Hypnobabies Birth Review

I really want to talk about my experience with Hypnobabies in part because I found the reviews I read a little confusing (but so positive that I just went ahead and bought the home-study course anyway).  What I came across was several glowing reviews where it seemed to have worked just like the mama hoped, and several glowing reviews where either the mama didn't use it or said it didn't work.  This program has hardly any actual negative reviews, and what was there didn't seem very relevant to me.

I was a little confused by this--5 stars and she didn't even use it for her birth?  5 stars and she didn't think it worked?

I get it now.

First, I want to say that if you are using the program, I really encourage you to bring up your Bubble of Peace, or maybe skip this and come back after your birth.  My experience was really different from the one that you are working to cultivate, even though I would definitely recommend the program.  I'm a fan of hypnosis, I consider this to have been a Hypno-birth, but it didn't go as I expected, and I don't want my experience to undermine your confidence in the process.  I think that confidence is crucial because so much of this takes place in your head (all of it, really).

You can see from my other two posts about the Hypnobabies program (here and here) that I'm a big fan of the preparation process.  It is so much more valuable than just practicing for your actual birth--I feel strongly that it significantly impacted the positivity and eagerness with which I approached the last weeks of pregnancy.  I felt confident, calm, and capable, not to mention the overlap with meditation left me more emotionally steady and just less neurotic than I would have been otherwise.

I think this is why people can give it such glowing reviews even when they don't use the hypnosis or it doesn't work the way they expected--especially as a second time mom, I know how different I felt emotionally and mentally using this program.  Frankly, I think it might be worth it just for that!

As for the actual birth, I had a strongly divided experience.  I felt like there were really two techniques being taught.  One is immediate, deep, total body relaxation on cue.  This worked amazingly well for me, in practice and when I used it in labor.  In one practice session I realized I was snoring while awake--maybe not the most charming behavior, but seriously, deeply relaxed.



Kevin used his relaxation cue (a hand on my forehead or shoulder and the word "relax") for about 2.5 hours straight once my labor finally picked up.  And being relaxed in labor is a HUGE benefit--it took the pain of those contractions and brought it from the experience of holding a hot coal to shaking hands with someone who is squeezing WAY too hard.  Neither are pleasant experiences, but the latter is something you can even smile through.  But as a doula, I know that relaxation techniques are rarely effective for the whole labor--around transition you really need more than just a relaxed body.  This is where rhythmic movements and vocalizations tend to come in, along with breathing techniques and frequent positional changes.

For hypnobabies users, this is where "Hypno-Anesthesia" is supposed to come in--it is meant to soothe the sensation of pain into one of only pressure.  I'm not sure how other people experience this--there's a big emphasis on how contractions can be experienced as "a big, tight hug for you and your baby" or "the sensation of a blood pressure cuff tightening."  This is where it broke down for me--no matter what I was listening to, how focused or relaxed I was, the hypno-anesthesia just couldn't touch my pain.  It basically made no difference whatsoever.

This is interesting to me because I never really felt that I fully grasped hypno-anesthesia in my practice sessions, either.  Maybe I brought in too much skepticism, but I tried to be really open-minded, and certainly the relaxation cues worked like magic for me.  But I never could see (or feel, or imagine) my "bright orange, shimmering hypno-anesthesia," it felt like it flickered in and out on me.  In the program they emphasize that this is ok, keep doing it and the message is getting through to your subconscious, and I think I did a good job of not stressing out about it "not working."  But then it turned out that it also didn't work at my birth, which was disappointing.  I really could have used some "hypno-anesthesia" while I was getting an extremely painful epidural and couldn't be in a position to completely relax my body.

So, at the end of the day, did I have a comfortable, pain free birth?  No, definitely not.  But Hypno-Babies dramatically improved my experience of pregnancy and birth, and provided emotional, mental, and even physical support (through relaxation), and I would highly recommend to anyone who feels drawn to this kind of program.

If you have any questions about my experience, or are on the fence about giving it a try, please use the comments section, and I'll reply as thoroughly as I can!

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