Hyponobirthing

sabriel1 · September 2017

Has anyone done this or attempted it. What are your thoughts on it. If it worked well for you what might be some useful resources to check out?

soulcupcake · September 2017

I opted to do the Hypnobabies home study with my second daughter. I had a pretty easy and very fast labor/birth with my first and was convinced it was a fluke, and since I wanted a med-free birth and Hypnobabies was growing in popularity in the OOHB/med-free birthing community, I figured I'd try it. I had already read the usual go-to books on med-free/natural birth and spent over a year researching my options and evidence-based practice. Hypnobabies definitely supplemented everything I was already familiar with with added bonus of hypnoanesthesia through guided hypnosis. IIRC, it's a 6 week course with a workbook, another that covers the Hypnobabies philosophy, and several CDs (there's also an mp3 option now).

I really enjoyed the positive affirmations that can help with normal stress and anxiety. Very relaxing and calming. The latter part of the study that focuses on different levels of guided hypnosis was invaluable. It "worked" in that my body felt relaxed, almost limp, but not in the way that you can't move, more like it felt light, weightless. In deep hypnosis, that you can go in and out of, you can feel pressure sensations, but not necessarily pain. With hypnobabies, there's a lot of reprogramming how we view the physiological process of childbirth. It spends a good bit of time addressing the fear>tension>pain cycle that can hinder the labor process and cause it to stall, often because the woman may be stressed, anxious, scared, etc., which induces a response to halt/stall labor. This, coupled with other routine practices can contribute to unnecessary interventions.

One of my dear friends who was two months ahead of me also did the course while she planned a med-free hospital birth. Her birth was pain-free. She loved it.

As for my experience, I was prepared to use my cds and deep hypnosis if I felt it was needed. We suspected another fast labor. Just not the way it actually played out. I had a low intervention hospital birth (AROM, saline lock, IFM, ambulation, use of the shower, etc.). They attempted to induce via AROM at 6 cm. I wasn't yet in labor at 7 cm. I opted to take a hot shower and use EOs in a diffuser to see if it would get things going. It wasn't until maybe 15 minutes after I got out of the shower that I had contractions that were fairly mild, but regular. 15 minutes later they were stronger, like waves of tightening, which would have been the "I think this may be it" moment. She was born 32 minutes later.

That was almost 11 years ago. Having planned three homebirths since then and being active in the community, I've come across many more moms that used Hypnobabies. I haven't used it since my second pregnancy, but I'm considering it this time to help with stress and anxiety due to being high risk this time.

Aeml1985 · September 2017

@soulcupcake that sounds amazing, the cost and time is definitely prohibitive though. I 100% think that my labour wouldn't have been 3 days long if I could have relaxed into the contractions instead of being tense and anxious literally closing up during contractions. I didn't want an epidural, but after 3 days I was exhausted and getting it allowed me to sleep for a solid almost 3 hours before my 3 hours of pushing.

psm2462 · September 2017

Late to the game responding here, but I'm planning to use the Hypnobabies home study course this time. We took a Bradley method class last time, and while I felt like I gained a lot of knowledge, it did not focus much on relaxation techniques which I definitely could have benefited from last time. Like @Aeml1985 said, I think relaxation would have helped my labor progress more toward the end, but it was so long that I wound up needing the epidural just so I could sleep (and ultimately endure my 5+ hours of pushing). I also have a lot of anxiety going into this labor due to a previous traumatic birth experience, so think the relaxation during pregnancy will help me deal with that anxiety and go into this labor with a better frame of mind. I'd love to do the Hypnobabies course, but it's not offered in my area -- so home study it is!

@sabriel1 did you decide whether to go with Hypnobabies?

sabriel1 · September 2017

I'm still undecided. I've appreciated the input from everyone and now I have to do some more research

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