Natural Birth

Bradley method or Hypnobirthing?

I am trying to decide which method is right for me -  Bradley method or Hypnobirthing.  I know I want a natural birth and plan to use a doula.  I think both types of classes are available in my area.  Not sure of the pros or cons of each one though or really even how they differ.  I am curious to hear from anyone that has taken the classes or used in labor one or the other or both methods to find out more specifics.  Maybe why you thought it worked for you or not.  Thanks for sharing.  I am sure your thoughts will help me with my decision. 

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Re: Bradley method or Hypnobirthing?

  • I have heard wonderful birth stories from mothers who used Bradley and from women who used Hypnobirthing, so really I don't think you could go wrong with either.   

    I don't know a lot about Bradley, but I'm sure you will get some great responses on here.

    I did Hypnobirthing and had a wonderful experience and plan to use it again next time.  There are fewer classes with Hypnobirthing typically 5 (although our classes were longer and we only had 4).  Hypnobirthing is all about conditioning your mind to put aside any negativity or fear surrounding birth and instead think of it as a natural, positive, joyous event.  It's not so much husband directed (in comparison to Bradley), it's more about going within yourself, although there are plenty of opportunities for the birth partner to be involved.  It uses a lot of relaxation, breathing and visualization techniques.  The idea is fear makes you tense up which makes labor painful.  So if you can train your mind and body to relax and go with the surges labor can be quite manageable.  

    I think with either class practice is key.  You have to train yourself to use the techniques so when the day comes it's like second nature.

    Oh and there was one girl in my class who did both, so I guess if time and money is no object you could do both :)  

  • I researched both before choosing and choose hypnobirthing because of it's focus on taking the fear out of childbirth.  I have heard good things about Bradley as well though.  I think you should research the philosophies of both and choose what you feel is most comfortable for you.  Good luck and congrats on choosing to go med-free!
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  • I did hypnobirthing & also used techniques from the book mind over labor.  Loved both.
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  • I attempted Bradley with my first, and it didn't go as smoothly as it should have. But that was my husbands fault, not the method, lol! He couldn't stay calm in order to keep me calm, thankfully I had a great nurse that took over, but it still wasn't that easy. I was thinking about looking into Hypnobirthing this time as it seems more something I can focus on on my own. Both philosophies are great though.

    also, we didn't take the actual Bradley class, just read books (no classes in our area), so that might have been part of the problem. I think I'll take a look again at Bradley this time to see where I went wrong, and talk with my hubby so we are both better prepared. Plus, I have a great midwife team this time, so that is going to help greatly!

    Good luck!

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  • i took Bradley with my first (ended in c/s after 40+ hrs of labor with an OP baby) and HypnoBirthing with my second (HBAC in water). I am now a HypnoBirthing practitioner!

    the premise of B and HB is contradictory. B teaches that the pain in childbirth is purposeful. work towards that purpose and the pain is more mentally manageable. HB teaches that we can eliminate the pain by removing fear associated with childbirth and releasing all tension through visualization, relaxation, breathing and deepening.

    i thought B was a great education in childbirth, pregnancy and really helped to sway my husband towards supporting natural childbirth (and homebirth, which we planned, but which was not the focus of the class). i already knew most of what we learned, but he didn't. i didn't learn real techniques for relaxation that actually worked for me during my labor. i also didn't learn some really valuable things that probably would have changed the outcome of my labor (like labor commonly rests and that doesn't mean that you need to augment or have surgery. my labor rested for a while and we went to the hospital for surgery. mom was ok, baby was ok, there was no need for surgery). 

    i took HB the second time because i learned that the most productive parts of labor #1 were when i was doing things very similar to HB techniques (visualization). the class was a much better fit for me. 

    the standard HB class teaches:

    - history of natural birth and how we came to fear labor and childbirth

    - physiological changes during labor and childbirth

    - prenatal nutrition and exercise

    - HB techniques: relaxation, breathing, deepening and visualization (multiple techniques for each)

    - positions for comfortable labor and birth

    - bonding with the baby

    - fear and negative emotion release (cornerstone of the program: fear leads to tension, which leads to pain. eliminating the fears and negative emotion allows the body and mind to completely relax ==> no pain in childbirth)

    - identifying and understanding special circumstances

    - self-hypnosis techniques

    HB moms tend to have shorter labors and fewer labor "symptoms" like vomiting and temperature fluctuations because their bodily functions remain normal since they are so relaxed (when the body experiences panic or anxiety, it release hormones that shut down non-vital organs and systems, like the digestive system, leading to havoc in the body. they are working with their bodies and their babies.

    care providers who attend to HB births say that they are the easiest births b/c they don't have to do anything.

    the class is shorter than B (12 weeks) at only 5 weeks, but you learn what you need to learn. most of the families in my classes come in with preconceived notions of how hypnosis works and cloudy on how it will help them in labor. they finish the class with a full understanding, a plan for preparing for labor and complete confidence in their ability to birth their baby. my class is actually 6 weeks - i added a class at the end for birth stories, where i invite former students to come back and share their birth stories with the current class. we have tea and snacks and go googoo gaga over babies!

    i am happy to answer any questions you have about HB. feel free to PM me or page me on this board!

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  • We are taking Bradley classes right now and I really like it. We are learning about relaxation, different techniques, the importance of being relaxed, etc. We have  talked about ways to alleviate pain, how the coach can help, how fear/tension  can lead to more pain, etc.  We have also talked about the Natural Alignment Plateau, where contractions continue but dilation basically stops for awhile. So my experience with Bradley classes sounds a little different than the PP, so maybe the class has changed a bit since she took it.

    I have not given birth yet, and I have not taken any HB classes to compare it to, but so far I would recommend Bradley classes. 

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  • I did Hypnobirthing. I chose it over Bradley because it resonated better with me. I like to be in control and go with what works in the moment, and I loved how the focus was on being calm and removing negativity. Bradley is great too though, you have to go with what feels right for you. I had a beautiful birth with relaxing music, low lights and a lot of quiet. 
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