hynobirthing... What the heck?!

[coastie]

My wife and I attended our first "birthing" class tonight.

In my humble opinion, it was a joke.

The first part of the class was to teach the expecting mothers to "relax" by the instructor reading this script that said things like:

Let the relaxation carress your entire body.

You can feel every muscle and every molecule in your body relax.

Your eyes are so heavy that you cannot open them.

Imagine your mind as empty and expansive as the sky.

Now imagine a gentle breeze blowing through your mind whisping away all tension.

Go to a comfortable place where you are alone but not lonely where you can escape your surroundings and all pressures in your environment.

Go to a place in your childhood where you can be yourself.

Of course, my wife, being a very down to earth and somewhat cynical person, spent her time trying not to laugh at everyone who was going along with this stuff.

Apparently this type of "hypnobirthing" is getting really popular in this area, along with the "relaxation tapes" that have the sounds of nature with harps playing in the background.

This music is supposed to relax you, however, my wife was not impressed and was actually stressed out that she was expected to like this stuff.

We had a friend who had a little girl about a year and a half ago who tried the "hypnobirthing" out and gave it up (and consequently threw the "way-too jubilant" bird CD out the window) after about an hour of "sleep breathing" and rolling on the "Pregnancy ball".

I am really not impressed with these New Age techniques of "oneness" and "mind over matter" and after talking to every woman I could about labor pains, found out that there is no such thing as a pain-free labor without heavy medication.

So I guess we are just along for the ride and to get a little education about the birth proccess.

Anyone have any similar experiences with this new phenonmena?

 

[CeCe]

LOL. I think things just get sillier as we go along. I would have laughed out loud. Whoever came up with this must have emptied their own minds.

I used Lamaze/Bradley; and while the breathing techniques are beneficial, and I definately advise learning them, there is no gentle breeze that's gonna blow that pain away.

It doesn't sound like they are warning the husbands about a little thing called "transition".

It varies, but guys need to be ready for that. LOL. I could not stand the sound of my husband's voice. And we've been together a loooong time. and I love him dearly. But I actually asked him to not speak.

Does this class teach breathing techniques? Because that is the one thing that really did help me. It does help take the edge off of the contractions.

 

[Knight]

My wife and I will start the birthing classes next month. If they are doing this kind of stuff I'm going to have a field day.

Most of this junk is derived from eastern mysticism. Sounds great in the birthing classes but I guarantee that all of it gets thrown to the wind when the first contraction hits.

My wife's already planning on the epidural.

PS: Coastie, when is the baby due?

 

[Blessed75]

okay - i just had a baby last year and having another one in october - um - when a woman goes into labor, all that stuff goes RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW. I wanted to do everything "NATURAL" - ha, ha, ha!!! I was screaming for them to give me drugs and then -all was right with the world. I was so focused on each contraction, how much I was dialated and whether or not my husband was going to pass out again b/c reality had hit him that my "focus point" and all that other stuff went out the window - I thought I had everything under control etc. but when the contractions start getting stronger and it's the real deal - it's a whole different ball game. But I can tell you one thing - every bit of pain I went through was so worth it - I decided to do it again 1 1/2 later! Good luck to you both! oh and a word of advice - whatever your wife tells you to do in the delivery room - do it - even if she tells you to stand on your head and spit quarters.........lol.............oh my poor husband!

 

[EJO]

Dude, go and get your self in another class.
I think it would be funny if they had like a drill seargent birthing class.

Big mean looking instructor barking out commands-
Come on now! Push that thing out! You need to PUSH GIRL.

Bad idea, never mind...

 

[imasharp]

We went to lamaze and loved it. I think the breathing is great. I still use it when I get irritated. Instead of blowing, I breath in 1 2 3 4 and breath out 1 2 3 4. I don't know about the hypnobirthing. I think it would have to be for certain people. I did try to think of a good place and that would be ok at first. I ended up having a c-section because my boys were too big. I can however say that even thru cancer and other things, that if I try to concentrate on something and let my body go a little, it helps to get thru some of the pain.

Christy

 

[lucypevensie]

We had a little section on hypnosis in our classes. We went along with it for the most part. I understand that cynical people don't do well with hypno. DH and I are both somewhat cynical or at least skeptical about such things. But I managed to lay my personality aside to give the idea a try. It did indeed relax me, not enough to resist an epidural, but I held out for a looong time. For me it wasn't so much practicing imagery, but remaining in control of myself. Calm and controlled breathing are very beneficial but require lots of self-control and focus.

Hypnobirthing isn't for everyone, but it is great for some people. I say let 'em go for it.

 

[ukok]

let me tell you that you can go to as many classes as you wish - nothing, but nothing, will ever prepare you for first time around childbirth.

Proffessionals can sugar coat as much as they like, but my advice is to ask for a refund if their advice/techniques, fail to......deliver.

 

[ukok]

that wasn't intended as the bad pun that it turned out to be. I apologise profusely.

 

[Blessed75]

well i'm rollin' over here! i thought it was funny ukok. I agree - the first birth is different than all others. Everyone is different though and what works for one, may not work for another. For instance - my best friend thought she had toxemia so she went to the doctor and when they examined her, he was like - can you say 5 cm?!?!?!? - she was dialated and halfway ready to deliver - by the time she got to the hospital her daughter literally just popped right out - her second was completely different though and she had a difficult time. She depended on the breathing technique b/c she didn't use an epidural or any other drugs.

 

[coastie]

We're going to stick, with the class (mainly because we live in a po-dunk town of about 20,000 with the nearest city being 2.5 hours away. So there really isn't any other gig around for a LONG way.

I like the boot camp birthing class idea. I would flourish in an atmosphere like that, but my wife would probably kick the instructors teeth out.

Honestly, my wife is going to do it her own way no matter how many so-called "experts" advise her too. She's a very determined woman.

I thought the class was utterly ridiculous, but I guess we're going back. Oh well, maybe next time Elizabeth will really shock every one and pump out some push-ups while they are imagining gentle breezes flowing through their mind and goin to a place in their childhood where they can be themselves.

Right before I left to go to work, the class was watching a video of a woman who chose to use every New Age trick in the book. From fung sui (sp?) to light, sound and aroma therapy.

Well, you'd have to watch the video to see how odd this person was. It blew my mind, if my wife did stuff like that, I probably wouldn't want to be around because I'd be so creeped out.

Zach

 

[fieldmouse3]

Oh my lord.....HYPNOSIS?!?! If I EVER get pregnant, I want all the drugs that have ever been invented for this sort of thing. Heck, they can knock me unconscious if they want...I don't really NEED to be there for the birth. I'll be there for the next 18 years of the kid's life!!!

 

[IslandBreeze]

Oh my lord.....HYPNOSIS?!?! If I EVER get pregnant, I want all the drugs that have ever been invented for this sort of thing. Heck, they can knock me unconscious if they want...I don't really NEED to be there for the birth. I'll be there for the next 18 years of the kid's life!!!

AMEN! I hear ya loud and clear! The first thing I'm doing after I get pregnant is talking to my doctor about when and where I can have that epidural!

 

[EJO]

GET THE DRUGS!!!
I am of course not a woman, but have watched my wife go through it 4 times. Get the drugs....drugs...

Ejo- the Hellafreak

 

[ukok]

AMEN! I hear ya loud and clear! The first thing I'm doing after I get pregnant is talking to my doctor about when and where I can have that epidural!

Cammie, hope yours works if you do have an epidural!... i had an epidural with my first child. After agonising for 18 and a half hours i was told that it hadn't worked! - like i needed telling!...turns out i had something called a 'blind spot' which the midwife said the anaesthetic couldn't reach. Also, have suffered with back pain ever since, but lot's of people do indeed have epidurals that work efficiently and they don't suffer any ill effects at all. I agree that you should make enquiries fairly early on though, because although you can't really choose when your baby decides to enter the world, it might be at a time when the anaesthetist is not working(mine had to be called in specially - even though it did turn out to be a waste of time). My daughter was born at 1:03 am, and he had gone home!... i know that time might be a long way off, or you may decide against having children of your own but my advice is _make back up plans for everything from transport to the hospital to alternative painkilling strategies.

 

[Beckijhn]

Okay the first one was Bradley method - I'm a Bradley so that was cool, but two days of induced pain and breathing methods was NOT a good combination.

The second one I got to the hospital too late for drugs and that was cool too (remembered the breathing and that really helped, but I remember saying something like "I don't want to do this, I'm NOT going to do this, you can't MAKE me do this!")

The third one - drugs and drugs and drugs! That kids was laid back till he was 8!

I'd go with the epidural but breathing helps with getting that too!

 

[IslandBreeze]

Cammie, hope yours works if you do have an epidural!... i had an epidural with my first child. After agonising for 18 and a half hours i was told that it hadn't worked! - like i needed telling!...turns out i had something called a 'blind spot' which the midwife said the anaesthetic couldn't reach. Also, have suffered with back pain ever since, but lot's of people do indeed have epidurals that work efficiently and they don't suffer any ill effects at all. I agree that you should make enquiries fairly early on though, because although you can't really choose when your baby decides to enter the world, it might be at a time when the anaesthetist is not working(mine had to be called in specially - even though it did turn out to be a waste of time). My daughter was born at 1:03 am, and he had gone home!... i know that time might be a long way off, or you may decide against having children of your own but my advice is _make back up plans for everything from transport to the hospital to alternative painkilling strategies.

Don't tell me that! I'll never want to have kids!!! Luckily, we live in a very small town, where the anesthesiologists are less than 20 minutes away and are always on-call. It's funny though. A lot of people my age thinking about having children want a "natural birth." I have ALWAYS said I want drugs. I have no shame... bring on the drugs!

 

[ukok]

I am genuinely pleased that you live in such a place as to have access to all of the ammenities that you will require! And in a way, y'know, you may find that if you expect that you will need "drugs", it just might turn out, that you find the pain not as intense or unbearable as you thought and manage without them. Both my childrens births were very different. I was a wimp on both occassions, but the second time around, even though labour was as long ( though i left it later before going to hospital so the nurse reckoned she would only count my labour from the time i entered the hospital!), i managed with just gas and air and a lot of grunting!!!, what a sight! Not that i cared.

 

[BeanMak]

I can raise my hand to having 2 births with out heavy drugs or epidurals. Both of my kids had to be induced so don't think I was having wimpy contractions. Pitocin labor is INTENSE. But breathing sure helped!

 

[breanna]

Whatever your wife chooses for labor, drugs, no drugs, etc, make sure you fight for what she wants when you actually get to the hospital. The nurses that I had were horrible - they wouldn't listen to a thing I said. I didn't want drugs, and they kept pressuring me to "just get an epidural," and had no respect at all for what I wanted. Your wife will need you to stick up for her! They wouldn't even let me get up and walk around. Which, btw, is a great distraction method, and one that I really recommend - makes the time go a lot faster than when you are strapped in a hospital bed and have nothing to do but watch the clock and think about how much you hurt! Also, hot showers, hot tubs, etc. help to take the edge off.