Natural birth class (birthing from within) + reading hypnobabies

phdwyfe2013

I read the post on a similar question below, but I have an additional question for those who have done hypnobabies:

DH and I will be starting a natural birth class in December (Due end of Feb). The class is based on the principles of Birthing from Within. I have borrowed the hypnobabies book and CD from a friend (she read the book for her homebirth, but never cracked open the CD). From what I've been reading in the hypnobabies book, a lot of the positioning for relaxation and breathing sounds mighty similar to yogic relaxation and breathing (I've been doing Iyengar for 11 years). I'm thinking that doing the relaxation breathing and CDs would really help or at least supplement the poses I already do in my yoga practice. Also DH isn't exactly the relaxing type, although he has used self-hypnosis himself successfully to get through dentistry work without any anesthetic, so he understands the appeal of it.

Although DH will certainly be present at the birth and he's going to be a emotional/vocal coach, our doula and midwives will be doing most of the hands on work (massage, counter pressure, etc). Both the doula and our midwives know which class we're taking (the doula took this class herself 2 yrs ago with her child) and they know I'm interested in the hypnobabies relaxation work. Would it be totally contradictory to do both so I have two methods to work from while in labour? If it helps, my mindset around labour is that it'll be a lot like a really long spinning class - hard work, with peaks and valleys of work/recovery at varying intervals. 

 

sbevmc09

I'm in the middle of a Hypnobabies course right now and my instructor actually said that they don't want people to take other classes alongside of the Hypnobabies because a basic requirement for the Hypnobabies working is you really have to BELIEVE and buy into what is being taught as far as changing your perspective on birth.  While other philosophies teach you tools to help deal with the pain, Hypnobabies wants you to believe that you can get through it without experiencing pain by changing your perspective and thought process. 

Personally, I agree with the above.  Hypnobabies is all about your mental state and you really have to get into the right mindset and trust what's being said completely.  I do think that it would be hard to combine with other birthing philosophies, but that's JMO.  I've seen other women on here who have said they've done the Hypnobabies home study along with something else, so hopefully they'll chime in with their opinion!

RockyMtnMama

I said it in the other post and I'll say it again, but if Bradley and hypno birth/babies can work together, then I'm sure Birthing from Within and Hypno babies/birth can work together. 

For my first I took Bradley classes and then found myself using my 10+ years of Iyengar breathing/relaxing/poses for most of my intense labor, but Bradley was key in getting my labor going and keeping it going without intervention (24+ hours between water breaking and baby coming out - so Bradley was important for the first 14-18 hours and yoga relaxation was key to intense/transition time). 

For my second I read both Ina May guides, did hypnobirthing/babies tracks, took Iyengar yoga (hadn't stopped), read Birthing from Within, and re-read all my Bradley stuff.  During my labor I didn't listen to but 3-4 tracks of hypnobirthing b/c I used visualization and yoga relaxation mostly, but I also had to move/squat/lunge to feel that opening - birth was way easier (2nd births usually are) and only lasted about 6 hours and I found value in using lots of different techniques.

 

phdwyfe2013

Rockymtnmama - I also do Iyengar and have been since I was 17 (almost 11 years!). And except for a few weeks at the end of 1st tri when my instructor wouldn't let me into the class because of the philosophy, I have no intention of stopping my practice. I find that the hypnobabies relaxation poses and breathing exercises are very similar to the Iyengar practice. We did some squatting poses last night (mine modified to accommodate the belly), and I think that it'll be helpful to remember these poses and techniques for labour.