Did hypnobirthing work for you?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I'm currently reading up on hypnobirthing (the Morgan method) and am very encouraged by the approach. I would like to know if any mothers had success with hypnobirthing i.e. whether the pain was indeed minimal, labor was quicker (under 5 hours) and whether the baby was relatively free from distress? I am seeking unmedicated birth and am new to this.

Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Nope, didn't work for me. I hear it works better for subsequent pregnancies than for first pregnancies.

[Anonymous]

Worked great for me. 1st baby. Long labor + pitocin. No pain meds. It was intense, but an amazing experience. I also had a doula with hypnobirthing experience.

[Anonymous]

11:47 poster again. I took hypnobirthing classes and did the visualizations pretty religiously between weeks 32-40, FWIW. I have a sister and a friend who also did Hypnobirthing and had great experiences with relatively short, intervention free births.

[Anonymous]

11:47 PP, did you take a class, read books, or what? Who was your doula?

[Anonymous]

Kerry Reynolds was my doula.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks 11:47 PP. Do you think the doula was a great help with the experience, or do you think you could've done it just fine without her? We have no plans for a birthing doula for now, just my DH as my labor companion.

[Anonymous]

It was nice having the extra set of hands and dealing with the added complications of having an IV and being monitored, but yes, I do think I could have done it without her. My husband was awesome during this process!

[Anonymous]

I do plan on hiring her again, if we have another, though

[Anonymous]

It worked well for me. I had a 90 minute labor, so no time to use the CDs, but the techniques were great with the increasingly painful BH contractions in the weeks leading up to the birth.

[Anonymous]

As a doula I've seen this method work for some women, and have heard of situations where women have used hypnosis and really have experienced calm, peaceful, and pain-free births. But I don't think this can be counted on. I think it depends partly on how seriously you study and practice -- reading the book and halfheartedly practicing will probably not get you much benefit. I think it's also partly just luck -- some labors are more manageable with techniques like this than others. It also depends on what environment you are giving birth in. I think hypnosis methods tend to work best in settings where there aren't a lot of interruptions and where everyone present is on board with the mom really going into herself and focusing in the way that is required for self hypnosis. Most hospital settings involve a lot of interruptions, a lot of people who find hypnosis methods "silly", and a lot of routine interventions that can make it tough to go inward for long periods of time. I think having a doula who specializes in hypnosis and who can prompt you and help you stay in a hypnosis state can be really helpful, especially for a first baby.

My main issue with some of the hypnosis methods is that they seem to imply that if women only relax enough, then labor won't hurt and will be smooth and easy. I have no doubt that there's a huge emotional component to labor -- I've seen it come into play many times. However there are also physical and environmental aspects -- some labors are very long and/or painful, and sometimes complications arise, -- implying that these things happened because the mother didn't relax enough rubs me the wrong way.

I'd also make sure that even if you prepare using a hypnosis method, you make sure to familiarize yourself with typical medical interventions that one may encounter in a hospital setting. Some of the hypnosis methods encourage mothers to stay in their "bubble of peace" and not to learn about medical intervention -- I think this is irresponsible (particularly if you're giving birth in a hospital and/or with an OB, since the likelihood of intervention is higher in these cases). If you do end up in a situation where you have to make a decision about intervention, and you haven't read about it, you may be at a disadvantage.

My own feeling is that there is something to gain from many different childbirth preparation methods -- the hypnosis methods have a lot of valuable tools, and I think they are worth learning about. I think it's also good to explore other pain relief techniques and methods so that you are aware of a wide range of options. And I think having good support during labor itself is really important since it can be tough to remember what you've learned or read when it's all actually happening. But I know I'm biased on that point, since I'm a doula myself

[Anonymous]

OP here. 13:37 PP, thanks for your insight. It certainly helps to broaden my perspective of hypnobirthing

[Anonymous]

I tried it and completely failed. While in the hypnobirthing classes, my husband was totally relaxed and tasting the lemon she was describing. I was peeking all the time and wondering whether I sent that last email to my staff or not. I couldn't relax or release enough to do it. I tried so hard. We did private classes, every night I listened to the tapes....I completely failed. I wonder if you need a certain personality for it. Ultimately, I had problems during my delivery (near uterine rupture) and ended with a c-section.

[Anonymous]

No, it was the biggest waste of time and money. I didn't do "Hypnobirthing" but another method called "Bliss Born". I think they're pretty much the same thing though.

[Anonymous]

Didn't work for me, then I had to deal with feeling like I'd failed. I'm very into yoga, meditation, etc but had some complications and all the preparations had me conceptualize the contractions as waves, but mine were a huge sustained wall of pain for hours. After 9 hours, i got an epidural and it was wonderful. I could still feel everything and felt so much more in control and connected to the baby (I know that's counterintutive, but it's what happened).