# Using hypnobabies during labor/birth



## liliaceae (May 31, 2007)

I plan on doing the hypnobabies home study for my birth (just started the program), but I'm wondering what it's like using it during labor and birth. Do you have to listen to the cds the whole time? Do you just listen periodically? I feel like I wouldn't really be happy listening to a cd the whole time, it seems like it would be taking me out of the birthing experience and excluding my husband. Has anyone birthed with hypnobabies? Can you tell me about your experience?


----------



## gemasita (Jul 1, 2005)

You can do it any way you want: Listen to the CDs, have someone read you some verbal hypnosis prompts, give yourself prompts in your head or outloud, or any combination of the above. It's very flexible. Also, you don't have to have headphones on to listen to the CDs. You can put the CDs on in the background during the birth. It's up to you and what works best for you. I've seen all combinations.


----------



## Emily's Mama (Apr 22, 2007)

I used Hypnobabies and had the same concerns as you.

In the end, I found it difficult to use the CDs during labour as a lot of it I was alone at home with my 3 year old, and even when my husband got home she was still distracting me. I couldn't really get into my self-hypnosis, I have to sadly admit. My husband using prompts didn't help very much either. In fact, the woman;s voice on the tape started to seriously bother me and I nearly threw my MP3 player across the room!







I think if I'd had someone to babysit DD1 ad started it earlier in labour, both listening to some more CDs and doing the self-hynosis, it may have been different. I don't think it helped me much until I was in transition/transformation.

THEN I think it did help. I was at hospital at this stage. During the end stages and pushing stage I had my husband put on the birthing affirmations and the final Pushing the Baby Out CDs on the labour room CD player. I used gas and air (in Australia, don't know if you can get gas and air in US hospitals). I think that plus the affirmations, etc definitely focussed me a lot and put me into a zone. Even my doula said she almost felt "zoned-out" too and everyone seemed very mellow. The CDs then were really what I needed, to have that encouragement that it was really going to happen, that I was really going to birth my baby, and helped me to push through, making the contractions far more manageable. To be honest, the pushing stage was quick and painless, different to when I was in earlier labour, so maybe there was some successful self-hypnosis there in the end, even though I didn't feel like there was at the time.

If I have another baby (unlikely though), I would use Hypnobabies again. I would just try doing more of it earlier in labour. And I'd try not to worry what everyone else was doing (hubby, daughter, etc). I actually felt it was much easier using Hypnobabies when I wasn't thinking about what DH was doing (I also initially didn't want him to feel left out or whatever, but then at the end of the day I realised he would be happier and have a better experience of the birth if I was a bit more distant but if he was not seeing me in so much pain, know what I mean?)


----------



## newtonscricket (Jun 15, 2005)

I used "Hypnobirthing" with my third child and "Hypnobabies" with my fourth. I listening to Hypnobirthing tapes on headphones with a walkman during pretty much my whole labor and Hypnobabies "tapes" on headphones from an MP3 player during pretty much my whole labor.

I liked the way the headphones and the tapes cut out everyone else in the room including my husband. I needed to be very internal and wasn't interested in interacting with anybody. It definitely didn't take me out of the birthing experience, it made it more possible to relax into it.

For me "hypnosis" is really not quite the right word for what I'm doing, or the we have the wrong idea of what "hypnosis" means. What the tapes help condition me to do is to relax enough that I experience the sensations as sensations and not pain, they help me go beyond fear and into total experience.

I just asked my husband if he felt more excluded from the last two births rather than the first two births where I wasn't wearing headphones. He said no, it just meant his support was nonverbal, physical and he didn't have to think of encouraging things to repeat over and over. And he had to manage my audio device









(Hi Jamie!)


----------



## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

You can use it however you want.







I've used hypnosis for four of my babies' births. Once I didn't listen to anything at all (just said affirmations in my head). Another time I listened to something pretty much all of the time. With a couple of births I had doulas giving me birth prompts verbally. With my last baby's birth I alternated between listening to Hypnobabies CDs, listening to folk rock music (Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel, etc.), having total silence, or having my doula give me birth prompts. I love Hypnobabies!







My hypnosis birth experiences were so much better than my epidural birth experience.


----------



## Phoebe (Jun 12, 2003)

You certainly can use it however you like.
I used it with ds#2. I didn't involve my dh in any of it. Gave him no prompts to use or anything. I listened to it daily to relax and it was difficult to stay awake. It payed for itself as far as I"m concerned when labor started and i needed to get some sleep stored up and went to be at 7:30pm knowing I'd be up all night later. It put me to sleep...that was worth a million bucks to me. When things got serious later that evening I completely forgot and didn't even consider hypnosis at that point! I handled labor very well and I did not find it unbearable at any point, even without hypnosis. It is very confidence building and it is a great tool to have. You can use it in any way that suits you.

Even though I didn't "use" it during labor, I bought it again for this baby#3. It has put me to sleep every night in my 3rd trimester. I haven't made it through one of the sessions without passing out...not one. And that again, is priceless!


----------



## callieollie (Jan 2, 2007)

I used hypnobabies with my dd and I loved it. I was also a little worried about whether I'd feel connected with dh because I didn't at all feel connected with him during my first birth. We took bradley classes and had a very difficult labor (30 hours of back labor) and dh was overwhelmed and didn't know what to do so he did nothing and I basically felt like I labored myself the whole time. I was afraid I'd feel similar with hypnobabies, but at least more comfortable and in control. But, I felt very connected with dh.

My dd's birth was super fast. It was only 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. I woke up with pressure waves (use the lingo - it helps!) 2-3 minutes apart but thinking they were just BH. I didn't even wake my dh up until an hour later, after they continued to be 2-3 minutes apart and 45 seconds long. I still didn't believe it was it yet and tried to convince him not to call the mw and doula because "it's probably nothing and I don't want to wake them!" Luckily, he ignored me and we headed for the birth center, which was an hour away. In the car (in the cd player not with headphones), I listened to birthing day affirmations (since I thought it would be a long day ahead of me, I figured I'd start with those). At first they were nice, but after awhile they just weren't cutting it. So we put on Easy First Stage (again in the cd player - totally forgot you're not supposed to play it in the car). This helped a lot. Dh also did the shoulder touch/relax cue which helped immensely. He would touch my shoulder and the pressure wave would literally just end within 5 seconds of him doing it. When we got to the birth center, we put the cd on again, but it was across the room and we were filling the tub so I couldn't really hear it. So, dh just continued with the shoulder/relax cue and my doulas also used the relax cue to help. I planned on listening to the pushing CD but I only pushed 4 minutes and it came as a surprise. I never felt that "I need to push" feeling. It was more a "I need to poop NOW!" and my body just started pushing her out. My dh reminded me to do the Ahhh breathing, which helped tons too. I started panicking a bit during pushing because I didnt' know what was happening. I had no idea I was pushing, I seriously just thought I was pooping!








I mean, I'd only been at the birth center for 30 minutes and 20 minutes before she was born I was only 6 cm! But when dh reminded me to do the ahhhh breathing, I was able to relax and not feel panicked anymore.

I LOVE hypnobabies. I can't wait to use it again for my next pregnancy/birth!


----------



## Shelsi (Apr 4, 2005)

I liked listening to the cd so that I was cut off from everyone else. Normally I am a very touchy feely person who can't stand to be alone. In labor however it turns out that I just want to be alone and if anyone touches me in any way I will kill them. We did hypnobabies with baby #2 so we knew ahead of time that dh was not to talk to me, touch me, etc. His role is to keep people away from me.

As the pp's stated though you could certainly use it any way you want. They have prompts for your dh to use. We never even bothered learning those though because I knew I wouldn't want to hear his voice or have him touch me.

I listened to the birthing cd the entire time but my labor was short and I'm not even sure if it played more than once. I wasn't even really that aware of the cd until I was pushing and suddenly realized it was saying something about your cervix opening. It's like I "woke up" suddenly because it no longer applied to the situation. I remember pulling the head phones off then I pushed dd out.

Hypnobabies worked AWESOME for me. I had no pain at all. None. It was amazing.


----------



## somelady (Nov 16, 2008)

I did hypnobabies for my first about a month ago. I agree you can make whatever sort of setup you want, but whatever you're planning, have a plan B. I had put whole bunches of stuff on my mp3 player, but not the pushing guide, cause I was planning to use the cd on the birth center's cd player. Then their cd player was missing, so I just went with the relaxation music, but where did I get fouled up? During pushing. Probably still would've happened either way, but it really didn't help my state of mind.


----------



## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

It is a really good idea to have multiple options for playing/listening in case of technical difficulties.







I also liked having the option of headphones or speakers. Sometimes I wanted headphones to get more focused but other times the headphones bugged me and I wanted to use speakers.


----------



## kiwiva (Apr 17, 2006)

I used HypnoBabies and listened to the CDs at some points during my birthing time and listened to music at others and nothing at other times. It didn't separate me from DH at all, even when I had headphones on. He was very aware of what was going on and used the "Relax" cue a lot with me. At some points I really wanted to be in my zone and shut them all out.

I did listen to the Push the Baby Out CD over and over while pushing and it was a GREAT help!

I used both headphones and a CD player. Headphones would so NOT have worked for me during pushing. Tho I think my mw and doula may have wished I had headphones at that point as the calm voice was bugging them; I pushed for a while.

I want to say, since you just started the program, that I absolutely LOVED it. I found the daily practice to be sooo wonderful and restful. And I really liked the affirmations. I was the calmest pregnant woman ever. I wish I could find a program for daily life that I could use now. Enjoy!


----------



## gemasita (Jul 1, 2005)

(Hi Jen!)

As Emily's Mama pointed out, it's good to start using your tools early in your birthing time. I've head a few other Hypno-moms say that they knew in retrospect that they should have started earlier. (But never heard anyone say that they started TOO early!) It's usually much easier to deepen your hypnosis as things move along if you start early. Great tip.

There are some really amazing birth stories on this thread!


----------



## amnda527 (Aug 6, 2006)

I used hypnobabies with my first. During pregnancy it was the perfect way to relax and wind down after work. I feel that it really boosted my confidence, and it helped me to feel like, "I can do this!!" I had a quick labor, (under 6 hours) and it was pretty intense. At no point during labor did I feel like, "I really want to listen to my cds" I felt like I already knew what I needed to do. I never "turned myself off", I could never really get into that. I relaxed with every contraction and was as limp and loose as possible. Even though I didn't use it during labor, I know it had a positive effect on my daughter's birth, and I plan on using it again for this baby!


----------



## wombatclay (Sep 4, 2005)

Hypnobabies with dd2's vbac... I had the early birth time cd saved to my mp3 player and since I often had cotractions at night I started listening to that track on a loop every night.









I'd done this for two nights, the third night I woke up every hour (when the track ended) and the contractions were stronger. My water broke so I kept resting and listening to that track!

I listened in the car on the way to the hospital and for a while I used my mp3 player with earbuds. I remember telling dh I didn't want the mp3 player anymore when I got in the tub, and I didn't think to get the mp3 player when I was pushing though I think it would have helped.

If there is a next time, I'll probably make sure to tell dh or the doula or the midwife that's I'd like the pushing track, even if I've put away the other tracks. You could always use just one earbud so you could have the track but still listen to other stuff too.

Oh, and I've heard a lot of people say that having the tracks playing out loud in the room gets everyone a bit "comfy/zoned" so that may be good if you're going to a hospital and wont know all your attendants.


----------



## mommyfied (Jun 25, 2007)

I had everything loaded onto my mp3 player. I always used one earbud so I wasn't completely shut out from things I wanted, but it allowed me to easily block out the things I didn't want. You use it however you want.

I had a quick and easy labor too. And it truly did feel like pressure. It was just like strong BH up until transformation ( ?? - can't remember the lingo!) At that point I thought I was just entering active labor. The pressure was intense, but still not painful. Pushing was a different story... I didn't listen to my pushing track and wish I would have. Things were kind of crazy because no one was expecting me to be fully dilated at that point and the hospital staff was buzzing around trying to draw blood and put in my hep lock, get me on my back in preparation for the ob, etc.







I remember being really tense... so tense that my fingers were tingling at one point. I'd loved to have been able to put that track in my ear and just ignore all that. Relaxation is key!! I like the idea of having the CD playing so that the staff has to listen too. That may have helped the mood. Maybe have it ready on the mp3 player and CD just in case.


----------

