Hypnobabies questions

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Mnerani

I studied Hypnobirthing with DS and it helped me a ton, even though I had a very unexpected emergency CS.

This time around, I'm studying Hypnobabies. I am preparing for a natural birth, but because of my experience the first time around, my personal philosophy is that I will do what's best for me and my baby during labor. In some circumstances, that might mean getting pain medication. 

Though Hypnobabies doesn't support using pain meds, I'm not finding it difficult to practice the method while knowing in the back of my mind that I will make informed decisions for myself during labor, even if it means having a medicated birth. I'm just more realistic this time around and confident that I can draw on self-hypnosis in a variety of scenarios, whether I have an "ideal" birth or not.

JCWhitey

I'm not sure about Hypnobabies, but I did GentleBirth and they had "Gentle Induction", "Gentle C-Section", etc. hypnosis sessions to aide in preparing for those sorts of births.  They may have one for getting an epidural, too, I'm not sure.  And you definitely still can use hypnosis even if you opt for pain management.  Even with pain management you can still tense up, be under stress, etc.  Hypnosis aims to put you in a calm state.

jrayeward

I did the home study and totally reserved the right to get an epidural at any time. Hypnobabies supports moms making the best choices for themselves and their births - those choices are different for everyone! I'm also a doula and had a client who did Hypnobabies, chose an epidural after a loooong birthing time (it was a great choice for her). Her birth stalled, OB started talking c section, and this momma used every Hypnobabies tool
She had leaned and had that baby not 30 minutes later. She really did not want a cs! She made empowered decisions throughout her birth and rocked her Hypnobabies. I say go for it!

themiss

I took classes for Hypnobirthing, and the doula teaching it always said the learnings can be applied to any kind of birth, or life, situation.

Even if you decide to have an epidural, being able to calm yourself, control your reactions/emotions/pain going in to labour, are all positive things that can help in any situation.

margaritachikita

Just to address your question about how involved your OB needs to be, the answer is not at all. Doctors typically show up when the baby is practically crowning, and not before (barring any complications). He/she will likely not be intimately involved with your labor at all. As long as he/she is supportive of a low intervention birth and not pushing things on you, you should be okay. If you opt for the pain medication it should be your choice, not because you were scared into it.

margaritachikita

It might be worth looking into a doula who is familiar with it though. Or make sure your partner is up on the lingo.

LilTiger15

I used hypnobabies for my first birth.  I won't lie, at one point, I did beg for some pain meds.  I was fine while I was laboring at home, but with the commotion of getting to the hospital, I lost my relaxed state of mind and had a 'melt down' as I called it.  I was experiencing extreme back labor, as my baby had turned into a posterior position.  Luckily, my husband, doula and even the nurse helped me to get relaxed again and back to focusing using my hypnobabies techniques.  Thank God for them.  They knew my ultimate wish was not to have any kind of medication, so they helped me to stick to it.  I think part of the problem you face when having a hospital birth is if you do lose focus, you know the drugs are literally in the room.  It is like putting a kid in a toy store and saying they can't play with any toys.  Like I said, I did get mentally back on track.  I actually found a comfortable spot in a sitting position in the couch in the room and even fell asleep--at 9 cm after begging for medication!  Thinking back on my experience, that really was an eye opener that getting through labor is seriously a 'mind over matter' experience.  If you focus on pain and drugs, you will be in pain and want drugs.  If you push past that and think positive and know hypno-anesthesia techniques, you can be comfortable and enjoy your birth.

As far as how involved your OB needs to be, I agree with @margaritachikita.  They don't need to know anything about how it exactly works.  All they have to do is be on board with you wanting a med-free birth and respect your decision.  The only thing that is important of anyone in your hospital room, including nurses, doctors and hospital staff, is to basically be as quiet as possible and direct any questions to your husband and or doula.  You need quiet so you can stay focused on your mental state.  The first doctor that I had that was on call when I got to the hospital, could care less about these wishes.  She was so rude.  Luckily, there was a shift change and I got another OB who was very respectful and on board with my pain management of choice : )

Also like @margaritachikita suggested, I HIGHLY recommend having a doula if you want to go the med-free hypnobabies route.  Since most hospitals' average patient is having an epidural or C-section, they can be uneasy about a hypnobabies momma.  I actually hired a hypnobabies certified Doula.  She was great.  Not only was she to have there as a 3rd party advocate to deal with the hospital staff when something arose, but she also could help me with my hypnobabies cues.  Being a FTM at the time, I didn't want my husband to feel overwhelmed with too much.  I think there is a big difference between a dad who just has to sit in the room with his wife who is relaxed with an epi and a husband who is with his wife who is working hard to keep herself mentally focused from having a pain melt down. 

For this birth, I'm having a homebirth.  I'm looking forward to it since I feel way more comfortable at home and think the risk of me having a pain melt down again is much less, since I don't have to deal with the up hill 'battles' of a hospital.  Everyone in my home will be 110% on board with my birth plan.