hypnobirthing query...

[bellified86]

Hi all,

I hope that I am in the right forum and that some of you may be able to offer some advice...

I am 32 weeks and have done quite a bit of research on hypnobirthing. I have Katharine Grave's book and two of her CD's, which I have been listening to every day. I haven't got my husband involved really, other than to explain the principals - its really not his thing and I'm quite happy pursuing it on my own - I think if he used the birth affirmations etc I might end up laughing rather than focusing!

My issue is that having started to read around a bit wider I understand that visualising the birth and positive experience that you want is something a lot of people are advised to do. I have no problem with this and having watched a lot of videos and done my research I know exactly how I would like things to go - my issue is that if things then don't work out that way that I may end up feeling cheated or upset that I put all that work in and still didn't get what I wanted. Before finding hypnobirthing I had been trying to keep an open mind about how labour and delivery would be so that I had no set images or ideals and therefore couldn't be disappointed with the outcome that I got (does that make sense?)

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of this or any advice they could offer as to whether the positive labour visulisations have worked for them or if they didn't work and then felt let down etc.

Thank you in advance!

 

[MindUtopia]

I used hypnotherapy to prepare for my home birth (not 'hypnobirthing' but natal hypnotherapy, different but similar method). You can read my birth story below if you want to get a sense of how I utilised it. My advice would be to keep up the practice and incorporate the visualizations and affirmations. Yes, it's true that things might not go as planned. Birth is part of life and life can be unpredictable. But that doesn't mean it isn't still important to prepare and develop a positive attitude. My birth definitely wasn't like the visualizations I focused on in my preparation. It was a positive experience and nothing 'bad' happened, but it just didn't unfold the way I thought. I assumed I'd give birth at night, in the birth pool, with a short easy 2nd stage, natural 3rd stage and lots of skin to skin and breastfeeding right away. I actually gave birth during the day, on dry land (had to get out of the pool because it slowed labour too much and just never made it back in), 2nd stage lasted 4 hours (that were hard work!), my placenta didn't come on it's own after an hour and half and I had to get the injection for a managed 3rd stage, and we've had lots of breastfeeding struggles because my daughter wouldn't latch successfully for several days. But my birth was still great and such an amazing positive experience!

Now I know that isn't the same as having to, say, transfer in for a c-section because I did get my home birth and had a wonderful, peaceful experience at that (even if it didn't quite match my visualizations). But if I had had to transfer into hospital or ended up with a c-section, what would have been disappointing would have had nothing to do with the hypnotherapy practice I put in. I would have been disappointed that I didn't get the birth I planned, but I know hypnotherapy would have only helped me in that situation and I wouldn't have regretted all the time and effort I put into it. I have heard that hypnobirthing (specifically the Marie Mongan method) isn't as applicable in a 'non'-natural birth, but the method I used (natal hypnotherapy) is easily applicable to all sorts of births. They even have a c-section CD if you know you'll be having a planned c-section. When we took our class there was a lot of emphasis on how to apply the methods even when things don't go as planned. Basically, the best thing you can do for yourself and your baby if complications were to arise is to keep calm and relaxed and keep breathing deeply, so that you keep your heart rate low and lots of oxygen going to baby. If this were to happen, I think you would be pretty thankful to have these tools available to you to help keep you calm and focused on birthing your baby.

One thing that was recommended to me was to write down your fears about how your birth might not go as planned. For me, this involved having to transfer into hospital for a high intervention birth and having to have a c-section (my baby was breech for awhile, so a planned c-section might have been necessary). And then I wrote down how I would want to respond to these situations and how I would employ the techniques I'd learned to make the situation the best I possibly could under the circumstances. You might still end up being disappointed at the way things turned out, but I don't think you'd be any more disappointed than if you weren't using hypnotherapy. We all have expectations for how our births will go, but I think preparing and knowing how to breathe and stay calm will help you in any scenario.

 

[Greta Chick]

I completely agree with everything MindUtopia says. I was lucky that my birth *did* go exactly the way I wanted it to (though I didn't have a specific time of day or position I was expecting to give birth in, I just knew I would have a natural, calm and stress-free birth in my own home) and I put an awful lot of emphasis in it happening that way because of the natal hypnotherapy I did (not hypnobirthing) and the self-education and preparation I had done.

One of my closest friends also did the natal hypnotherapy and had planned a natural birth in the maternity unit, but due to circumstances beyond her control (read: the hospital's fault) she ended up with an emergency cs and her daughter had a very traumatic birth and first couple of weeks in the world. My friend maintains, though, that because of the natal hypnotherapy she remained calm and in control throughout the whole birth experience, despite it being the most traumatic thing she has experienced.

I think it is absolutely fine having set ideas for how you want a birth to go (I did myself, I wrote a birth plan for each of my children) but I also think if things don't go to plan exactly, the hypnotherapy will keep you calm and in control so you end up taking the positives from your birth experience rather than focusing on things that didn't go exactly how you wanted them to.

xx

 

[bellified86]

Thanks both. I think the advice u have given has really confirmed what I thought, in so much as the hypnobirthing will still give me tools to use no matter what ends up happening. I guess I just feel cautious as I've had a relatively smooth pregnancy and so hoping/visualizing a positive, calm birth seems to much to ask for! X

 

[yoshy]

I have heard that hypnobirthing (specifically the Marie Mongan method) isn't as applicable in a 'non'-natural birth, but the method I used (natal hypnotherapy) is easily applicable to all sorts of births.

I agree with most of what MindUtopia said, but I disagree with this specific statement.

My best friend took the hypnobirthing course (using the Mongan method), knowing ahead of time that her birth was not going to be natural or medication free, but she said that the hypnobirthing techniques were what helped her get through a very difficult labour. Her son was a VBAC, and the doctor kept trying to pressure her into just going for a cesarean because the labour was "progressing slowly" according to him, in the end they used the vacuum, and she told me recently (when I mentioned I was taking the hypnobirthing course) that it was the best thing she could have done for her pregnancy/birth.

I also have other friends who have used it during 'non'-natural births, and found it was a great help.

I'd say it really depends on the person.

 

[Feronia]

I found Hypnobirthing (the Mongan method) a great help during my labour. The breathing and visualizations helped most of all, and reading the book ahead of time helped me go into labour with a positive outlook. I really didn't get my husband involved when I was practicing the Hypnobirthing when I was pregnant, but it didn't matter. He supported what I was doing and I had an excellent birth -- I believe it helped!

 

[Larkspur]

I found the Mongan method to be great preparation to go into birth with a relaxed mindset. The breathing techniques and to a much, much lesser degree, visualisations, were helpful in the early stages of labour.

My birth didn't go 100 percent how I wanted (I wasn't allowed to use the birthing pool much because of a bit of bleeding) and I don't know if it was because of that that in the later, tougher stages of labour, I found the hypnobirthing techniques less useful. (I did find my Ujjayi breath practice from yoga very useful though.) But other than that, it was straightforward, natural, and positive.

My partner and I never did the affirmations together, I found it too cheesy. But he was a great support and from HB classes learned to remind me to breathe, which was probably the most helpful thing during the meanest contractions.

Everyone's experience will vary, but personally, I found that during the peak contractions and delivery, the HB idea that I was just going to 'breathe through the surges' and 'breathe out my baby' went out the window. There was a lot of GROWLING, and some serious PUSHING, and it HURT. But that was okay, it was all part of the experience of natural birth, and I'll happily do it again.