hypnobirthing how good is it

[Miatalulu]

I am 21 weeks first preg. I want to go totally natural , I heard hypno was the way to go much better than either lamaze method and truly amazing is that true has anybody done this or no first hand if its better than lamaze? any info would be great

[hedra]

Depends on you - TRUE Lamaze (the long course, about 10 weeks?) is apparently great for women who tend to go 'outside' themselves when in stress. But most classes that say they are Lamaze are just doing a mini course in breathing, which is just a fragment of the full class.

Bradley, Birthing from Within, and Penny Simpkins' course are also good options, especially for women who work better internally and/or with their bodies.

Hypnobirthing is great. I used it (with pitocin induction!) and it worked really REALLY well. Better than Bradley, for me. I work with my body, but also know how to get out of the way and let my body do the work. (I used Bradley the first time, BTW.)

Hypnosis works well on the vast majority of people. A small portion of people are not easily hypnotized. These same people do not go into highway hypnosis (zoning out on a familiar drive), or focus well on tasks (to the exclusion of other inputs). So, if you're one of those people who can never focus on one thing, it is less effective (not INeffective, just less so).

The very best results are with people who either have good imaginations (ever played a long make-believe story as a kid? fantasize about a vacation? make up stories to pass the time? Daydream?), or who dissociate easily (often if you've had a traumatic experience before the age of 10, if you forget movies easily, if you blank out negative experiences), or both. For the record, I'm both. Makes me a poster-child for it. It was wonderful, despite a rotten situation around me (bad OB, etc. - email me, and I'll send you my birth story).

The general results I've seen have been superior to other methods. One woman I know (from HB class) stopped doing the hypnosis scripts during labor because her husband didn't like doing the scripts (even though they worked perfectly) - yeah, HUH??? She ended up taking meds, and said that the HB worked as well as the meds did. So there's one case. I know several others who didn't think they could possibly be in 'real' labor, but who delivered their babies within an hour of arriving at the hospital.

The biggest 'risk' with HB is that labors tend to be shorter, and there is often only a little time between arriving at the hospital/birth center and actually having the baby. Complications can interfere, but using HB also tends to speed healing, and you can use it for pain management after a c-section, etc. It also helps you stay calm, no matter what else is going on.

I can't recommend it enough! I personally prefer an in-person class, because they can address your specific concerns, history, fears, issues. But the taped versions also work. There are two forms out there with variations. One is New Way Childbirth (on the Web), which is video and audio tapes, and is very good (I used the tapes, too - I didn't know there was a HB class near me when I bought them). HypnoBirthing is the classes (my favorite). HypnoBabies is an audio-tape version more similar to the HB classes.

You can also often hire your HB instructor to be with you during the labor (as a doula). I did this, too, and found it very useful for handling the very strange situation I was in. But most don't find it necessary. It is just a nice backup.

[catkrazy99]

I did hb'ing and I'd highly recommend it. My doula was also my hb'ing instructor. I labored for over 48 hours unmedicated but subsequently ended up with a c-section due to a swollen cervix (which I still wonder about).

I want to have 10 more kids and use hb'ing for all of them, but the reality is that I'll only probably have one more. I joke that "this time, I'll get it right," meaning natural and no c-section.

BTW, my dr informed me 3 times that I would need an epidural and 3 times I told him no. He also woke me up to tell me that I needed an epi. He KNEW I was sleeping b/c I was snoring, much to my dh's dismay.

My dh would highly recommend hb'ing as well as a doula.

[keem]

I am doing hypnobirthing now thru a licensed hypnotherapist. I am confident that it will go well. I am also doing Bradley along side of it. :)

[kiwicaleb]

well, it didn't work for me for the duration of labor (60 hrs); BUT that was because my hubby and doula didn't do any of it w/me. :( i was trying to do it by myself and guess what, that didn't help a whole lot.

i will definately be doing it again though as i trust in it. (that and a home birth and a hubby w/a better idea of the birthing process)

hth
amy

[Cynthia Flynn, CNM, Ph.D]

Pam, I don't really know because I wasn't there, but occasionally (I mean like 3 times in 500 births) I have recommended an epidural as a way of avoiding a cesarean birth, believe it or not. If the cervix starts to swell, especially in a first-timer, it's usually because the woman is involuntarily pushing before she is fully dilated. Sometimes the only way to solve the problem short of a cesarean is to anesthetize her so she won't feel the urge to push (that sometimes she is not even aware of!). Once the epidural is in and the pushing pressure is off, the cervix is able to heal itself and go back to dilating like normal. Why the uterus gets to push on the cervix without swelling it but you don't is definitely a mystery to me. But it is true. If you're pushing on the cervix, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and your dilation gets smaller and smaller. This is one of those few cases when I'M the one asking for the epidural to be placed, not the client. I'd take an epidural over a cesarean any day.

[catkrazy99]

Thank you thank you thank you for your reply Cynthia. I've been trying to find out more info about a swollen cervix, and what makes it swell for over a year. You are the first person to give me an answer other than "don't really know."