Bright Blessings to you!!!
Blair
(Blair had a challenging Pitocin induced birth, but did it comfortably with Hypnobabies!)
I did research on Hyp-birth when I was doing my own comparison shopping before my second birth. What I discovered was that Hypbirth includes ONLY the CDs, and if I remember correctly a video explaining how to use them. There is no childbirth information at all, so you need to go elsewhere to get all the information you need to be fully informed on how to have as safe and healthy a pregnancy and birth as possible. As for the hypnosis, like Hypnobabies, Hypbirth does include a way for women to enter hypnosis very quickly, which is good. But unlike Hypnobabies, Hyp-birth does NOT teach a way to remain deeply in hypnosis and very comfortable while remaining upright and mobile. Which means that many women probably need to remain in bed to be deeply relaxed if things get intense for them at any point.
That is what happened to me while using regular hypnobirthing, (for my first birth) and the result was a much longer birth than I likely would have had if I had been able to remain upright and mobile, as I did with my Hypnobabies birth. That was one of the main reasons I knew Hypnobabies was the best choice for me, and it really came in handy during my second birthing. In fact, I walked very calmly into the birthing center at full dilation. That's something I never could have done in my first birthing.
Basically, even though Hyp-birth includes much more in depth hypnosis techniques than regular hypnobirthing, it still didn't have the two things I found to be missing during my first birth. Namely, a complete childbirth education (so I could understand all my options in the rare case that complications arose, and discuss them intelligently with my caregiver - plus use natural alternatives avoid to medical intervention, when possible) and a way to remain calm and comfortable while upright during the more intense parts of the birth. Even though I looked into Hyp-birth while preparing for my second birth, I had discovered during my first birth that I needed more birthing information than I had learned through my hypnobirthing classes, so choosing a program that didn't include ANY childbirth information wasn't a good fit for me. And once I found out that it didn't specifically teach "mobile" hypnosis skills, my decision was clear. I ordered Hypnobabies and had a fabulous, fully informed, pain-free and mobile birth, just as I hoped I would!
-Susan
I took a hypnobirthcourse when I was pregnant with my first daughter, and ended up not really using any of the techniques for a variety of reasons. For one thing (the big one), I was never really sold on the idea that it would actually work. There weren't that many recorded scripts to listen to; my "birth partner" was supposed to supplement those by reading other scripts to me, but DH lost interest in the whole project pretty quickly and was always "too tired" to go over anything with me (which made me frustrated and angry); I found the instructions for the breathing exercises to be confusing and never got the hang of the exercises themselves; and the book itself, while it has good information, isn't laid out in a very helpful format.
By the time I got induced, I had pretty much lost interest in going natural. I got an epi when things got ouchy, and gave birth to a lovely little girl. Not a bad experience by any means, but I decided this time around that I'd like to have more control and more options than the first time around.
I haven't actually birthed using the Hypnobabies course yet, but I have SO much more faith in it than in hypnobirthing. The week-by-week (and in the maintenance phase, day-by-day) schedule is VERY easy to follow. There are more CD scripts to listen to covering more topics. DH is still not very interested (not negative, just not willing to prepare in any way), but I feel like it doesn't matter nearly as much as I have so much more information available to me--plus I've hired a doula who is really interested in hypnosis, so she'll be there to help me out when needed.
I started doing the course at about 5 months and have followed it pretty faithfully. It's basically really relaxing and enjoyable, so it hasn't been a chore to do it. And I've been sleeping better than I did with my first pregnancy, so that alone is worth it! Another big plus has been reading all the wonderful birth stories here, which have given me much more confidence than I had with my first pregnancy and birth.
So that's my two cents! Have faith in yourself!
Sarah
I took a basic hypnobirthing class with my first child. I found the class empowering, and it enabled me to relax. However, they did not teach us anything but how to relax. I never really felt like I was deeply in hypnosis. During the birth I was relaxed but I did end up asking for narcotics. At the time I knew very little about pain medication.
With my second pregnancy I used the Hypnobabies program and it was amazing. I was deeply in hypnosis, and there are so many wonderful scripts. There is also SO much information on staying healthy and low risk, as well as choices in childbirth. It was so great I flew across country to become an instructor!! :o) I definitely recommend the Hypnobabies program.
Rose Quintilian, HCHI
I took a private hypnobirthing class with my hypnodoula. I was not happy with the material or the tapes (only 2 come with class). My hypnodoula was great and she supplemented the material some, but not enough for me to become comfortable and confident in hypnosis. I then found the Hypnobabies course and ordered it and switched to it. My doula worked with me to learn the new cues and changes and she thought it was great too. If you take a hypnobirthing course, make sure the person truly has a background in hypnosis and is not just a childbirth person who learned hypnosis via hypnobirthing training. Mine was a truly certified hypnotherapist and childbirth educator with strong backgrounds in both. Otherwise you don't really get the benefit of having a one on one work with hypnotherapist.
I personally preferred the Hypnobabies and would choose it again. I love my hypnodoula, but I did not care for the hypnobirthing material. The book doesn't explain everything - leaves a lot of holes to be filled in by class instructor and they only give you two tapes which don't really help that much in my opinion. The rainbow relaxation helps you relax but doesn't really give a lot of post-hypnotic suggestions and doesn't really prepare you nearly as well as the Hypnobabies CDs. The Hypnobabies course is so much more complete than hypnobirthing, although a few people might find their simpler approach preferable, most people don't. The extra scripts in the Hypnobabies keeps you from becoming bored listening to same thing all the time and gives you much more tools and scripts to work with.
I had my dear son with Hypnobabies in December and it went very well and I did not have pain, although I was uncomfortable at times from the pressure and tightening which was sometimes much more than I expected.
Sandy
