. I'm not sure how much of that was the hypnobabies and how much was other factors.

 

Other than that, I liked it because it helped me get to sleep when I was having trouble :) It is certainly very relaxing, and I think it helped me have a more positive attitude towards pregnancy and birth overall.

 

I would encourage you to listen to the tracks at a conscious level (while you're awake and doing something, not while you're following the instructions) to make sure that what it's saying is what you actually want to be putting into your subconscious. The program encourages you to do this - it isn't breaking the rules or anything like that :) There were some parts of the track you're supposed to listen to during labor that I really didn't feel comfortable with. I also had problems with the approach the fear release track took.

Edited April 16, 2011 by ocelotmom

[Ginevra]

I used it for two of my births. I think it is excellent. One of those births was pitocin-induced and there were 2 or 3 points where they increased the pit and I still had an unmedicated birth. I did not think it was painful, although it did get wild at transition. Not wild in terms of pain, but just very instinctive and...well, animal. :tongue_smilie:

[Occasionally]

I used it for my last birth--my fourth baby. While I did not practice as faithfully as I should have, and I was skeptical after hearing some of it, I ended up with a good experience. The short story: I walked into the hospital at 3:30pm about 7cm dilated without knowing it (my water had broken and it was too early for a homebirth, unfortunately.) At about 6:45 I told my husband and midwife that my contractions were "getting uncomfortable." The baby was born at 7:25 with some discomfort, but no real "pain" that I would speak of (which sounds strange but I promise is what happened for me.)

 

I felt far more in control than I did with my 3rd birth, which was at home and 80 minutes start to finish. That one was very painful, and it was what spurred me to investigate Hypnobabies. I think my midwife was amazed at how things went; nobody was quite ready for me to give birth, since I was so calm and quiet--I remember hearing the midwife call the nurse urgently, saying "baby's coming, baby's coming now!"

 

Whatever you decide, best of luck!

[sibbis]

I have heard nothing but good things about Hypnobabies. Unfortunately, I can't find it used and my DH would die if I bought it new so I think I might have to just check out the Hypnobirthing book and CD from the library.

 

I think I was hypnotizing myself without knowing it when my son was born. I was incredibly tired so I was falling asleep between contractions. I hope I can get there again this time!

[redsquirrel]

my friend took a class for her second. She raves about it.

[linguistmama]

I can't say enough good things about it. My first birth was very painful, complete with screaming! For the second I wanted something different and used hypnobabies. I had a very easy birth with no pain. It was so wonderful and very healing! I heard about it from a friend and knew instinctively that it was the perfect thing for me.

[meggie]

With my first child, I thought I was gonna die when I was only 3 cm along. 24 hours later I got my epidural, but disliked so much about the hospital delivery that I didn't want to do it again.

 

When I got pregnant with my second one, I decided to have a home birth and knew the only way I could do it was with Hypnobabies (I'd been researching it a lot). Two years ago, I took the class and it was wonderful.

 

With this last pregnancy I found out the instructor I'd had before had stopped doing classes for family reasons and I missed the only other one in the area by a day :glare: so I just pulled out all the stuff I'd saved and did it by myself. It wasn't as comfortable as the last one, but it was quicker and even a few days later I was thinking, "wow that was kinda fun". So I heartily recommend this program to anyone who wants do have a natural delivery.

[Annie]

Well, my labor wasn't painless, but I did get through 37 hours of back labor without thinking of transferring to the hospital for pain meds. I really liked the program, and it definitely helped me sleep during pregnancy. My little guy was terribly positioned, and I ended up with a c-section after seven-ish hours of pushing, but I was very happy I did the Hypnobabies. Due to complications during my csection, I'm not a VBAC candidate, but if I was, I would definitely use it again!

 

Happy birthing!

 

 

I have heard nothing but good things about Hypnobabies. Unfortunately, I can't find it used and my DH would die if I bought it new so I think I might have to just check out the Hypnobirthing book and CD from the library.

 

I think I was hypnotizing myself without knowing it when my son was born. I was incredibly tired so I was falling asleep between contractions. I hope I can get there again this time!

 

I'll PM you. :)