Hypnobabies questions
dmathis10
member
A friend let me borrow her Hypnobabies materials and CD's. The materials are probably 5 years old, but I'm hoping not much has changed? I just started reading the book about 2 weeks ago. I have listened to the Deepening CD twice and the Pregnancy Affirmations CD in my car for the last three days. I'm a little confused about when to listen to what, etc. The friend that used this didn't have time to utilize anything with her first child b/c she had him so quickly but used it for her second baby two years ago. She basically just used the finger drop technique and listened to her CD's some and did great during birthing. What exactly are you doing/did you do? I don't have much time left, so I'm trying to figure out which parts are best/most beneficial at this point. (I am 34 weeks) If you were me, what would be your plan from here to the end? (fear release? deepening? etc)
TIA!
Re: Hypnobabies questions
I'm 34 weeks also, and I'm taking the in person class, this weekend is the last one. I can tell you what they're having me and DH do right now. I can't speak to what exactly will be best in the moment, but I'll tell you what the teacher and my doula said. Do you have a birth partner you're working with?
Right now, I'm supposed to listen to Pregnancy Affirmations daily, Deepening three times a week. Practice finger drop, eyes open childbirth hypnosis, and directing anesthesia three times a day- that started with finger drop 5x a day for a week or two, now all three each time, for a couple minutes total. Also, birth partner reads scripts to me three times a week- Hypnotic Childbirth #1 and 2. Starting next week, I'm supposed to rotate the Comfortable Childbirth and Special Place tracks with Deepening.
From what my teacher told me, practicing finger drops is really important, and practicing center-switch and being able to get up, drink water, etc while still in the center switch. Also, practicing the anesthesia part too. She said that staying on top of practicing is really the most important part, right up until the end.
I used the home study course and it worked great for us! It's a 5 week course to be practiced as follows:
Everyday - Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations
Week 1 - Alternate Special Place CD and Easy, Comfortable Childbirth CD
Week 2 - Alternate Learning Self-Hypnosis CD and Deepening CD
Week 3 - Alternate Creating Anesthesia CD and Deepening CD
Week 4 - Alternate Hypnotic Childbirth #1 and Deepending CDs
Week 5 - Alternate Hypnotic Childbirth #2 and Deepending CDs
You can use the Fear Clearing anytime you want to help clear something out - but I think they recommend waiting to do it until later in the program so you are better at getting into hypnosis. The program and CD's build on themselves, so you really should start with the week one stuff so you are able to build the skills as you go along. There's also a home study course workbook - not sure if you have that or not?
Since you're 34 weeks already you might consider a modified shortened schedule. www.enjoybirth.com has suggestions for a shortened schedule. Good luck and it's totally worth it!
TIA!
I went into labor at 36 weeks, well before I had finished the home study course, but I still had an awesome hypnobirth. So just in case you wind up needing the techniques sooner than you think, here's what helped me:
- the track that I had listened to the most (deepening) helped the most. I think that's because my body was well-practiced at quickly slipping into hypnosis on that particular track. The ones that I had listened to less helped me less. So make sure you are really good at at least one track.
- there were a few phrases from the affirmations cd that really resonated with me, and those got me through a lot of bad moments (eg the stronger the pressure waves become, the deeper I relax). Pay attention to what resonates with you and focus on those concepts.
- it worked best for me when I was in the exact position I had practiced in (inclined on my back with a pillow under my knees). I labored almost the entire time like that.
If I had had more time, the two things I really wish I had done more were practice center switch, and listen to the pushing tracks. I had a really hard time when I had to get up for any reason b/c I couldn't stay hypnotized while walking around. And when I got to the pushing I really didn't know how to manage the pain because I hadn't done any of those tracks.
Hypnobabies was amazing for me. Best of luck, I hope you have a wonderful birth!