Hypnobabies?

[staceyobu]

I've had three natural births and am considering trying this for my fourth. Does it really work? What exactly do I need to buy? You don't have to take classes right?

[NicAnn]

You don't have to take the classes, but I recommend them. Or at the very least, establishing an email/phone relationship with a teacher. You can buy the Hypnobabies at home, http://www.hypnobabies.com/mylink.php?id=3812.

 

Does it work? Well, yes I think that it really does. Of course, not every person who does it is going to have a perfect storybook birth...but in general I expect very good outcomes with Hypnobabies. :)

 

Good luck with your birth!

[linguistmama]

I think a class would be optimal, but I had a great experience using the home study course with dd2. In my books they stated that it might not work as well with a posterior baby or pitocin since those situations can be a different level of pain. DD2's birth was quick and easy and hypnobabies was a huge part of that! :D I had an epidural with dd1 and with dd2 it was nice to have no pain, but feel what was going on. I will be using it again for dd3.

[honeymommy4]

I think with this practice is the key. I tried it for my first. didn't work. but i think with later births it could work.

[Veritaserum]

I'll be using hypnosis for the fifth time in June. :) I love Hypnobabies. I taught it from 2006-2010, so I have a lot of experience both as a mama and as an instructor. A class is ideal, but the home study is a great option if you can't do a class.

 

Practice is absolutely essential, as is choosing to use the tools during the birth. The more often you use your Hypnobabies tools, the more effective they become. When you go into labor you want to use them early and often because they get more effective when you do that. My Hypnobabies births were more comfortable than my epidural birth. :D I loved that I could use my hypnosis while moving around or doing whatever else I wanted to do.

[kolamum]

My children were born this way. We took classes once, gave a copy of the book to our Dr and read the book each time. We quite enjoyed it. Mind you, nurses don't think you're in labor when you're laughing and singing, so the look on their faces is fantastic when they realise you are in full blown labor.

 

The only problem I had was that I had VERY quick labors and the nurses never believed it. So when I was ready to "push" or "breathe baby down" they'd stop me and then I'd stress and thus be in pain. Once I got them to back off and let nature do it's thing we were fine.

 

You should be able to read about it on the Hypno website. :D Not us, I mean the method!

[Veritaserum]

My children were born this way. We took classes once, gave a copy of the book to our Dr and read the book each time. We quite enjoyed it. Mind you, nurses don't think you're in labor when you're laughing and singing, so the look on their faces is fantastic when they realise you are in full blown labor.

 

The only problem I had was that I had VERY quick labors and the nurses never believed it. So when I was ready to "push" or "breathe baby down" they'd stop me and then I'd stress and thus be in pain. Once I got them to back off and let nature do it's thing we were fine.

 

You should be able to read about it on the Hypno website. :D Not us, I mean the method!

 

I think you might be describing HypnoBirthing, which has a book written by Marie Mongan. It's very different from Hypnobabies. I took a HypnoBirthing class with my second baby and then taught it from 2004-2006. I switched to Hypnobabies because HypnoBirthing isn't enough to prepare most moms to have a natural birth. The experiences my Hypnobabies students had were substantially better than those of my HypnoBirthing students due to the more comprehensive education and more effective hypnosis techniques taught in Hypnobabies.

[Annie]

I did the home study course with my LO. I did my practice every night, but I will admit to missing a few days of doing the birthing affirmations.

 

It got me through 37 hours of labor (including 7 hours of pushing) with a posterior and asynclitic wee one. My labor ended in a cesarean, but it was med free before that. It wasn't a comfortable labor, but I never got to a point where I wanted pain meds or anything like that. I stayed in control the whole time. No screaming or feeling like it was more than I could take. I think the woman who mentioned it not working as well for posterior or pit babies is probably right. Once I got him past a certain place in my back, I felt more "normal" contractions instead of the back labor I had before, and those were much more manageable with the hypno techniques. The sensations of your muscles contracting with a normal contraction and the pressure on your back with a posterior baby are just different. Relaxing doesn't seem to help that pain as much since it's not really a muscle issue.

 

I'm not a VBAC candidate because of a surgical complication, but if I was, I would definitely use it again.

[linguistmama]

I used Hypnobabies with DS2 (no class, but did the home study). I was given pitocin and he was posterior but it still worked for me. The doctor said I was the calmest natural birth she had ever seen.

 

That's cool! I figured that at least the hypnobabies would help me stay more calm and relaxed even if I had a posterior baby etc.

[Momof3littles]

I used Hypnobirthing with my oldest, and took an in person class. I kept wondering if it would work because I never felt "hypnotized" in class. I felt deeply relaxed. My instructor kept reassuring me that that was normal. When the time came, it really worked incredibly well. I had a short labor for a first timer (a bit over 6 hours). I was very consistent w/ practice. Hypnobirthing (Mongan method) didn't offer many tracks on the CD, but my instructor made us a separate CD in her home recording studio. That gave me more options, and that was nice.

 

With baby #2 and #3 I reused my Hypnobirthing CDs again, and bought the Hypnobabies supplementary course (meant for people who had taken Hypnobirthing already; it isn't the same as the full Hypnobabies course). It worked great. With my 2nd I showed up to the birth center 10 cm dilated and had no idea I was that far. Thankfully I wasn't pushy yet (membranes still intact). That labor was only about 3 hours and for half of that I wasn't sure I was in active labor. My third labor was about 5 hours. It worked well for that one too.

 

I highly recommend it! I slept soooooo well after using my CDs that I've been known to whip them out when I'm having insomnia (when I'm not pregnant!). It really is just deep relaxation. I never felt "hypnotized" and I think that was the toughest thing for me. I expected to feel something else, kwim?

 

I think consistent practice is really important.

 

I also found I enjoyed laboring actively (walking, sitting on a ball, swaying, etc.) and it worked well for me while doing those things. I didn't practice that way though. I usually practiced in bed while relaxing. I think ideally it would be good to also practice while using active labor positions so you can make sure you can get yourself relaxed and into hypnosis while being active.

[Cassy]

During my fourth pregnancy I used a hypnobirthing CD course from a UK organisation, the National Childbirth Trust. After having had three hospital births with epidurals, interventions and lots of drama, this fourth birth, at home, using hypnobirthing, was a dream. I had always been a complete wimp about pain, and never thought I could give birth without pain relief, but I did, and it was a beautiful experience, the memory of which I shall always treasure.

[mommymilkies]

I used it with both of my homebirths. One was posterior and it was a life-saver! :lol:

[OrganicAnn]

I'm a hynobaby. My mom did this back in the 60s. :)