Hypnobirth Recommendations

[HMKing]

Hi All

I'm a first time mum who is expecting in about 12 weeks.

I've started thinking about coping through the labour and I really want to start preparing in any way that I can - mainly because I'm not good with hospitals and I'm prone to being more than a little bit squeamish!

I've done some research into hypnobirthing and wanted to hear from mums who have tried it - would you recommend it?

And if so, did you do the classes or a home cd course?

Lastly, if you did the book / cd instead of a course - did you find it effective enough?

Sorry for all the questions but I'd love to hear from anyone who is willing to share their experiences!

Thank you x

[tomo]

Yes, I did a hypnobirthing course with Sophie at http://www.calmbirthcalmbaby.com/ she's a fantastic teacher and incredibly passionate about enabling women to have faith in their ability to birth their babies.

I found it incredibly useful. I had a home birth and found the relaxation and breathing techniques i had learnt really helpful. When i did the balloon breathing correctly, it did make each contraction (or surge as it's known in hypbobirthing speak) a lot more copeable. I had a big baby 9lbs 13, but managed using hypnobirthing, a birth pool and a bit of gas and air towards the end. I know people used the book and CDs and had great success too, so it's not always essential to do a class.

I did find you do have to put the practice in, especially the breathing techniques. Most of all it gave me a belief that I could do it!

Good luck!

[JBoylen]

Kristen Haywards is a hypnobirthing professional in East Dulwich

Kristin Hayward BA Hons DCH DHP

HypnoTherapy . HypnoFertility . HypnoBirthing

07963 046 456

www.kristinhayward.com

[JBoylen]

Oh by the way, I used hypnosis for my birth and I found it a wonderful experience. I did not take any classes, though I feel I would have benefited from doing so. I hope it works out well for you.

[simonethebeaver]

Another vote for the lovely Sophie. I would have loved her to be there for the birth! I used hypnobirthing techniques throughout my four day slow labour and it helped so much. Although annoyingly I found the balloon breathing impossible as breathing in was excruciating.

[Bellenden Belle]

I was booked in to do a course - not with Kirsten - and it got cancelled. Having already been slightly sceptical and wondering if I was wasting money I decided to just read Maggie Howell's Effective Birth Preparation and listen to the accompanying CD.

I can't have listened to the CD more than four times, falling asleep during two of them - that, with my epi-no I put in the Good /Intentions category - and I was pretty convinced I hadn't put in the requisite 'practice' for it to work.

And yet, I know the hypnobirthing techniques I picked up got me through my 30hour labour. Certain key phrases and ideas from the book and CD came inmediately to me at the start of labour and supported me through each contraction. I amazed myself at how well I coped.

I should add that I never expected to do well during labour - I have a very bad track record with medical interventions and I think friends would describe my normal reaction on a sliding scale of very anxious to 'on the brink of hysteria'.

So I would definitely recommend giving it a try. You are welcome to borrow the book and cd from me.

[Bellenden Belle]

Just to add that Natal Hypnotherapy and Hypnobirthing are slightly different - the former being the option I followed. Whilst there is a lot of crossover the key difference is that natal hypnotherapy doesn't teach particular breathing techniques - it does talk about focusing on your breathing but it isn't prescriptive. Personally this worked for me as I didn't want to over-complicate things.

[Fuschia]

I have done it all

Birth 1 saw a hypnotherapist several times and used her own prep CDs

Had a 4h birth no pain relief

Twins I was terrified I would have them premature - saw Christine neillands through pregnancy to calm me and help resolve terrible reflux caused partly by stress

Then did shirt version if hypbobirthing and listened daily to Christine personalised mp3 and Marie mongan CDs

Was able to use the methods to overcome pain of going to 38 weeks plus and week in hospital despite hospital phobia

Latest baby, as twins, saw Christine but used natal hypnotherapy (think m mongan method is better but requires more work beforehand)

Used Christine and a turning babies mp3 before ecv for transverse baby, which worked

Survived stressful week long High blood

[Fuschia]

Pressure, induction

Used a hypno cd after to help with bf traumas/ tongue tie

I find hypnotherapy very effective for me

My tips - maggie Howell is more general relaxation IMO

Marie mongan very specific to help yOu anaesthetise yOurself (really) but you need a birth supporter to give you cues, if possible

If you need counselling type support too, or feel very stressed/worried - see Christine neillands wh

[HMKing]

Hi ladies

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and recommendations with me - I really feel much better about it now.

I will definitely look up Christine and Sophie and see if they have any availability before June. I'll also have a look into the books / CDs.

For those who did Sophie's courses, where did you do them, as from the website, it doesn't look like there are any in ED?

I didn't even realise there was difference between hypnobirthing and natal - I've not really been able to find much by way of sample MP3s etc. so was feeling more confused than knowledgable!

Thank you for the recommendations / advice and I'll look forward to getting started / hearing more of your stories :) x

[Sanne Panne]

I read the Marie Mongan book (pretty good but I couldn't fully get into the groove and genuinely believe that self-hypnosis during labour is realistic and desirable) and did one hypnotherapy session (which I didn't like, I told the therapist at the end that I had got into hypnosis but I really hadn't and spent most of the half hour being annoyed with the fact that she said "baby is coming out" rather than "your/the baby is coming out" - it was not any of the ladies mentioned above).

I also read the Gentle Birth Method by Gowri Motha and liked that. I skipped the bits I wasn't into (homeopathy) but that didn't affect the value of the book at all. It definitely added to my confidence that late pregnancy, labour and birth were going to be fine. To me, the "scientific" bits in the "soft" books made a big difference in the build up to labour, they gave me about half the confidence I needed - the rest coming from a great pregnancy yoga course during which we talked about labour (in a very no nonsense way) almost as much as we stretched, the fantastic NCT course by Tess and the plain thought that everybody I've met and seen in my life has come out of a mother in some way so it must be doable.

Had two very quick and easy births. I think all of the above helped. But (physionomical) luck is a big factor too. Was labour short and sweet because I was so friggin' brave and well prepared? Or did my body just cope with it more easily due to genetic factors? Has to be more of the latter than the former.

There are too many variables to be able to tell what contributed to what.

Good luck. Gowri Motha is worth reading if you have time.

[Kes]

I used the natal hypnotherapy CDs. I found them really good for relaxing during pregnancy ( fell asleep quite often listening to them) and made the pain completely barable for 20 hours or so while labour seemed to be going ok (if rather slow) unfortunatelY as sanne panne says luck also plays a part and some time later I ended up with every intervention going before giving up and having an emergency c-section. For all that I'd still recommend the CDs as I'm pretty sure that I'd have only needed that had the baby been smaller and the right way round. Someone else also mentioned yoga, I'd recommend that too. Good luck

[simonethebeaver]

I did the class at Sophie's house in Catford. It's a short car journey or the 185 bus from ED.

[HMKing]

Thanks ladies - have signed up to do the class with Christine & I'm looking forward to getting started with the book and CD :-)

Thanks for all the advice & here's hoping it makes me feel a bit calmer. Afterall, Kes & Sanne, I totally agree, a good part of it comes down to luck / chance, but at least this might make me feel better :-) xx

[Fuschia]

Let us know how it goes