Hypnobirthing was only something I really discovered on birth number three. I longed for a stress-free birth that hopefully resulted in my baby being born in water.
After I was given a hypnobirthing audio DVD as a gift, and promptly fell asleep during the first use, I was quietly pumped about the prospect of being in control of everything and calmly breathing my baby out.
Despite my best efforts and dedication to my DVD things were rather more stressful than had been hoped for, and my calm hypnobirth in water was not the reality.
I recall the midwife reading my birth plan allowed and me half laughing, half swearing into my gas and air about how hypnobirthing was a load of rubbish.
Our little man eventually arrived safely after a difficult labour. Someone forgot to tell him which way he needed to approach the birth canal!
Fourth time around, I was fully committed to giving the hypnobirthing everything I had.
A very late baby and induction did not deter me. I had the track on my phone and I was determined to use it!
Again…despite my very best efforts it was not to be. No one gave this baby the memo on the route out either!
Hypnobirthing was a nice idea and it kept me relaxed during my pregnancies but my babies took a long time and a lot of effort to be born.
For me, the calm hypnobirth will always be something that someone else did. That’s just not how it goes for me but it was a nice idea anyway!
41 comments
What is it with this babies not going to hypnobirthing class, hey? Mine didn’t show for breastfeeding school either. I think you’re right in that there are some useful techniques to be gained from techniques like this, but you still have to be open minded about how your little person is going to come into the world #sharewithme
Lol – not just my tinkers then! Exactly that – I wrote 4 birth plans and none of the births resembled them. Thanks for reading 🙂
I never thought about it with either of my two, but I think it’s something now if I were to have another child, I probably would, as I plan on having a natural birth next, so I think I’d need all the help I can get mind wise!
It was great for preparation and relaxation and it obviously works for some people. Thanks for reading !
I had exactly the same experience…it was definitely a nice idea and definitely helped me stay relaxed during my pregnancy, but birth was a very different story indeed! #sharewithme
Glad you can relate. Thanks for reading .It is disappointing when things don’t work out the way we hoped but some people just don’t give birth like that do they?
We had heard about hypnobirthing, but never really got down to it in any detail at all. My wife managed to get by with controlled breathing, practiced in NCT classes. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has had success with it, because it’s hard to imagine anything that appears as the biggest distraction in the world could be blanked out through self hypnosis. I think that it possibly depends on how susceptible someone is to that kind of thing.
Yes I think you are right there – I was certainly affected in pregnancy but it just had no effect in labour. Thanks for reading and sharing your experience.
Hi there , we had success and my husband raves about it more than I do!
I think as the op rightly points out, birth isn’t predictable, but the fact is that most births are uncomplicated, and relaxing and believing in your body’s ability gives you the best chance of a calm birth when no complications are present.
However, I have to say that hypnobirthing is not about ‘achieving’ a calm birth. It’s about retaining your calmest state no matter what happens. So, even if mum wanted the drug free water birth but ends up wuth every intervention, drug and finally a c-section, it’s about accepting that, being in control of those decisions (barring an actual emergency of course) and remaining blissfully calm. Hypnobirthing certainly did this for me, following a course, not just a DVD.
Ultimately, holding our little bundles safely in our arms is the important thing!
Best wishes x
Forgot to mention that I came here via #sharewithme 🙂
Thanks David!
I love the sound of hypnobirthing but i have never used it myself although they would have came in very useful in my last labour as he arrived in 40 minutes and there was no time for any pain relief xx
Oh gosh – those are the births I dream about lol! I can imagine it must have been a bit of a rush though and very intense. Thanks for reading x
Things just never quite go to plan do they?! I bought a hypnobirthing book during my pregnancy, practised all the techniques and ended up with a breech baby, cue planned c-section! Next time I still want to give it a go though! #sharewithme
Carolyn
http://stylishmemories.com
I know – best laid plans and all that! Typical! Good luck next time around and thanks for reading 🙂
I tried hypnobirthing and was doing quite well for the first two days. After 48 hours of ‘mild’ (no such thing!) contractions and about 4 hours sleep total I completely lost my focus and couldn’t get it back. Add pitocin to that and I was all about the drugs. And if there is a next time I will be all about the drugs. No qualms about it.
#brilliantblogposts
Oh no – sounds familiar! The labours that take days and days are so tough . I think it is hard to get that focus back. Thanks for reading 🙂
Hee! 😀 I’m not even going to bother trying this, I have made myself a death metal playlist (I find it strangely calming) and am just going to gurn and growl my way through.
I’ll let you know how that goes 😀
#brilliantblogposts
lol! sounds like a plan! Do let me know how that goes, you might start a new craze!
Ha ha this has happened with a couple of friends – but at least you tried!
Now I DID have a successful hypnobirth – despite having to be induced. The difference (I think) for me is that I attended a 6 week class with an absolutely amazing midwife who was trained with the Marie Mongan method. I was terrified of childbirth for years beforehand and by the end of just the first class, I was hooked on hypnobirthing and wanted to birth my baby then and there!
For friends who didn’t attend classes but just read the book or listened to mp3s etc, it didn’t ‘work’ for any of them – it isn’t enough. Also the classes alone are not ‘enough’.
My advice is find a local class, attend them all and then in your own time, practice practice practice! Yes, you have to practice breathing ha ha!
At the end of the day, you did an AMAZING job in birthing your babies anyway! 🙂
I wish there was a local class this time around for me 🙁
Mim x #brilliantblogposts
Oh so good to hear it worked for you. Good point about the classes as well though, that is interesting. Thanks for reading and good luck! x
What a shame. Babies just do not do what they are supposed to do do they??!!!! But you had four babies so you must be doing something right 😉
Nope – they have a plan of their own I reckon!
Haha I was exactly the same as you. Convinced myself that hypnobirthing was going to make birth a calm and easy process. It’s safe to stay it helped me stay calm for all the blood tests I had prior and inserting the drip prior to my induction and then the midwife convinced me to get an epidural and that was the end of that #brilliantblogposts K x
Oh bless you – I hated the induction process too . Thanks for reading 🙂 x
I decided to go for a little calmer labor with baby #5 and read up on hypnobirthing. Of course it figures, I ended up with an emergency C-section at 36 weeks and never even went into labor. But I still use it to help me go to sleep sometimes!
Lol – oh it’s so typical isn’t it! At least you can use it now 🙂
It’s nice to hear the other side! I’ve only heard about beautiful calming labours with hypnobirthing but I think my it’s good to know that still might not be the case. I don’t want to pin my hopes on something that might not pan out next time! Thanks for the insight. x
That’s it exactly – just be flexible and go with the flow 🙂
Oh bless. It’s hard when you have a set plan how you want your births to go and the babies just don’t get the memos in time. Bless. Always great at the end of the journey of birth and holding your baby though isn’t it? Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Yes of course – however it pans out. Thanks for reading 🙂
What with my ‘gentle parenting’ ways I’ve come across a lot of people who are in to the hypnobirthing thing, and I always think how nice it sounds, but in reality there are people that take it waaaayyyyy too seriously and are then disappointed when they walk out the hospital with a healthy baby having needed an epidural. I went with the ‘que sera sera’ approach with Oliver, I had to have a medically ordered epidural in the end and was really relaxed. I might learn a bit of hypnobirthing just as a coping strategy, but without the illusion that I can breathe a baby out of my hooha #bigfatlinky
I watched a you tube video where it at least appears that a mum does exactly that, not a grunt or scream in sight. Having pushed out 4 little monkeys with everything I had I just can’t get it in my head that it can actually be like that. Thanks for reading.
It’s a shame it didn’t work for you. I would say it had more to do with your babies position and in the second case induction. I’ve always been told you need an epidural with the induction, as it is extra painful!
My labour lasted 16 hours and the hypnosis kept me calm. I can’t say I ‘breath out’ my baby. In fact I had no strength left to push as I hardly ate, so I had an incision and kiwi cup was used to help pull my baby out.
I do recommend hypnobirthing to everyone. It was a revelation for me!
That’s good that you found it useful and it helped to keep you calm. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I used books / cd first time and didn’t get on with them and had a traumatic birth. I did a class for my 2nd and had re most amazing birth and a huge baby! so definitely think you need an instructor – some great deals on courses around and they support you for more than just the classes
That is really interesting to hear – thanks for sharing your experience and good to hear how it all worked second time around 🙂
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Hypnobirthing. I’m a doula and a hypnobirthing instructor and I really believe that the classes can make a big different! We talk a lot about how important baby’s position is and how any little change in position can change the course of labour (I
also teach exercises from my
experience as a doula that may
help with baby’s position on the
day). Most times baby’s position is a lot more important than baby’s weight. Xx
Yes, the position was the issue with my babies as none of them were particularly big. The classes were not an option as there were none nearby and obviously you can’t take other children with you so hence why I went with audio instruction. Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Birth plans are such a waste right?! I wrote mine the day before my 37 week check. At the check I found out he was breech so needed a csection – birth plan got chucked! I have read about people who have had wonderful hypnobirth experiences and many more where it’s been a waste! No matter what though, as long as our babies are delivered safe into the world, that’s all that matters. Thanks so much for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
Exactly – totally waste of time. Mine didn’t resemble anything I wrote down but yes as long as they arrive safely it doesn’t matter.