Natural Birth
Hypnobabies and Hypnobirthing
I have been studying the Bradley Method and taking classes. Truthfully, I am very disappointed. I recently starting reading about Hypnobirthing and I am very interested in it. But after surfing around I have found Hypnobabies and I am curious about that as well. What would you recommend? What is the difference between the two? I am also interested in opinions on the Bradley Method in comparison to these other two methods.
Please help!
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Re: Hypnobabies and Hypnobirthing
I chose HypnoBabies. I've heard it's more similar to the techniques that are used in surgical hypnosis, and has a more thorough approach regarding childbirth. It covers everything -- the stages of labor/birth, breathing, etc. on top of the actual hypnosis techniques. I already knew most of the typical birth stuff from other research/reading/DVDs (Laugh and Learn about Childbirth DVDs are very informative and encourage a natural approach).
I don't 100% buy into all of the Hypnobabies stuff -- for example, it discourages you from reading or studying anything else. For me, knowledge is power, and at this point I feel like I can differentiate between what I agree with and don't. While I know that some resources may not be confidence-building, I would never have wanted to miss out on Ina May Gaskin; however, I ended up closing Ricki Lake's Your Best Birth halfway through because it was so biased. In other words, I'll use my own judgment regarding what to read and what not to. I also can't completely buy into all of the terminology (I'm okay with the word "pain" regarding childbirth -- I don't expect it to be pain-free, I want to learn how to cope with it), and my DH would never be able to make it through reading one of the scripts or the promises that they ask you to do together. That's fine, this is for me. He knows what he needs to do to help me to stay focused. I've put the tracks on my iPod and even though I ordered it a bit late in my pregnancy (I think around 30 weeks?), I'm able to get myself into very deep relaxation/hypnosis. I think it will be really helpful!!
i took a bradley class and i'm also doing hypnobabies (home study). i obviously haven't delivered yet, but i feel like they compliment each other well. i thought parts of each were a little ridiculous... for example, i agree with the pp who mentioned the hypnobabies ban on other classes. the most interesting moment for me was during one of the later bradley classes, when we broke into small groups. we were supposed to be writing down our fears/thoughts/ideas about delivery. all three of the other women in my group were predicting "longer than average labor" or back labor. my page literally said, "my delivery will be fast and easy." i remember thinking that was really odd. when we came back together to read what we'd written (all 9 couples), i was still the only optimist.
later, i realized that this was actually a suggestion on one of my cds. i feel like even if it doesn't work well during delivery, it has completely reduced any anxiety i might have had over the last trimester. that's totally been worth it.