Hypnobirthing

[staaa88]

Hiya, I went to my first hypnobirthing session yesterday and It just wasn’t for me at all, so much so I’m not going back today, but so many people rave about it and I’m wondering if I’ve missed something? Anyone else feel the same after going?

[jessyjessy572]

Hi, I was the same fund all this hypnobirthing very uncomfortable and it was not for me either. I know there are people that said it really worked for them so I guess it is a personal preference and if it isn’t for you don’t for it. For me I have fund my own way to deal with the contraction just by making the most of the supporting equipment (most of my labor was done on the ball) once the labor starts you will find your own way to deal with the contractions so don’t force yourself if hypnobirthing is not for you x

[staaa88 in reply to jessyjessy572]

Thanks for your response, that makes me feel a bit better, one of the affirmations was “my cervix is a rose petal opening on a sunny morning” and they lost me from that point on!

[jessyjessy572 in reply to staaa88]

I know I just wanted to laugh definitely not my cup of tea lol

[Baypony]

I haven’t been to any sessions because I think i’ll feel like a complete idiot. A friend and I paid for an online course between us with videos which i’ve been doing at home which has made me feel like less of an idiot. I think it’s useful stuff. Friend has already given birth and it worked well for her. I’m hoping it will help me. Probably not for everyone though 😂

[Baypony in reply to Baypony]

But basically you can visualise what you like so if the flower thing isn’t for you you could use something else.

[staaa88 in reply to Baypony]

Yeah so shit at visualisation, we did a relaxation session where she talked you through a make believe room with this purple chair and a book beside it, so I’m laying there struggling to visualise, then she says in this book are bad memories... my bad memories are recent and pretty horrific and very vivid so I went from struggling to visualise this make believe room to these memories which we had to tear out of the book, because the memories are lived through, I didn’t struggle to create that image and it got me really quite upset. Definitely wasn’t for me at all

[kt_11]

I didn’t really go for all the affirmation stuff either tbh but I found the breathing techniques really helpful.

Have you been given any stuff to read by whoever is doing the sessions? Even if you decide not to go back, maybe have a look at the timing of the breathing techniques as this will probably be included in any booklets etc you’ve been given.

[staaa88 in reply to kt_11]

So the breathing techniques I really liked, but I learnt this through my pregnancy yoga and will definitely be something I’ll do during labour. The 2nd session was today and I didn’t go but she said she would send some material over

[QT314]

Hi! I went to one session and found it very useful and then I practised at home for a couple of months or so before giving birth. This is ofc my personal experience but it was incredibly helpful for me when I gave birth. I'm pretty sure labour and delivery would have been much harder if I hadn't. When I was fully dilated I had to tell the mw that I really needed to push and convince her to examine me bc she said if I was I wouldn't be able to have a conversation and I would be in pain (I wasn't). I know that was thanks to hypnobirthing.

Having said that, my class didn't compare my cervix to rose petals lol. I would have rolled my eyes to that and feel the same way as you.

For me the important things were the relaxation techniques, visualisation (although I had to work a lot on those and find my own) and flooding my brain with positive birthing stories and thoughts. Perhaps that specific class you went to wasn't a good match for you but I believe hypnobirthing is really useful and highly recommend it. I know there is an online course called positive birth or something similar that people seem to love. I watched some of their videos and liked them. My course was with a group called bump and baby club (I think).

[Hidden]

Hi ya, the fluffy side of hypnobirthing (flowers opening, affirmations) aren’t for everyone, including me. But the breathing techniques are 100% effective and there’s a lot of neuroscience behind why it works. As a qualified therapist who’s learnt about this stuff to help clients with anxiety etc I could really get on board with it. I used the breathing techniques throughout my labour and can honestly say I didn’t find the contractions painful, intense but not painful. As a result I didn’t use any pain relief over the course of a 15hr labour and had no interventions. A senior consultant said she’d seen me heading towards the delivery suite and hadn’t realised I was already having contractions as I was so calm.

I brought this online hypnobirthing course for £40 and really liked how the presenter explained what was going on, how techniques would help and why. Although there is a part on affirmations, because the course is broken down into clearly labelled videos you can always skip the bits that don’t fit for you.

I highly recommend this course:

birth-ed.co.uk/birth-ed-onl...

[NE90]

I was going to research and go to hypnobirthing classes but I gave birth at 32 weeks, before I got a chance to really get stuck into hypnobirthing. Tbh I'm so glad I was essentially unprepared for my delivery as I had no expectations, no worries of whether it will go a certain way.....I essentially went in blind! My husband helped me out so much during the birth and his encouragement and listening to the midwife/doctor was enough to get me through birth with just the pethidin thing fairly early on in my labour and it wore off a while before I gave birth! Gas and air deffo helps and listening to what you're being told to do is best in my opinion. I personally feel like the more research you do, the more you will start expecting your pregnancy to go certain ways! Just go to the labour ward and take it from there is what I say... ha!! xx