Introduction and hypnobirthing

passionfruit1234

Hi,

Thought i'd introduce myself.

I'm only 6 weeks pregnant at this point but i'm already convinced i would like a natural birth if possible. I am really keen to do some kind of hypnobirthing actually and have worked out that the hypnobabies home study program is probably going to work best for me as i don't live anywhere near somewhere that does courses. My husband is very sceptical of all of this thinking that i should get tonnes of drugs and that if i'm hypnobirthing then i'll think i'll be off my head thinking i'm a carrot or something silly like that. So i'm really not sure that he is likely to be very helpful in all of it and i guess i need to spend the next 8 months of so gradually getting him to understanding things from my perspective.

Where i live i'll probably be able to only go to conventional birthing classes so i'm hoping that if my DH comes along it doesn't further cement in his mind that a natural birth and hypnobirthing is a silly idea. Just have to wait and see i guess. 

KateLouise

Welcome 

My DH could not comprehend why I wouldn't take all the drugs on offer. Then at our antenatal class, we watched a DVD on pain relief options. It outlined all the potential risks of an epidural, to the mother.

The thought of paralysis and death (obviously rare) and suddenly he was all about the natural birth route. And that was without touching in the benefits to mother and baby of going natural.

Have you discussed with your DH why a natural birth is important? Would he read something? Perhaps find him a good article or website that he can read up on the stats and science.

Best wishes.

margaritachikita

Welcome! I would start by watching The Business of Being Born on netflix - it is a good overview of the medical maternity system and some of its flaws. That is usually a good starting point on getting people to understand why someone would choose to avoid interventions. I would also highly recommend hiring a doula. A doula is an emotional support person who can help you prepare for labor prenatally and who will be with you and DH continuously throughout labor and birth. Doulas reduce the incidence of pain med usage as well as the risk of c-section. If DH likes to read, you could have him read "The Birth Partner"....and Ina May's guide to childbirth is a great one too. Bradley classes are awesome for partners, if you can find one. HTH best of luck!!!

passionfruit1234

Thanks,

Yes i have already seen that actually plus the part 2 version. it was very enlightening, although at the same time i'm not in America so our system is not quite the same.

Love your baby wrap! i can't wait till i have a little one to wear that is actually one of things i'm most looking forward to is the baby wearing experience.

mdarmetko

Hypnobabies asks that you do not take any other birthing classes in addition to their class (or read other birthing books or watch scary youtube videos of labor etc).  It interferes with their teachings and their whole philosophy on "birthing".  I'm not sure if its the same with hypnobirthing classes though.  Hypnobabies also incorporates your H in the training.  We are taking the classes and before I signed up they made sure my H would be attending too, or that I'd have a partner. Every other day I'm supposed to listen to a track from the CD, and on the other days my H is supposed to read to me from a script.  

Titanium81

Does anyone offer Bradley Method classes where you are? My friend's husband wasn't supportive of her desire to have a med-free birth until his first Bradley class. I've been doing the self-study hypnobabies class and I personally have mixed feelings about it. But you can still follow the course and listen to the tracks on your own if your husband isn't into it. 

jenn43

I did the hypnobirthing classes, and from what I hear, it's simpler than hypnobabies.  You could essentially do your entire labor with just the one relaxation soundtrack if you wanted to.  But they do give you some other relaxation exercises as well as ways for your DH or birth partner to participate and help you relax.  What I liked most was the troubleshooting exercise we did at the end; basically we went over different scenarios (e.g. if you're in back labor), how to recognize what's going on, and things you can try to cope.

Before we attended the classes, my DH said he didn't understand the point, because "labor isn't something you can train for."  On the way home from our first class, he realized that was exactly the point of the class!

passionfruit1234

Excited for when i can get to this stage. Far too early days for me yet.