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Austin Babies
Bradley vs. hypnobirthing: thoughts?
Hi ladies. I'm thinking about what type of childbirth class to sign up for, and I'd love your opinions and advice. I started looking at Bradley classes in the area as they were recommended by several frriends, and unfortunately most of them are not convenient for us location-wise. We live central, and the highly recommended teachers are in Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Oak Hill. I also met with a couple of doulas on Friday, and one of them recommended hypnobirthing, which I had heard about but was not investigating. She mentioned that the Bradley classes, which are 12 weeks long, are very comprehensive and cover all types of subjects related to pregnancy, whereas the hypnobirthing classes are shorter (5-6 weeks) and focus more on labor.
What are your thoughts on either method? Has anyone done one pregnancy with Bradley and another with hypnobirthing and have any comparison to share? Thanks for any thoughts and advice you can provide.
Amy
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Re: Bradley vs. hypnobirthing: thoughts?
i can't speak to hypnobirthing...I never took a class but tried to listen the CDs for my 3rd birth and never made it through them...I probably should have taken a class! I did Bradley w/Bridget Brown in oak hill for my 1st birth and took her refresher class for my 2nd. I really like Bridget and felt the classes were really good for me. there is a lot of detail about what your body is going through in labor, etc and learning all that info was really helpful for me. we live south central near zilker park and it really only took 15-20 min max to get there in normal traffic. one dad drove down from Dell every week. I also got a lot out of the books: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Childbirth (Henci Goer) and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (Ina May Gaskin). a lot of friends have raved about Birthing from Within as well.
also...I wish I had known about Carrie Contey when I was pg w #1. she has helped our family in so many ways. I did take her prenatal parenting class for #2, it's great. looks like she has a prenatal class starting soon:
https://slowfamilyliving.com/products-page/classes/prenatal-parenting-right-from-the-start/
also meant to add, i've had 3 uncomplicated home births. I probably used bradley stuff the most for #1. #2 i was able to escape my head and let my body take over. i didn't take any classes before #3 and probably should have (like hypnobirthing!)..i had a hard time letting my body take over. it was a much faster birth, i had total head games going on, but alas, it all worked out in the end!!! good luck!
I highly recommend HB, and took the class through Hypnobirthing of Central Texas with Liz and Heather.
I wish I could do a comparason for you, but I've only done HB. I do remember a friend who also did HB looked into Bradley classes and said that she felt like the Bradley instructors were SO anti-epidural that they made you feel like crap if you caved and got an epi in the end. I don't know if that's true, but I've never heard that from anyone else.
HB is extremely focused on the idea that your body is built to do this and you CAN do it without meds, IF you prepare. It's all about the preparation, both physically and mentally. For me, this was essential. I needed a birthing philosophy that was extremely one sided and didn't even consider the possibility that I'd need an epi. I needed to prepare in a way that made the epi an impossibility. I don't think the class did that necessarily, but they did teach as though everything was going to go perfectly and you wouldn't need meds - and that mindset helped me a lot. What ultimately made the decision for me to go for HB was the whole "relaxation/meditation" aspect of it. I am not good at relaxing, I'm not good at turning my mind off, or anything like that, so I knew that if I was going to make it through childbirth without meds, I needed something that was going to teach me how to relax and meditate. HB did that for me 100%! I STILL use the techniques and find them absolutely invaluable.
It's not for everyone, as I think a lot of people would like to discuss all options, go into childbirth with the best of intentions, but be open to intervention should it become needed or wanted. If you are like this, I'd probably go for a Bradley Class since I think they cover more options in the course material. Though for the record, I did read the Bradley book as well as some much more middle-of-the-road books that were more focused on describing ALL options/interventions, just so I would know where to draw the line for myself if/when the time came for an intervention, and I felt fully prepared.
No comparison but for #2, I am trying the Hypnobirthing techniques. Like you, I am interested in Bradley but there is no way I can take all the classes. While I think some of the hypnobirthing stuff is a little silly or inaccurate - I like the general phiolosphy b/c I do believe being able to find a way to be in control and relax and control your body during labor is possible (and something I was totally lacking w/ #1.) FWIW - I am also reading a Bradley book to have some of that knowledge too. Not the same as the classes but I figure it can't hurt.
ETA: My friend that studied both techniques said that she found Bradley more helpful for her labor. She had a very fast labor w #2 and said she never had time to really use the HB techniques.
Just curious - what did you hear that you felt was silly or inacurate?
I can see that if you had a 2 or 3 hour labor that that would be pretty fast to "use" all the techniques, but I had a relatively quick labor (11 hours TOTAL from 0cm/10-20% and no contractions to 10cm/100% and pushing baby out), and I used TONS of my HB techniques. I didn't really go through the whole relaxation exercise by talking myself through the progressive relaxation like on the CDs, but that's totally not the point of HB. The point is to practice the exercises in progressive relaxation before you go into labor so that you can go IMMEDIATELY into a relaxed state when the time comes. I would think that the HB techniques (or any relaxation/breathing techniques, really) would be just as, if not MORE helpful in such a fast labor. But we should ask McGee about that.
(She did HypnoBabies, which is a little different but still similar enough to HB.)
ETA: I will add, too, that only 7-8 hours of my total labor time was uncomfortable enough to really put concerted effort into utilizing my HB techniques. I was just mildly uncomfortable the first couple of hours, even after my water broke. And i can safely say that I never felt actual pain, which was the only thing about HB that I scoffed at. I thought their whole "Labor doesn't have to be painful!" thing was bullsh!t, but the class changed my mindset enough that I wouldn't classify my labor as painful. Just really, really intense and uncomfortable.
My friend that I referenced actually had a 4 hour VBAC - so yeah, it was really quick. She barely made it to the hospital. I think she delivered 30 minutes after she arrived.
My statement about the silly/inaccurate part is based on the book - not the class. The author spends a bit of time examining birth over the ages and basically presents the idea that woman were never in pain w/ labor until women were seen as the reason for the fall of the world and that after that, pain began. I think that's a reach frankly. I don't believe in the idea that labor isn't painful but that we've taught ourselves to believe that. Labor is painful. And is more painful for some than others. What I do believe is that we have the ability to use our minds to help control what we feel and how our body responds. But if there was no pain w/ labor - we wouldn't need the techniques in the first place.
The silly part are some of the words. I don't automatically assume b/c someone uses one word or another that my view of labor is tainted (as is implied in the book.) Dilation to me doesn't carry a negative connotation for instance and having to use all new words seems a little silly - especially if they don't hold a negative connotation for me.
When I met with my midwife I had the very same questions. She recommended that I do Bradley (since this is my first birth) and supplement it with the Hypnobabies CD's (which she is loaning me). I'm skiddish about managing my pain, but I really want to do an unmedicated home birth.
Right now Hubs is reading the Husband Coached Childbirth and I'm reading the Bradley Method, and it's so helpful (especially Hubs' book. He's always telling me little tidbits)! As for the Hypnobabies CD's, they are very helpful, too, and I think I'll definitely be able to use some of the Hyponbabies techniques WITH my Bradley Method teachings.
Hope that helps! We live in central Austin, too, and have not yet signed up for our Bradley classes, but we plan to as soon as we get back from vacation next week!
Best wishes!
Adored Austin (my blog)
I took Hypnobirthing (The Mongan Method). I think this is different from Hypnobabies. I highly recommend Hypnobirthing. My OB recommended Hypnobirthing because in her words 'those are the women who make it all the way'. I recently saw that they offer hypnobirthing classes at their offices.
A lot of pp's relied on the hypnobirthing cd's an books. I say taking a class, if you can, is more helpful. It gives you a chance to ask questions and talk to the instructors who have each used the method to birth their own children. The classes did focus more on labor than on pregnancy, but that is what I was looking for. I really liked that the classes went into great detail about what to expect at the hospital. They went over every possible intervention and left it up to you to decide what is and isn't ok with you. The classes talk a lot about how to negotiate the hospital environment and how to have a natural birth in that setting. (Of course they talk about home birth & birthing centers too.) I have not taken Bradley classes, but from what I've read the method seems more adversarial regarding the medical establishment. Where are you thinking of giving birth? That may play into your choice.
ETA: If you do decide to do Hynobirthing, it's really important to practice regularly. I did with #1 and had and easier labor. I decided to wing it with #2 (been there done that) and it was a harder labor (faster but not as relaxed.)
I did Hypnobirthing, and had a wonderful experience. I did not feel that my labour was painful, and I did find the affirmations to be helpful. I also had a short labour- about 5 hours from when I realized DD was actually on her way (because I had been having regular cx's close together for about 2 weeks already) to the moment she was born.I didn't need any kind of pain relief beyond the shower/birth tub/hip massage, either during labour or while healing after. It didn't even occur to me to ask for anything, because I was too busy focusing on giving birth!
I didn't do a lot of practicing, and I never even finished the book but I did go to all the classes and listened to the CD's regularly.
A friend of mine did both classes- I can fwd her your message if you like.
I did Hypnobirthing (The Mongan Method) as well and highly recommend it. I definitely recommend the class, though I read the book as well. In the class, the instructor leads you through relaxation exercises, which really helped me learn to relax. I don't think I would have gotten it with just the book. I had a 9 hour labor and I would not describe it as painful but rather peaceful. I used the shower a few times, but once I got into my zone I chose to stay in bed.
A key element of HB is controlling fear. Fear causes muscles to tense up, causing labor to be painful. I always kept an open mind about an epi, too. A natural birth was extremely important to me, but it was also important that I didn't feel like I'd failed if I didn't achieve it. I didn't actually use the relaxation techniques or the CD during labor, but I did have a dimly lit room and played yoga music the entire time. I think the exercises and CD are really just for preparation so you know how to relax once you go into labor.
I also had a doula, which I think was really important. She could tell when I reached different stages of labor. The L&D nurse spent very little time in my room, and I was only checked when my doula or husband requested it. Also, no one ever told me how far along I was. I never knew when I went through transition. I stayed in my trance the entire labor.
We are trying for #2 right now, and I will definitely use Hypnobirthing and my doula for that labor as well.