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Natural Birth
eatmorecupcakes
member
Hypnobabies vs Bradley Classes
eatmorecupcakes
member
Any recommendations? I am currently leaning towards the Bradley method, but any advice, opinions, experiences would be super helpful.
Thanks in advance!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Hypnobabies vs Bradley Classes
I have read "Husband Coached Childbirth" and it immediately turned me away from Bradley. I am not sure if the classes have the same mentality or not.... but I felt like some of what was written was so outdated (ie women being strapped into bed- literally- because they are crazed and unable to even hold the baby) and it really demonized women who had medicated births. (Again, I got that from the book, not the class which might be more friendly). Obviously we are all here because we want a normal birth, but I do not think it is right to exert superiority over women who end up with interventions.
As such, I am starting a hypnobirthing course on May 6th (private, in my own home which is great). From what I have read I think it is extremely appealing and I am really looking forward to using the methods for my water birth
i took bradley classes during my last pregnancy, and i really enjoyed them and got a lot out of them. i feel like the classes prepare you to be an educated consumer and to demand the best maternity and birth experience for you and your baby. i felt completely prepared for my homebirth as a result. our instructor had five children herself, and a huge range of birth experiences: regular hospital birth, c/s, vbac, and homebirth. so she was able to answer the class's questions about all of these experiences and how to get the best birth no matter what situation you found yourself in. we were not taught that birth would be or should be painless; rather we were given coping strategies to get through any painful parts of labor.
i've heard so many positive things about hypnobabies on this board, so i just got myself a free copy of the home study course. i haven't gotten very far with it, but so far, it seems to be focused very much on positive thinking, which seems like a very good idea. i did my own version of psyching myself up last time by reading the birth stories in spiritual midwifery nonstop, and i feel like the hypnobabies philosophy is an extension of this woo-woo "hippy" stuff. not that's a bad thing. but it's something that you have to be open to. i'm one of those over-thinkers, so i'm having a hard time surrendering myself to being receptive to hypnosis, but i do really appreciate the positive message. i'm concerned a little though that the course seems to giving a clear message that childbirth should not be painful at all. i'm not sure if that's a realistic position.
Hi!
I took the Bradley course for my first pregnancy and had my daughter in the summer of 2006. It was a wonderful class and our instructor was great. I had a really amazing birth and felt prepared.
Then in 2009 I bought and used the Hypnobabies home study course to prepare for the birth of my son. His birth was incredible and many things that I visualized happened exactly the way I wanted them to.
The birth of both my children led me to feel very passionate about natural child-birth - so much so that I decided to become a child-birth educator. When I was deciding which class I would rather teach I realized that the Hypnobabies philosophy is the one that resonates more strongly with me. Hypnobabies has all of the information that expecting parents need about childbirth, their choices, baby care etc. AND it has the huge advantage of learning how to use real Hyno-anesthesia to minimize or eliminate pain completely. The mind is truly amazing and it really is possible! Check out the Hypnobabies website and read some of the birth stories out there, they are amazing!
I'm glad you found a method that works for you and you are right, hypnosis is not for everyone, but I want to clear up any misconceptions about Hypnobabies. Hypnobabies is not simply about positive thinking. Hypnomoms use deep hypnotic scripts to retrain their minds to accept the normal sensations of labor as pressure and tightening, this helps them relax during contractions and really let their bodies work, instead of tightening up in fear against contractions, which creates additional pain. They also learn how to create hypno-anesthesia whenever they need it and cues to bring themselves instantly into hypnosis. It is an in-depth program that goes way beyond simple relaxation and positive thinking.
I can understand how someone who has never had a hypnotic birth may be in disbelief that birth can be experienced with little or no discomfort, but many, many hypnomoms (myself included) have experienced childbirth this way and it is an amazing experience. Also, please understand that your "free copy of Hypnobabies" may not be the complete program, so you may be getting an incomplete understanding of the program.
To the OP, I really can't compare Hypnobabies to Bradly since I've only done Hypnobabies, but I really loved my experience with Hypnobabies. I felt very informed and had two wonderful natural childbirths.
I started out in a HypnoBirthing class, and was very disappointed by it. It had almost no birth information and the skills it taught were ineffective for me. So I later got the Hypnobabies Home Study Course and was blown away by it. I was well-read and had been studying everything I could get my hands on about birth for years, so I thought I had a good education in pregnancy and birth. But Hypnobabies taught me so much that I had no idea I needed to know to have the birth I wanted! The childbirth education was comprehensive and presented in a way that made it easy for me to use it in a practical way to improve my chances for the birth I wanted. However, the best part of the program was the self-hypnosis skills. They allowed me to create my own comfort through the mass production of endorphins that I could create "on command" and send to whatever part of my body needed them. It was amazing! I had instant cue words that led me to relax my whole body instantly, and my husband was able to do the same thing for me with his cues. Any time I began to tense even slightly, he would give me the cue and no matter how intense my birthing wave was, I would instantly relax, feel comfortable and smile peacefully. The midwives were shocked! They were also surprised that I was so calm the whole time. They nearly sent me home because I "clearly wasn't in labor", but I had them check me anyway and I was fully dilated!
I later went to a Bradley class as a birth partner for my friend whose husband traveled too much to attend most of the classes. It provided good childbirth and pregnancy information, just like Hypnobabies and is a good class for the right person. But it would not have been enough for me. There was so much talk about "pain with a purpose" and "coping with the pain" and the "hard work of labor" that it rubbed me the wrong way. I had already given birth very comfortably using self-hypnosis, despite having very long, complicated births. So I didn't see any reason to be telling these moms that they "had" to experience pain to birth their babies without drugs. I knew that wasn't true, from my own experiences. It made me nervous about 1/2 way through when I realized that these couples were learning all sorts of relaxation techniques and visualizations just like I had learned through Hypnobabies, but that was ALL they had to work with during their births. They had nothing else to fall back on if a rice sock and deep breathing didn't cut it for them. I couldn't even imagine going into my birth with no other skills, which is why I say it would not have been a good fit for me. I really enjoyed my births, and being able to feel every sensation in my body in comfort really helped me work with my body and follow my instincts. Without the deep self-hypnosis skills I learned in Hypnobabies I know that I would have been fighting my body and tensing against the sensations, instead of moving freely and allowing my body to do it's work without interference.
Both are good choices, but neither one is right for every person. So I suggest you do as much research into them as you can and decide which one best fits your needs.