Hypnobirthing? Did it help you?

Question

Considering the class for this pregnancy, but it is far away from my area and really expensive and also its self-hypnosis?! 
Is it worth it? Would the online course be just as helpful? 
Please, tell me your stories!

Answer

I had a long labor with my son and it was all back labor. The breathing exercises I learnt in hypnobirthing definitely helped me go the entire time unmedicated and being able to handle the pain/pressure, and made the whole experience feel a lot shorter than 24 hours of labor. Things ended up going south when, after 4 hours of pushing, my son was stuck and we needed a forceps delivery, but I will say that hypnobirthing 100% helped my labor and all the fears I had beforehand.

Answer

I would recommend reading the book and check out online resources. I did take the hypnobirthing course with a class of 2 other couples & I still keep in touch with those moms 2 years later. The support of the group was great but I will not repeat the class for baby #2. I will reread the book. I will say the Mongan method tools (affirmations, rainbow relaxation track, pain triggers & techniques etc) absolutely helped me 100% have a wonderful natural birth in the hospital with my 1st. I never cared for the name because your not being hypnotized. I mean, it’s more like meditative & being intouch with your mind/body. Your mind is the strongest muscle in your body & has SO much power over your body during the birthing process. Becoming empowered & knowing that your body knows what to do, trust your body and know that YOU CAN DO IT. The hypnobirthing the breathing techniques & iTunes downloads really helped me during labor. (I think her name is Kathleen Clark, she has an Aussie accent & I liked her voice) I did listen to a several on repeat at home and in the hospital. There are lots of great YouTube videos as well. There is one with Marie Mongans daughter, she talks about contractions (surges) being like powerful ocean waves. She says something like, you cannot fight the waves, you have to give your body over & just ride the waves using your relaxation techniques in between each wave. That was a great visualization for me when I was actually in labor & sort of welcomed ea painful contraction knowing they are bringing my baby closer to me. 
I will say labor is the most enduring & painful experience I’ve ever been through. Hypnobirthing helped me mentally prepare immensely! We were able to have a very calm and quite atmosphere in the hospital. I really wanted to “breath my baby down” like the book says but I definitely had to push... and I pushed very hard. This was my only regret in hindsight. I should have listened to my body & not the nurse by waiting until i was ready. I still don’t understand how those woman breath there babies down & out. It amazes me however & I hope I can do it with #2. I will tell you, I am a total wuss, I do not like pain! I get anxious even getting a shot or blood drawn. If I can do it, ANYONe can. Lol, seriously. I’m looking forward to using hypnobirthing with baby #2 due in September. Best of luck to you & let me know if you want me to send a link to the playlists I used. I still have them & will be using them again. Oh & ask for nitrous-oxide (laughing gas) it was my lifesaver at the very end. I tore & had to get stitched- obviously no drugs for this part either. That was pretty awful (& why i regret pushing so hard) but the gas, followed by holding my baby + major adrenaline/oxytocin rush got me through it.

Answer

I have generalised anxiety disorder and my midwife suggested this to me today - I’d also love to hear stories/experiences of anyone who’s tried it out!

Answer

By the time I learned of the class, I was too late to enroll in the one near me, but I did read the book and I can definitely say that becoming familiar with hypnobirthing philosophy and implementing the principles (positive language, breathing techniques, etc.) helped me immensely through my nearly 3 days of labor at home. Just learning about the ideas behind hypnobirthing totally changed my perspective and eased my anxiety and I had an awesome birth. If you don’t want to take the class, you could read the book and definitely give it a google because there’s a bunch of hypnobirthing resources online. There’s certain imagery that really resonated with me (imagining the uterus as ribbons, picturing contractions as waves, etc.) and the way the author describes the physiological process of birth was very enlightening. Bottom line, yes, hypnobirthing helped me a lot!

Answer

I have taken online and in person classes in preparation. For me, I think that I would have been okay with just online. I am a very introspective person, and hypnobirth visualization/whole body relaxation is just the kind of thing I would do naturally. But what about you? Do you think you're going to need a teacher showing you how to relax your body and to breathe through pain? Or a support group? It's really what you think you will need to be in your best mind set. Your body is amazing, it can and will do this. What is going to empower you to believe that if you have doubts?

Answer

I plan to use hypnobirthing. This is my first rodeo but I’ve heard and read wonderful things! I’ve even watched videos on YouTube and it seems like such a beautiful and peaceful process.

Answer

Following. It may sound stupid but I read the book (Mongan method) and have some recordings, but I don’t actually get how to use it during labor besides the breathing exercises. I can’t really see myself listening to the relaxation tracks during contractions - or maybe that’s just me?!

Answer

I preferred hypnobirthing vs hypnobabies. Loved it though and it DEFINITELY helps. You have to be VERY consistent practicing ahead of time.

Answer

I enjoyed the tapes throughout pregnancy so I would say that helped in terms of anxiety but during a long natural labor, that shit was useless! ha!

Hypnobirthing? Did it help you?

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