# Does Hypnobabies work for the cynical?



## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

So I had an awful labour with DD and want to try Hypnobabies this time.

The thing is, I'm not very comfortable with the terminology or even some of the philosophy behind it. I believe that the mind is powerful and that hypnotism works (for some people at least, never tried it yet myself). I _don't_ believe that birth is inherently painless - I can't, after the pain last time! - and I tend to snort and giggle at euphemisms for contractions ("surges", "birthing waves" etc), referring to pain as "p***", talking about my "bubble of peace" and so on. No offense if you do those things - if they work for you, super. I just don't think I can use those words with a straight face. They're not me.

So - did anyone else who's cynical and maladjusted ever use Hypnobabies successfully? Does the system actually require you to believe birth is inherently painless? Did you find you could trick yourself into pretending/believing it was, even when you knew intellectually that it had hurt like heck in the past, and still derive benefit from the program?


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## Belia (Dec 22, 2007)

I wrote kind-of a similar post a couple of months ago, only my question was more "Could a type-A overthinker use Hypnobabies?"

Anyway, in my brief experience with one birth, the answer is NO. Hypnobabies did not work for me. The whole finger drop, spread anesthesia through my body, didn't make logical sense and I could never forget that.

It was still helpful in a way, though, in terms of helping me to practice specific relaxation techniques (visualization, breathing, etc). I made it 11 hours on pitocin in a less-than-ideal situation before I asked for an epidural. Some of that was due to HB.

But did I drink the HB koolaid? Not even close.


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## K-Mom3 (Apr 27, 2009)

I think that it could possibly be helpful. I'm not as cynical as you but I really latched on to the science behind hypnobirthing. If you can teach your body to relax, it will increase your blood (and oxygen) flow during labor and will let the contractions do their job much more efficiently. This part logically makes sense. Then you just have to figure out what will help you learn to relax. If the terminology and music and so on for hypnobabies isn't your thing, try to find another way to relax.

I personally think that it is BETTER if you don't think that your labor is going to be pain-free. I think that most labors have some pain and discomfort. If you think you're going to escape all pain, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. I think that only happens to a small percentage of birthing mothers. HOWEVER, your labor doesn't have to be as painful as last time. Just see how much the hypno thing can do for you, how much you can reduce the pain, how much you can teach your body to relax, etc. I think it is worth a try.


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## Yuba_River (Sep 4, 2006)

I don't know the answer to this, but I just stopped doing HB after a couple of weeks of homestudy--I decided that for me, it would make more sense to use that 30 minutes every night to do yoga and meditate. I liked the relaxation aspect of HB, but was very annoyed by the voice, background music, and some of the terminology. I figure that relaxation through yoga is just as good if that is what will work better for me.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Quote:

If you can teach your body to relax, it will increase your blood (and oxygen) flow during labor and will let the contractions do their job much more efficiently. This part logically makes sense.
Oh yeah, I'm all on board with that. It's not that I think the concept of hypnosis is bunk or anything - I mean, it's been used successfully for anaesthetic during SURGERY, so it must work pretty effectively some of the time. It's just that if the system relies on believing birth is painless... well, I'm not sure I _can_ believe that, because I've done it and it wasn't. But I'm not sure how necessary that belief is to Hypnobabies, because I've only read bits and pieces about the system online.


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## chellebee (Oct 13, 2009)

i didn't do hypnobabies, but I did a little bit of work with a hypnotherapist one on one, and do consider myself cynicalish!

What ended up being helpful for labor was building in a trigger for relaxation that I could use at the beginning of every contraction once I was needing to cope. It is basically associating an action with a state of deep relaxation and then using that action to help induce that state later. It sounds simple, and I guess it really is, but it was definitely powerful. It sounds like the finger drop thing in theory. (What my trigger actually was was a deep breath, eyes closed but looking upward) Don't know exactly how my experience relates to hypnobabies, but thought I'd throw it out there.


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## happyblessedmama (Sep 6, 2003)

Quote:

What ended up being helpful for labor was building in a trigger for relaxation that I could use at the beginning of every contraction once I was needing to cope. It is basically associating an action with a state of deep relaxation and then using that action to help induce that state later. It sounds simple, and I guess it really is, but it was definitely powerful. It sounds like the finger drop thing in theory.
I think this is a REALLY great way to think about it. I tried hypnobabies for the first time with my 6th pregnancy. I'd had one pretty-close-to-pain-free birth, I felt very strong pressure but minimal to almost-no pain. My other deliveries were not like that, they involved a precipitous birth of a baby in bad distress, an asynclitic baby that had to be manually adjusted, and another precipitous delivery.

I had a nice, relatively slow L&D with #6 but ended up with a c/s because of his presentation during active labor (transverse w/cord presenting!). Prior to needing a c/s I would say the hypnobabies was helpful. I do think it would've reached some point of having pain. I was not SUPER comfortable but I was dealing with things pretty well. Having your birthing partner being versed & supportive is a big part of it I think... at least it would've been for me had my labor continued.


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## KikaKika (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi!

I used Hypnobabies for the birth of my first baby. Before signing up for it, I did extensive research...

What I like about Hypnobabies is that it covers all childbirth ed topics in detail, and additional references are provided so that you can do your homework, too. In addition to all that, hypnosis practice is just cream on top.

In your case, "light" reading on topic "power of birth language" might be beneficial, before you make a decision to use Hypnobabies:

1. http://bringbirthhome.com/guest-writ...irth-language/

2. Book "Our Bodies, Ourselves" (I'm listing this, since birth language goes beyond words like contractions, pain ,etc.):

"The language used to describe pregnancy and childbirth reflects assumptions about women that set the stage for different styles of maternity care. Woman-centered terminology portrays women as active, healthy, and powerful, and labor as 'natural' and 'normal,' In this view, associated traditionally with the midwifery model, providers 'attend' women, 'assist' at births, and 'catch' babies. In contrast, some medical language depicts women as passive subjects, putting doctors in the role of 'managing labor' and 'delivering babies.' Medical terms such as 'failure to progress,' 'inadequate pelvis,' and 'incompetent cervix' imply that something is wrong with a woman's body. This influences how we see ourselves, how providers see us, and how the media portray birth."

Before you snort and giggle at certain words, think what makes you react that way. Psycholinguistics studies not only how humans learn words, but how they react to words, as well.

There is a different reaction in brain when these two words are heard:

CONTRACTION vs. PRESSURE WAVE
LABOR vs. BIRTHING
PAIN vs. PRESSURE

It is that simple - if you reprogram your brain to use words with positive connotation, you utilize neuroplasticity and you give yourself a fair chance to achieve a different experience.

Relaxed birthing allows the feeling to be exactly like the pressure wave. It starts slowly, builds up, has a peak and then dissolves.

A calm birthing mom can be thrown into feeling of pain in a second, if a medical worker asks "On a scale of 1 to 10, rate how much PAIN you're in" - even if she did not feel that she was in pain before, this questions starts her in that direction and she starts looking for it and focusing on it and yes - feeling pain.

Google: FEAR-TENSION-PAIN in birthing and you'll find some interesting things.

With all that said - Hypnobabies never promises painless birth. This is something that a lot of moms that use Hypnobabies achieve (from the website: "Although not every woman will have a completely pain-free unmedicated birthing experience, many of our Hypno-Moms do and our success rate is about 70%, far above any other childbirth method, which is very gratifying!"), but really, it is up to each mom (with normal pregnancy) to decide how much relaxation and what kind of birthing experience she allows herself.

THere are two free mp3 tracks that you can check out (one is introduction to Hypnobabies and second one is "Relax Me" mp3):

http://www.hypnobabies.com/mylink.php?id=4058#2freemp3

Also check out: http://www.hypnobabies.com/mylink.php?id=3809

Q) How does hypnosis for childbirth work?

A) Short version: Like computer data entry. If you want to create a document to use later, you open one, enter the text and save the contents in a "file", then give the file a name. Later, when you want to edit that document, you find the file name and open it, add to the document text and save it again. When you are completely finished with your document, you find the file by its name, complete and ready, and print it out for your use.

In Hypnobabies, our "files" are our medical hypno-anesthesia "scripts" in the form of CD tracks and paper scripts, and all you have to do is *listen* to them. In doing so, you train your inner mind, just like entering text, what to accept. Each week, you add a little bit of training, just like the text in your document, and your inner mind creates a new belief system about childbirth. It accepts that the normal birthing sensations that you will have when you give birth; pushing, pulling, stretching, pressure sensations, will indeed be there, but without discomfort attached to them. You train it to accept cues and techniques to bring you deeper into relaxation and hypnosis, and when you use them on your birthing day, just like printing out your document, they are there for you automatically! Your mind is very powerful and is capable of creating the deepest physical relaxation possible as well as a very comfortable birthing experience. Use it!
__________________________________________________ _____________
And, at the end, all that Type A , Type B info is just an excuse...
If you really want to try something (and from your post, I think you DO want to try this and that you DO want to have a comfortable birthing), why would you shoot yourself in the leg before even starting?

Feel free to ask me any question re:my experience and Hypnobabies homebirth that I had









Take care!


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## Harmony08 (Feb 4, 2009)

I'm not that cynical and I did believe all the stuff and Hypnobabies did not work for me.


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## KikaKika (Jul 7, 2007)

I dug through my archive, and this is one of the fresh ones, check it out on power of words in medicine:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernie..._b_621161.html


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## CherryBomb (Feb 13, 2005)

This is part of the reason I didn't bother with anything like hypnobabies. I'm very cynical and those phrases and such immediately turn me off and irritate me. Good luck if you decide to use it, though!


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## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

WELL I'm a bit cynical, and I never really worried about the language, b/c the words don't have a negative association for me (now, I did avoid "pain" and did like comfort level instead I think, and the nurses and all were awesome about saying pressure, just from seeing it on some HB sheet and really getting into it, not per my request, but honestly it worked SO well it didn't matter, I was like, I don't feel too much pressure, this is AWESOME (in a sublime, 1800s Romantics sort of way) but not painful at all. Beforehand I definitely did go back and forth on whether it would be totally fine or totally awful, so it's not like my mind absolutely believed in painless birth. But the program still worked-- birth was hard work and I was glad when I was done, but it was totally manageable, and I credit HB for a lot of that.

So, I hear you on the silliness, I didn't fully buy in about all that, but I DID just tell myself to accept it and go with it (it's REALLY hard for me to relax when I'm not supposed to move. at. all.) and I think that's what's important-- it trained me to be relaxed. The program DOES say you have to accept it, and if you tend to overthink stuff, just focus on each word, try to take it all in, and then you have to use it during birth. But honestly, I wasn't great about actively using it the day of, and it still worked wonders for me. I think the habit of relaxing was so built in, it just worked. I slept through most tracks (I CANNOT stay awake, I guess maybe it's just the hypnosis, not sleep per se) and it still worked.


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## konayossie (Jul 29, 2010)

I would consider myself pretty cynical, and yet HB DID work for me. KikaKika had great info in her post. I also did extensive research ahead of time and found really great feedback on HB and decided that even if it didn't result in a painfree birth, I was going to have learned much of the same coping techniques and good nutrition-wellness info that I would in any other natural CB class. I have also learned since that the main use of hypnosis medically WAS for childbirth. It was pretty popular before they started using all the heavy-duty anesthesia in the 1900s.

I did not really change my vocab any, and thinking about them as contrax instead of pressure waves (etc) didn't stop HB from working for me. I understand the power of language and the theory behind the vocab change, but for me I felt it wasn't necessary since it was my first birth and I didn't have as much baggage as some women might from very painful prior labors. I did stop watching the TLC baby story type shows and listening to "typical" hospital birth stories.

I never really felt like the fingerdrop technique "did" anything when I was practicing, but I know that during labor, I never had what I would call "pain" in the whole, complicated 42 hours I labored. The nurses couldn't believe it when my uterus was hyper-stimming, and I quietly rested through it.

The part I never could get into were the affirmations (all I could think of was Jack Handey). Could NOTt listen to those without snickering through them, so I just didn't do 'em.


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## jeminijad (Mar 27, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *konayossie* 

The part I never could get into were the affirmations (all I could think of was Jack Handey). Could NOTt listen to those without snickering through them, so I just didn't do 'em.











This thread is timely for me. The vocab issue is a real one, and something I have pondered as I consider Hypnobabies.

Maybe I'll get myself some literature on medical hypnosis, specifically when it has been used for anesthesia in surgery. That will be very valuable in getting myself to a place where I can believe in the value of the program.


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## finnegansmom (Jul 15, 2007)

I could have written this. I get so annoyed with just reading about it, I tense up.
It would never work for me. I'm very cynical and intense it would drive me insane.

I did meditate on my own, and found my own "place".
I think relaxation (which is something I totally suck at because I'm high strung) helped a lot. I practiced in my own tub for months, weeks before hand. Learning to open up and relax. That was a challenge for me. I think it's important to learn how you want to birth. Oddly, most people here assume that everyone wants support people. I had a doula with my last birth and I found it irritating. My dh was so annoying to me, that I only gave birth when he left the room - maybe on purpose? I don't know, the sound of people speaking during labor annoyed me.

I definately think any form of relaxation techniques though are super helpful. It doesn't have to be a "brand" like hypnobabies, it could just be something you work through yourself.

Good luck


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## chattyprincess (Feb 24, 2009)

I had a standard birth with dd1 and with dd2 did hypnobabies. I too am highly cynical and rolled my eyes initially at the crazy wording. However I knew that the standard way of having a baby and positioning didn't work for me and I didn't want another epidural so I was willing to accept that they describe things and phrase things differently then I necessarily would. I did love that giving the "letter" to the nurses at the front helped them to understand we were doing things differently and to take the time to really listen to what we needed. I never used that terminology I could never remeember what was supposed to be what so I just used the terms I normally do and didn't care how other people said things...kwim?? Listening to the cds and things I just tried to accept and embrace the entire system, to not be distracted by the wording and to really just focusing on the thoughts and things behind the words.
To me the whole bubble of peace thing really just reinforced the idea that I could ignore anything people said I didn't like hearing (before labor think like nasty women and thier nasty delivery stories...ugh) but all in all I dont think this term was used much....
I refused to believe that birth is inherently painless, however this is true, the next time you stub your toe or injure a part of your body do the opposite of what your body naturally does. Most people tense up when they have pain suddenly come on them when actually if you stub your toe and it hurts like hell force your body to relax and take deep soothing breaths...the pain becomes less intense almost immediately and goes away faster think about being somewhere else and try to ignore the pain....this is to me essentially what the whole hypnobabies program tries to do. Teach you to block out the pain, relax, breath and remain calm.
I had a fairly bizzare labor/ birth so it was by no means traditional labor but i think the whole hypnobabies would work so amazingly well in the traditional sense in helping you stay relaxed and get through each contraction etc...I will admit now that I did not practice as much as I should have and next time I will definetly practice more. But to sum it all up for you I labored for 32 hours, by 30 hours I had no pain and was dialeted to 7cm 100% effaced +1station and had been for hours. My contractions were the same braxton hicks I had been having my whole pregnancy and my mw's kept saying if they had never done an internal exam they would have sent me home thinking I was in early labor...oddly enough the whole practice with hypno babies instead of saying to myself I would have a fast labor I rephrased it into slow in my mind...lol...coincidence who knows? I had to use a ton of breastpumping etc and was unable to have my ipod on for all of this time...but I didn't neccesarily "need" the comfort of it either, I could simply help myself relax, etc because the pain wasn't overwhelming.
My ctx never came closer then every 5-8min for 30.5hrs so they broke my water, then the painful crazy labor ctx started. Because I was so tiered from not sleeping for 30hrs it was so intense and crazy. I could feel myself on the verge of panic from the pain but put on my ipod and was really able to remain calm and relax. Despite the fact that yes I was in intense pain I was able to cope through it by breathing and relaxing and then 1.5 hrs after my water broke I had my little girl au'natural.
My only advice is to rememeber there is a "pushing" track to the whole program...in the midst of crazy labor I forgot this....lol.
all in all I think it teaches an amazing method of relaxing and blocking the pain and will help you remain calm throughout. There is really no reason to not try it kwim?


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Thanks for all the perspectives!

I've read a bit about anti-women medical terminology (ie "incompetent cervix") - I think it was in Toni Weschler's _Taking Charge of Your Fertility_? I'm not sure I'd agree that "pain" is a misogynistic term, though. I mean, I don't think it was Evil Male Doctors who came up with the idea that childbirth hurts. Still, I take your point that different words will have a different effect on one's perception - assuming one can _accept_ the words, which is kind of my issue. I guess I could come to terms with "pressure waves", as it's medically accurate - "surges" and "whooshes" are a bit beyond my comfort level though!

The finger drop thing makes sense to me as well. Affirmations make me nervier - the kind I know of are the looking-in-a-mirror "You are a beautiful, worthy person and your life will be filled with light" type, which leave me cold - to say the least.

I did try to download those free HB tracks, but it didn't work - might be a Linux issue? I'll poke around YouTube and see if I can find anything helpful.

I think ultimately I'll probably give it a go. SIL is using the programme too, so we'll go halves, which will help with the cost (and I think she's getting a "used" programme anyway?). I figure it probably can't hurt, and the environment I'll probably be birthing in (birthing centre) will have other forms of pain relief such as a birth pool and gas, which I don't mind using. So it's not like I'd be utterly without pain relief if HB didn't work.


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## allisonrose (Oct 22, 2004)

I recently got Hypnobabies (used). My first birth was definitely painful - pit sucks! I figure even if all the program does is help me deal with the "surges" then it will be worth it. I figure I don't really have anything to lose.


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## prothyraia (Feb 12, 2007)

Yes, absolutely.

I had serious issues with some of the wording of the tracks. And it sometimes really, really annoyed me while I was listening to them (I did have to just let it go to a point).

What I took from it that was of value was the ability to instantly and completely relax. Which 1) cured my insomnia, 2) helped me get rid of the constant knots in my shoulders, and 3) let me stay calm, relaxed, and out of my own way in labor, including when my entire second stage lasted less than 5 minutes and I got to experience that whole "fetal ejection reflex" bit









I joined the yahoogroup, which was nice because it gave me a place to vent/work out my issues with some of the more technical details of the terminology that I disagreed with.

So, for me, I was entirely comfortable during my labor and slept through part of it until after 8cm when my midwife arrived (she looked at me and said "Hmmm, it may be early yet"







), and then I definitely *hurt* during transition but was still entirely relaxed.

Edited to add: I don't understand the BIRTH IS NOT PAINFUL! thing in the program. It's *possible* for birth to be pain-free. But I don't think, even under the best circumstances, that's always the case. I know hypnosis can work for people having surgery, and I don't think that surgical pain is 'all in their mind' or just 'due to the expectation of pain', so I figured there was no reason I couldn't help with childbirth.


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

Former skeptic here.







I was willing to do ANYTHING to avoid another birth like my first baby (induced, lots of pain, AROM, narcotics, epidural, etc.). I chose to embrace the cheesiness of hypnosis and learn it as a tool to experience a better birth. It worked.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *Smokering* 
Oh yeah, I'm all on board with that. It's not that I think the concept of hypnosis is bunk or anything - I mean, it's been used successfully for anaesthetic during SURGERY, so it must work pretty effectively some of the time. It's just that *if the system relies on believing birth is painless*... well, I'm not sure I _can_ believe that, because I've done it and it wasn't. But I'm not sure how necessary that belief is to Hypnobabies, because I've only read bits and pieces about the system online.

Hypnobabies does NOT tell women that they must believe birth is painless. HypnoBirthing (Mongan), however, does. I know birth CAN be painless (I've experienced it using hypnosis), but I think it does a disservice to tell women that the pain of childbirth is in their heads.







I like that Hypnobabies *doesn't* say the pain of childbirth is in your head. Rather, Hypnobabies teaches effective tools for releasing your body's natural painkillers (endorphins) on cue. More endorphins = less pain (sometimes none)









Quote:


Originally Posted by *chellebee* 
What ended up being helpful for labor was building in a trigger for relaxation that I could use at the beginning of every contraction once I was needing to cope. It is basically associating an action with a state of deep relaxation and then using that action to help induce that state later. It sounds simple, and I guess it really is, but it was definitely powerful. It sounds like the finger drop thing in theory. (What my trigger actually was was a deep breath, eyes closed but looking upward) Don't know exactly how my experience relates to hypnobabies, but thought I'd throw it out there.

That sounds like Hypnobabies' main tool: the mental lightswitch. You turn off your switch and instantly release endorphins while completely relaxing all skeletal muscles. There's a center position, too, which allows you to concentrate endorphins from breast to thigh while you walk around, talk, etc.









WRT the language, the Hypnobabies terms ended up being a more accurate description of what I experienced. The tightening in my uterus felt like a wave. It built, peaked, and ebbed away.

I would never give birth again without Hypnobabies.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Quote:

I know hypnosis can work for people having surgery, and I don't think that surgical pain is 'all in their mind' or just 'due to the expectation of pain', so I figured there was no reason I couldn't help with childbirth.
Yeah, that's my reasoning too. Although I think it takes an extra level of chutzpah to do surgery without anesthetic - wow!









One thing that does give me hope is that during DD's labour, I was able to get through contractions for a while by thinking "mind over matter". During the contraction I'd squeeze my eyes shut and kind of think "This isn't real, I'm me, I'm in charge, I'll just ignore this and it will go away". Not very nuanced!







But I think it did help for a while - definitely not forever, but then I was in a very bad headspace with fear and unhappinesss and a generally pathetic cringing suffering mentality. Which was largely because I'd pinned all my hopes and way too much of my planning on a "perfect" home waterbirth, so when I ended up being induced for pre-e it threw me completely off.

I'm definitely planning to address that this time. The hospital's been redone since then, and apparently the birthing rooms are way less hideously depressing than last time - so even if I do end up there again (very possible, due to pre-e's tendency to repeat), I'm hoping it won't be quite as bad. And I'm actually planning a birth centre birth this time. I don't want to invest all the emotional energy in preparing for a homebirth if it might not happen - so I figure that as I'm less "attached" to the birth centre, I'll be less upset if I have to transfer. Anyway, I transferred there for recovery after DD's birth and it was really lovely. I feel vaguely sad that I'm "over" the homebirth thing, and distinctly peeved that my MIL will no doubt rejoice that I'm not trying "That" again (even though a birth centre birth is really no safer than a homebirth, statistically - but well, that's another rant!): but I think this is the better way for my none-too-robust mental health.







Returning the unused birth pool last time was just... depressing.


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## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

It's totally that-- if you are going through something painful, managing to overcome it, to relax instead of tensing up-- it makes it SO much better. I use it all the time when I whack my hand into the doorway or stub my toe or have any discomfort (kinda TMI but pregnancy tummy issues--good chance to practice relaxing







). And yes, it was like waves. I also was really drawn to ocean/wave imagery throughout my whole pregnancy so that worked well for me. The affirmations can be cheesy but I just put them on in the car and let them sink in. Otherwise, the tracks are great for relaxing and napping!


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## LisaSedai (Feb 27, 2009)

Well it didn't really work for me during "birthing time", I never got the anesthesia to work but it sure helped me fall asleep prior to the "pressure waves" starting. I didn't get to use the pushing out part, the OB wanted her out b/c her heart rate was fast so he had me do the hold my breath push to 10









I did do it med-free though, which was my point in trying it. My water broke prior to labor which is supposed to make it hurt worse, so maybe it would've worked better otherwise.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

I am deeply cynical and pretty deeply fearful after my first birth. But it made for a very relaxing pregnancy and it was really helpful during my birth ( two hours of active labor, broken water, postier, delivered unplanned, unassisted) and although not pain free by any stretch seriously I delivered my omw baby by myself and didn't panic. How great is that for mental preparation?

The yahoo group is very helpful. You might want to can it for awhile.


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## gemasita (Jul 1, 2005)

I just wanted to second what Verisatum said: Hypnobabies does not teach that birth is inherantly painless and we create the pain in our minds through expectation. Hypnobabies teaches that birth CAN be painless and/or comfortable and that comfort can be created with our minds. Many women have had a painful birth (so they KNOW for a fact that birth CAN be painful) and they go on to have a comfortable birth with self-hypnosis with another baby. So they also know birth CAN be comfortable. I don't think that anyone would say that pain during surgery is due to expectation. But surgery CAN be comfortable using self-hypnosis because that's how powerful our minds are.

Plus, if you don't learn any self-hypnosis during your pregnancy, it's not usually a tool that is available to you during the birth. If you learn self-hypnosis, you CAN use it - the programming is there. You can choose not to or use other things along with it, but if you don't learn the tools and work on the programning beforehand, then they are not really an option. It never hurts to have self-hypnosis as a tool (in MANY situations, even besides birthing!).


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## mama_y_sol (May 23, 2007)

I really believed in it and enjoyed it all throughout pregnancy. I wasn't a skeptic at all. Hypnobabies did NOT work for me during the birth. It was so useless that I just totally threw the whole thing out the window a couple hours after labor started and used other things (breathing, moaning, walking around, squatting, humming, rocking in the rocking chair, etc). I was very disappointed with my experience.


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

I'm super cynical and I knew hypnobabies would probably just irritate me, so I didn't use it. That said, I completely had a hypnotic birth. It was like being on a huge amount of psychedelic drugs, that's the only way to describe it. It wasn't pain free, but it was pretty close, and it was never unbearable. Definitely a good labor. (Also, I know a lot of it is genetic -- my mom and sister also had really easy labors).
I think hypnobabies tries to get you to that "laborland" place, where your brain shuts down and you're in a state of altered consciousness. I think if a woman is laboring undisturbed, it's a lot easier to get to that place. I'm pretty sure that my labor would have been harsh and painful in a hospital. Even at home, if someone tried to talk to me or make me think, it knocked me out of that fuzzy place, and back into reality where things hurt, and I had to make a conscious effort to slip back into laborland.
I think it's just your body releasing a boat load of endorphins, but whatever it is, it worked for me.


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## JenRN (Sep 10, 2010)

Personally, I could never get the terminology down. I work as a labor and delivery RN, and everytime I would hear a hypnobabies term, I would autocorrect it in my head.

I loved Hypnobabies while I was pregnant - it helped me relax and mentally prepare for the birth. I started at 23ish weeks and did my finger-drops/scripts daily until I delivered, like you are supposed to. In hindsight, I wouldn't recommend starting so early, by the end I was so annoyed with the tracks.

(For reference, I was induced at 41+3 - so I had my water broken and pitocin to start labor.) In labor, I felt like it helped me to relax and work with my body, and the cue words my husband used definitely helped me "come back from the brink" when things got intense. I wouldn't call it painless, but it was bearable. Everything was going great until my stubborn child decided to defy gravity and turn posterior when I was about 6cm. I thought I was in transition (vomitting, daydreaming of an epidural, etc.) but after 2 hours of excrutiating back pain I was still only 6cm. I started losing control and got an epidural. (It was still 8 hours until I delivered my asynclitic 9 1/2 pound daughter, so I think I made the right decision for me.)

Long story short: I think it just depends on the person whether Hypnobabies will work for you as far as pain relief. I definitely don't regret trying it, and I think it helped me relax and work with my body. I think I would have been more successful if I had went into labor naturally (pitocin really is evil). I will probably use the program with my next pregnancy/delivery.


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## cileag (Aug 16, 2008)

I didn't use the program so I can't speak to that, but I'm also an L and D nurse and from my experience many people sort of naturally cope with labor by going into a hypnotic state if that makes sense---I've seen some really incredible hypnobirths--and only about half have said they prepared for it specifically. My favorite was a first time mama who was standing at the desk at triage, listening to her headphones. We got her checked in and checked her cervix and she was completely dialated. Externally, she was 100% calm, not even a grimace. She was listening to the tapes however and seemed very pleased with the results.

For my own birth, I too was very skeptical of the system and really disliked the tapes that I had heard at work. However, I ended up being a "mantra" person. I repeated "I can do this" over and over and over again--and I'm the kind of person who loves yoga for exercise but thinks intentions or mantras are completely silly. My point is that I think you might be surprised at what works for you and it seems like a valid tool for relaxation and finding a routine in labor--both which will probably only help.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Quote:

I really believed in it and enjoyed it all throughout pregnancy. I wasn't a skeptic at all. Hypnobabies did NOT work for me during the birth. It was so useless that I just totally threw the whole thing out the window a couple hours after labor started and used other things (breathing, moaning, walking around, squatting, humming, rocking in the rocking chair, etc). I was very disappointed with my experience.
Do you have any theories on why it didn't work? Had you used it successfully prior to the birth (like to cope with heartburn or whatever)? Or have you ever tried it since for other kinds of pain? Had you ever been successfully hypnotised before trying Hypnobabies?

Not trying to criticise you, just curious.


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## shellnurse (Apr 9, 2009)

I used a hypnosis knock-off called hypbirth which was a similar approach, "you'll only feel presure-no pian, used finger drops and rainbow relaxation". it made for many lovely naps during pregnancy but was worse than useless in labor. My contractions went from nothing to POW!!!! height of pain and I never was able to figure out how to relax into it.

I'm now taking a class by a former hypnobirthing instructor who got kicked out because she had 3 births that did include some pain and she mentioned it and was "excommunicated". I like her program because she just helps train me to relax regardless of what is happening. I've been having monster leg cramps which has been great practice for using the techniques. They come out of nowwhere and I do tense up but then remember that it's better to just breathe through it, even though it takes me a few seconds to ease into it.

She also mentioned that if you have a 12 hour labor with typical 60-90 second contractions it's really only 2 hours of contractions... I like that thought!


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## GoBecGo (May 14, 2008)

A friend used hypnobabies with great success and lent me the CD's and talked to me about it. I have to admit i hated the very idea. I listened to the affirmations and i found many of them just too irritating to "hear the message behind" - 'i breathe correctly' sorry what? You have to BREATHE correctly? What if you don't? Do you fail the "test"? The whole thing seemed like a big ruse to pretend birth was all lovely and fluffy and look the other way while it actually happens.

I didn't want to minimise, avoid or otherwise "get out of" the birth. I wanted to experience it, in all it's raw glory. I wanted to FEEL it. I didn't buy that it was so terrible that avoiding it was the only thing to try to do, and i've done it nearly-drug-free and drug-free and i would stand by that. Obviously everyone is different, but i tend to tell people who ask me now that actually WANTING to feel it all is what made feeling it so bearable/great. Not saying it didn't hurt! It certainly did at times, but that is what my baby coming felt like. And i really enjoyed it. And i really cherish the memories of it. And i would do it ten more times (not pregnancy though, i really don't love that!







). I really don't believe i suffered less than the average woman (with DD1 i got through 4 hours of intense OP back labour, and fought the pushing urge for the whole 2nd stage, and both of my babies came direct OA (didn't turn for their shoulders)), it's just a different mindset to go in with.

Obviously we are all different, so ignore where appropriate


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## mama_y_sol (May 23, 2007)

Smokering, I'm really not sure why did didn't work.

I used it extremely successfully during pregnancy- I was able to use the cue and really go to my special place. When I was having SPD pain, I would lay down and cue myself into a very relaxed state.

Before trying hypnobabies, I did attend a hypnosis show in Washington, DC. I volunteered to be on stage with a group of 5 others....and I think it worked. But that wasn't for pain, that was entertainment.

I tend to think I have a very high pain tolerance. Early labor lasted for about 40 hours. Long early labor. And for the start, for the first 24 hours of early labor, I felt like it was "working" okay. But after that time, when I was cueing myself, I would start out fine, then suddenly realize mid contraction that no, I was not fine, at which point, I wasn't able to "get on top of the contraction". I would just be thrown intensely into it. It was unbearable. It was painful. It was a lot LESS painful to breathe a certain way, and to be really connected with my body- and moan and move and do whatever felt right in that contraction.


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## Curlyfry7 (Jun 20, 2007)

I used it for my DD's birth. I'm pretty cynical as well, and in the back of my mind the whole time I was doing it I knew I didn't believe in it. And ocne labor started I couldn't find the rhythm to even TRY getting into it.

BUT what it DID do for me was help me relax through the contractions-every contractions I pictured my cervix relaxing and opening and it REALLY helped-when i got to the birth center the midwife didn't even think I was in labor as I was "too smiley" according to her. I did not have any benefit during the pushing stage-that hurt like an SOB (although she did come down and out so fast she dislocated my tailbone, which was probably some of that pain!!)

I'm also with whoever mentioned that having other people with them during labor was annoying. I was the same way for both my hospital-pitocin-epidural labor, and my natural-birth center labor. I was completely inside myself. the only time I really neede my DH was when I was laboring in the tub and got cold and there was no more hot water so I made him move the newborn heat lamp over above the tub. And for taking pictures.


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## homemademom (Sep 25, 2009)

I never did Hypnobabies, but I tried Hynobirthing and it didn't work (I know that most people on MDC think it's inferior anyway and that's entirely possible). What rang true for me was _Birthing From Within_. She says birth hurts and it's work, BUT you can relax and focus on other things so you're not consumed with the pain. I focused on my breathing pattern, had visualizations that made sense to me (kind of like the Hypnobirthing wave, but I would watch a light increase and then decrease with each contraction), and used mantras. And then, I would scream during pushing.









This is my 5th child and I feel like I know what works for me, after piecing together all of my experiences: stay active and distracted during early labor, and during active labor, having quiet, isolation, getting into my own groove, not being/feeling watched.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Quote:

I didn't want to minimise, avoid or otherwise "get out of" the birth. I wanted to experience it, in all it's raw glory. I wanted to FEEL it.
Which is cool, but there's no way I can get into that headspace after my birth. The glory was, shall we say, inconspicuous.







I think, from my reading on Hypnobabies, that it still allows you to be aware of the birth, not zoned out and fuzzy - but frankly, even if it was the latter, I'd happily take it over experiencing the raw glory.









mama y sol: That's really interesting! I expected you to say it didn't work at all during pregnancy. So you found it only helpful up to a certain level of pain, and when the contrax got over that threshhold it snapped you out of it abruptly? That does sound very unpleasant! I did have pelvic girdle pain with my last pregnancy, and would _very_ much like to be able to ignore it/turn it off this time around...


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Smokering* 
Which is cool, but there's no way I can get into that headspace after my birth. The glory was, shall we say, inconspicuous.







I think, from my reading on Hypnobabies, that it still allows you to be aware of the birth, not zoned out and fuzzy - but frankly, even if it was the latter, I'd happily take it over experiencing the raw glory.









I've used hypnosis for four of my five births and I was much _more_ aware during the comfortable hypnosis births.







I'm fuzzy on some of the timing, lol, but I was aware of what was happening around me (if I wanted to be). I could also tune it out if I wanted.

I think Hypnobabies "works" on multiple levels. One level is to replace fear with confidence, a great step for anyone approaching giving birth! Another level is to teach hypno-anesthesia techniques which can reduce or (in some cases) eliminate childbirth pain.

One of my hypnosis births was extremely painful due to complications. Even though my hypnosis didn't keep me comfortable (so "it didn't work" for comfort), my hypnosis _did_ keep me calm and focused. That was enormously valuable! I'm convinced that things could have been far, far worse if I had not had my hypnosis training. With hypnosis I was able mentally take a step back and think about what was happening without freaking out. My first thought was that the situation wasn't good and I wasn't pleased that it was happening. My second thought was that I would stay calm and have a discussion with my caregivers about what the appropriate action would be. I had a very strong urge to freak out and start screaming, but I had enough mental control to choose to stay calm instead.

I would _never_ choose to give birth without hypnosis again, even if it did nothing to help with the pain.









As it happens, my other three hypnosis births were very comfortable. One of them was even pain-free. The others had moments where I thought, "I don't think I like this sensation very much." That caused me to actively use my hypnosis more and I'd become more comfortable. Using hypnosis early and often during my birthing time allowed me to build endorphins as the birth got more intense. Hypnobabies worked better for me than an epidural (even though I felt no sensation of any kind after 4 cm with that birth).


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## mama_y_sol (May 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Smokering* 
= So you found it only helpful up to a certain level of pain, and when the contrax got over that threshhold it snapped you out of it abruptly? That does sound very unpleasant! =

Yes, exactly. You understood what I meant...I was worried I wasn't explaining it well.

I was pretty disappointed that it didn't work well- I did the affirmations most nights and one of them was that I would have a short, pain free labor. I didn't even entertain the THOUGHT that it would be long again. My first labor was a totally natural birth after 60+ hour labor. I was so convinced that the second time around it would be a short birth, that when it was NOT short, I was unprepared and devastated. I wish I had not convinced myself the affirmations would come true, because when they didn't and my labor was 54 hours, well, I was crushed, exhausted and just plain mad at hypnobabies. I felt duped.


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## greengirl_ (Nov 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GoBecGo* 
I didn't want to minimise, avoid or otherwise "get out of" the birth. I wanted to experience it, in all it's raw glory. I wanted to FEEL it. I didn't buy that it was so terrible that avoiding it was the only thing to try to do, and i've done it nearly-drug-free and drug-free and i would stand by that. Obviously everyone is different, but i tend to tell people who ask me now that actually WANTING to feel it all is what made feeling it so bearable/great. Not saying it didn't hurt! It certainly did at times, but that is what my baby coming felt like. And i really enjoyed it. And i really cherish the memories of it.

This is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm a total skeptic but so far I've been doing the cd's and finger drops and they do seem to work for me. Now what I'm afraid of is that the program will work _too_ well. I had a 23 hr labor with my first and it was very painful, but I was so happy to be able to experience birth. I did feel like I had reached a state of hypnosis just before transition (my mw said I was "in the zone"), so I guess what I'm hoping for is to get to that state sooner during labor because it really was amazing.


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## porcelina (May 2, 2007)

I just used HB for my second birth. My first birth was very painful, baby was posterior, and after about 8 hours, after which my cervix swelled from what was an 8 with waters bulging to under 6 after AROM. I couldn't go on, transferred to hospital for epi and then pit, and had vaginal birth with vacuum about 8 hours later (16 total).

I wanted things to go differently for my second birth. I felt totally unprepared for the pain of the first one, so gravitated to HB. I tried very hard not to be a skeptic, and to let it work for me. I have to say I did not practice a ton, definitely not 2-5 times per day as they suggest. However, I thought of it as an important tool to achieve relaxation, which everyone points to as the best way to let labor happen.

HB worked very well for me for several things. First, I was able to get rid of all of my fear about birth, which after the trauma of the first, was quite a bit. I really think the "hypnosis," which was really just a lot of subliminal or not so subliminal messaging, did this for me. Because I had no fear, I was in a much better mindset for the birth than I would have been otherwise. I felt like I knew I could do it. Visualizing the birth really helped -- mine was pretty similar to what I thought was my ideal birth -- short (3h15min), happening during a weekday with time to prepare (and on a Thursday so DH would cancel only one day of classes and have the weekend with us), etc. Also, I was able to use HB through the early contractions. I went to my special place and totally relaxed. This technique really helped me.

Once the labor got intense, though, it was another story. My contractions started at 2 minutes apart. All they did over time was get longer, to where eventually I had no break between contractions at all (maybe 2 seconds). After about an hour, HB stopped working for me. I suddenly remembered that the pain of my first birth exactly matched the second, even though he was in the right position (anterior) and I was doing HB. HB relaxation went out the window for me. Instead, I used vocalization to get through. There was no way I could "relax" and "smile" and think about each contraction bringing me closer to my baby -- I was being hit by a freight train. Again, no resting between contractions. I used "ooh" and "ahh" and eventually was roaring like a lion through transition.

I know some women have labors that are more discomfort than pain, or more like my early later than the later labor. I have to wonder whether HB can only make it painless if you have that kind of labor. Mine was so fast, 3h15 total, with no break between contractions that came every 2 minutes, that I don't think it would be humanly possible to relax or to "spread hypnoamnesthesia throughout my body"! So, I would be curious to read what kind of labor these women have had! Maybe they had contractions further spaced apart? Less intense??

In the end, I think HB helped me, because I probably did have a fast and smooth birth in large part thanks to the HB preparation. It also got me through the first part of labor. However, the last 2 hours went way beyond anything HB could do for me.

I would say it's worth giving a try! Read up on Ina May, etc. as well just in case you get a steamroller labor! But, it can still be really helpful!


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## philomom (Sep 12, 2004)

This is why I stuck with Bradley. I can't drink the koolaid on anything. I'm a born skeptic and too much new agey lingo makes me roll my eyes.

I did have remarkable, natural births using the Bradley. I did not have much pain.


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## mambera (Sep 29, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mama_y_sol* 
I used it extremely successfully during pregnancy- I was able to use the cue and really go to my special place. When I was having SPD pain, I would lay down and cue myself into a very relaxed state...

I tend to think I have a very high pain tolerance... I wasn't able to "get on top of the contraction". I would just be thrown intensely into it. It was unbearable. It was painful. It was a lot LESS painful to breathe a certain way, and to be really connected with my body- and moan and move and do whatever felt right in that contraction.

I had a really similar experience. I used the Mongan method (which I later heard from mamas on here is not as good) but anyway yeah, I found it helpful for low-level, everyday kind of pain but kind of like an umbrella in a tidal wave for labor pain.

I also have a very high pain tolerance (at least that's what my dentist says!) and wasn't fearful of labor at all beforehand, though I expected some degree of pain (not as much as I got unfortunately!).

And I would not say I started out a skeptic. I use hypnosis in my work and I am moderately hypnotizable myself. I expected there would be some utility to it, though I wasn't expecting pain-free. I found the method to be pretty much no use at all though, unfortunately.


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## Frisbee (Feb 7, 2007)

So I just ordered Hypnobabies. I'm 35 weeks so I won't have quite as much time with it as they recommend, but hopefully it will do some good.

I have been listening to the "Visualize Your Birth" mp3 and the free mp3 they have on the website, and both of them put me right to sleep after about 15 minutes. Granted, I've been listening to them in bed right before bedtime. Is this normal? I tried the Mongan method (hypnobirthing) last time and only listened to it a few times because I couldn't stay awake during it.

It's tough because I WOH and the only time I have to devote to this is after DD goes to bed (except on weekends). I guess I'll try it sitting up, not in bed, once I get the full package of materials.







It's supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Although my first birth wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of things and I did make it though unmedicated, it was pretty excruciating at times. Less pain would be great!


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## WifeofAnt (May 2, 2010)

Sorry I'm in a bit of a rush so I'm not reading it through. I started some HB this afternoon.

Don't tell me how to breathe. I tried to follow her and nearly needed to turn it off because I was sending myself into a panic instead of calming down.
I *hate* their termonology. It just doesn't rub me the way its meant to. I can replace the words if that helps any but those aren't the words I'd choose.
STOP SAYING EYELIDS! It makes me cringe.
Although I can say I did end up getting into a relaxation/hypnosis about halfway through. I don't know if Hypnobabies helped any though.


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## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

I ALWAYS fall asleep while doing the CDs. I swear to god, I can't make it through, no matter what. I mean, at this point I can't rest for more than a few minutes without falling asleep anyway, but it's always been like that with HBs no matter when I do it. The books does say to try to do them when you wouldn't fall asleep, but then the scripts say it's okay to blank out, that you are still hearing it all. I am going to try my darndest to listen through them awake, even if I'm not DOING them... that's what I did last time. Anyway, it's not like I was DOING HBs during my birth, but it was in no way excrutiating!

And yeah, I totally ignore her counts for breathing and just do it in a deep relaxing way on my own-- otherwise I'm out of breath and tense and all that!


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## konayossie (Jul 29, 2010)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Frisbee* 
I have been listening to the "Visualize Your Birth" mp3 and the free mp3 they have on the website, and both of them put me right to sleep after about 15 minutes. Granted, I've been listening to them in bed right before bedtime. Is this normal? I tried the Mongan method (hypnobirthing) last time and only listened to it a few times because I couldn't stay awake during it.

It's tough because I WOH and the only time I have to devote to this is after DD goes to bed (except on weekends). I guess I'll try it sitting up, not in bed, once I get the full package of materials.







It's supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Although my first birth wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of things and I did make it though unmedicated, it was pretty excruciating at times. Less pain would be great!

It's really common to fall asleep while listening to them. I tried to make it through every track at least once while awake so I'd "know" what was on it, but honestly, I don't think I ever did make it through the last track. I liked using using the hypnosis to help me go to sleep when I was so uncomfortable at the end of pregnancy, so the falling asleep was a godsend for me! And, HB totally worked for me even though I didn't consciously hear what was on all the tracks. j

Also, sometimes you can think you're asleep, but you're actually in hypnosis. I can't remember what they call it. I know it happened to me once because one night while listening to the track, my husband started talking to me, and I told him to "be quiet b/c xyz" and I had absolutely no recollection of it after the track was over. i thought I had been asleep the whole time and then "woke up" a while after the track ended, but my husband said I looked like I was awake during the track, and he couldn't believe that I had no memory of telling him to stop talking.


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## Beauchamp (Jan 12, 2009)

any update, Smokering? I keep thinking about this post of yours, wondering if hypnobabies might work for me, too.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Oh, hey. 

I'm in Week 5 of the program now - that's the last week, except for maintenance. I'll presumably have at least 10 weeks of maintenance, so it's not exactly the home stretch! But I've listened to most of the CDs now.

Whether or not it's "working"... well, it's hard to say. It's definitely doing something. I find I can relax quite easily and deeply now at the start of each CD, and it's not the same as "ordinary" relaxing. I do tend to fall asleep during the CDs (as a PP said, it could be hypnotic amnesia, but I'm very tired these days so I suspect it's actual sleep). I tried to use hypnosis the other day when I got a blood test, but DD was watching and the tech was talking to me, so I couldn't really get into it. It was less painful than usual, though (not a fan of needles). I don't feel anaesthetised during the sessions, although the lady on the CD assures me that it's fine and I don't have to.

In terms of cynicism... there a few things about the scripts that bug me. There's one bit where the lady tells me to go to my "special place" with my baby and make friends with him. I don't personally believe I have a mystical connection to my baby (no offense if you do, it's just not part of my belief system), so the thought of "getting to know" him just seems... fake, like I'm imposing a personality on him. So I can't quite dig that. She also says a few odd phrases, like "deeper relax" and "breathe out slowly to your mind", which kinda drive me nuts. I'm trying to get over it, but I always have a mental hiccup every time she intones "deeper relax" and I think "It's RELAX DEEPLY, for goodness' sake!".

She's also big on getting you to affirm "I deserve a fast, easy birthing", which again kinda grates on my worldview. I want a fast, easy birthing, but I can't think of a good reason why I deserve one. And sadly I've been majorly depressed of late, so the whole empowering affirmation thing kinda backfires on me, depending on the day. There's a possibility I may have to birth in hospital, and even possibly have a C-section - the cord's wrapped 3 times around the baby's neck, or was at the last scan; I have another in a few weeks. It might all turn out fine, but I feel a bit grim about listening to serene statements about how my body and baby are doing everything perfectly, when chances are they're not. Basically, my mental health has seen better days.

So yeah, I think my cynicism might be hampering me to some extent, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it makes the CDs worthless. I'm not going to give up, anyway (although I have kinda stopped listening to my Pregnancy Affirmations). Guess I should update again after the birth!


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## prothyraia (Feb 12, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Smokering*
> 
> So I had an awful labour with DD and want to try Hypnobabies this time.
> 
> The thing is, I'm not very comfortable with the terminology or even some of the philosophy behind it. I believe that the mind is powerful and that hypnotism works (for some people at least, never tried it yet myself). I _don't_ believe that birth is inherently painless - I can't, after the pain last time! - and I tend to snort and giggle at euphemisms for contractions ("surges", "birthing waves" etc), referring to pain as "p***", talking about my "bubble of peace" and so on. No offense if you do those things - if they work for you, super. I just don't think I can use those words with a straight face. They're not me.


This is me, exactly. I used hypnobabies home study for my second birth (and am planning on using it again). I did not have a painless birth, but I was actually really comfortable - i.e. in the tub reading a novel between contractions- until the final two hours. And even when things were really intense, I was able to stay very physically *relaxed* . I recommend it, even if there were parts of many of the tracks that made me want to grit my teeth at some aspects.

Hey, maybe practice relaxing through that mental irritation actually helped, who knows?









Edited to add: Hah, and I just realized I already responded to this thread months ago.


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## SithLadyFred (Mar 17, 2011)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Smokering*
> 
> Oh, hey.
> 
> ...


I understand where you're coming from, especially with the "get to know your baby" bit, because that would totally get to me too.. is it possible instead of "getting to know" your baby in the sense they may mean you just focus on the physical stage of development your baby is in and visualize your baby slowly growing, safe and sound, within your womb? That's a little less "woo woo", you're not imposing any personality and you can still focus in on the baby being physically connected to you?

Reading this thread and some other reviews/critiques is making me think there needs to be a hypnotism birthing program for all us skeptics/cynics out there









Also, please do update after your birth! Hopefully the cord unwraps itself and you can go forth with the birth you had wanted!


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Quote:


> is it possible instead of "getting to know" your baby in the sense they may mean you just focus on the physical stage of development your baby is in and visualize your baby slowly growing, safe and sound, within your womb? That's a little less "woo woo", you're not imposing any personality and you can still focus in on the baby being physically connected to you?


I don't think it's how she means it in the scripts. She says thinks like "Make friends with your baby", and you're meant to take your baby to your special place, hold him in your arms, say his name (or a nickname) and kinda... hang out. Your interpretation is indeed less woo-woo, but it's not exactly "canon", KWIM? Maybe I'll do what you suggested and ignore the lady while she talks about that bit, though... it's a fairly short segment of the CDs, so I can probably tune it out pretty easily.


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## prothyraia (Feb 12, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Smokering*
> 
> I don't think it's how she means it in the scripts. She says thinks like "Make friends with your baby", and you're meant to take your baby to your special place, hold him in your arms, say his name (or a nickname) and kinda... hang out. Your interpretation is indeed less woo-woo, but it's not exactly "canon", KWIM? Maybe I'll do what you suggested and ignore the lady while she talks about that bit, though... it's a fairly short segment of the CDs, so I can probably tune it out pretty easily.


Yeah....

Once I got to the "maintenance" phase of the program last time, I just cut out that one entirely. I found it the least useful. And I actually do believe in the possibility of a mystical connection, blah blah blah, and I wasn't getting it from that.


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