From HypnoBirthing® to Hypnobabies
My perspective comes from taking the HypnoBirthing® classes as a pregnant mom
(2002),
using Hypnobabies materials as a pregnant mom (2002, 2004, and 2006), teaching
HypnoBirthing® classes
for two years (2004 - 2006) and attending HypnoBirthings as a doula (2002+), and now from teaching
Hypnobabies (2006+). I do not write this to "bash" HypnoBirthing®. I do
not believe there is one right way to prepare for birth for any woman, but I do
sincerely hope a woman has all the information she needs prior to making her
choice on how to prepare. I write this article to explain why I switched (since
many have asked). I took HypnoBirthing® classes with my second baby and did have a
painless birth (which is why I went on to become an instructor). It turns out,
though, according to the 2005 HypnoBirthing® Institute statistics (which I was
privy to as an instructor at that time) that only about a third of women birthing at home (which I did) have
painless births and even fewer women have painless births in the hospitals. I
was very disappointed when I learned those statistics, but they did match what I
was seeing in real life. I was also really
frustrated that there’s virtually no consumer info while my students are
birthing in the land of early epidurals and elective inductions. In the version
I taught (last updated in May 2005) there was a check-list style birth plan
worksheet that did outline various options but there was not a thorough
discussion of the benefits and risks of each option. What that translated to was
many women submitting to medical procedures that neither they nor their babies
really needed, in many cases because they didn't have the information needed to
intelligently discuss their options and alternatives.
Why I Switched
-
Whenever I read a discussion at
online bulletin boards on pregnancy sites, I
consistently read stories of women who have used
both and preferred Hypnobabies as being more
effective and comprehensive. In real life I know
of midwives who strongly recommend Hypnobabies
over HypnoBirthing as well due to the very
effective (more effective, it seems) Hypnobabies
techniques. I think this is
largely due to the hypno-anesthesia techniques
taught in Hypnobabies. HypnoBirthing® teaches
really good relaxation (as do other childbirth
programs), but avoids teaching anesthesia
techniques. Relaxation is not enough for most
women to experience totally painless birthing or
we’d see painless birth with Bradley and other
natural childbirth methods quite frequently.
Hypnobabies uses the same techniques as patients
planning unmedicated surgery. It’s powerful
stuff!
-
Hypnobabies gives moms many more recorded
materials with which to practice as well as
written out scripts for their Birth Partners.
There are now two CDs with HypnoBirthing®, but I
and many other women found the limited materials
to be insufficient for practice. I actually
bought a supplemental set from Hypnobabies when
I was planning my first birth using hypnosis.
Maybe that’s why I had a painless birth. My
husband and I got too frustrated trying to
figure out how to make a script out of the
little blurb descriptions in the HypnoBirthing®
book to practice much together and appreciated
the written scripts we were able to get through
Hypnobabies.
-
Hypnobabies includes consumer information.
Yay! This is vital. How do you make an informed
decision if you have no information? While you
definitely should choose a supportive provider
you trust, if you’re in an area where most
providers are medically-minded you are probably
going to end up choosing someone who isn’t 100%
philosophically aligned with you. You need to
know your stuff so that you can intelligently
navigate the many options that will be offered
to you. HypnoBirthing® doesn't cover consumer
information out of concern that a fear of birth
would be replaced by a fear of
hospitals/doctors/interventions/etc.
-
Hypnobabies talks about fetal positioning
and teaches you how to avoid back labor (which
can happen even if your baby is anterior). This
is really important as women in our culture tend
to spend lots of time in positions that
encourage a posterior baby (the typical cause of
back labor). HypnoBirthing® doesn't cover back
labor at all for fear of creating an expectation
in women that they will experience it.
-
Hypnobabies gets updated regularly. Kerry
(the creator) gets feedback from women using her
program and changes things per their suggestions
and comments. This is fabulous! Some childbirth
programs never change and simply insist that any
woman not satisfied with the results didn’t do
it right.
-
Hypnobabies moms are given hypnosis tools
that specifically allow them to open their eyes,
walk, talk, and move around while
remaining completely comfortable during labor.
HypnoBirthing® moms tend to stay still in order
to be relaxed and in my experience had
difficulty returning to a deep level of
relaxation after interruptions such as going to
the bathroom or talking to a nurse. Movement
during labor aids in rotating the baby and
bringing the baby well down into the pelvis.
Upright positions help labor progress by
applying the baby's head to the cervix, thereby
helping it open. Being able to stay in hypnosis
while taking advantage of the positive impact on
labor of movement and gravity is very important.
-
Hypnobabies is effective for the entire
birthing process, including the last portion of
labor prior to pushing. In my experience,
HypnoBirthing® moms do really well for the first
2/3 or so of their labors and then have
difficulty remaining relaxed and comfortable for
the last portion.
-
Hypnobabies teaches gentle "ahhhhh"
pushing (and we call it that!☺) while
HypnoBirthing® teaches that pushing does
not have a physiologic cause (ie. it's socially
conditioned). HypnoBirthing®
teaches Birth Breathing instead of pushing
(which I think is really the same thing as
gentle, open-glottis pushing only the creator of
HypnoBirthing® doesn't seem to want to call it
that). The vast majority
of women birthing without medication experience
the urge to push, which is often an involuntary
muscle reflex rather than a conscious "my body
is telling me to push and so I will push" sort
of thing. I've known more than one midwife
to express frustration and dismay over a woman
fighting her body's instincts telling her to
push because she believes that she isn't
supposed to push but should instead just
breathe. It is very important to listen to your
body, especially when you are birthing a baby!
I do think HypnoBirthing® has good things to offer
and I did give birth painlessly after taking the
HypnoBirthing® class (although I also practiced
mainly with my Hypnobabies tapes). HypnoBirthing®
does work well for some women. I no longer felt
comfortable teaching it, however, when I realized
that so few HypnoBirthing® students actually
experience completely comfortable birthing. I've
found HypnoBirthing® to be most successful with home
birthing women who have fewer distractions than
their hospital-birthing peers. The bare-bones
simplicity of HypnoBirthing® may better suit some
personality types, but for women who are looking for
the most effective childbirth hypnosis program
available and are willing to put in the needed
effort and commitment, I believe Hypnobabies is a
superior choice. Hypnobabies has more content and
requires more of its students, but it's very simply
laid out and explained. Women who follow the
Hypnobabies program as it is taught tend to have
wonderful, comfortable, joyful births.
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