Hypno-Birthing

It's been a while since I've posted anything.  Dani has been born and is doing great, but more on that in my next post :)

First I want to say a little bit about "hypnobirthing".  We didn't take any of the typical Lamaze or normally recommended birthing classes.  I decided that I wanted to try hypno-birthing.  Because of my Multiple Sclerosis I was told that I would be unable to get the much coveted epidural.  My choices were natural/unmedicated birth or I would be put under general anesthesia and given a cesarean.

After a not so brief moment (read: days) of panic I finally settled down and decided that I could do this without medication.  I always had the fall-back of getting knocked out.. right?

So, luckily, my local hospital offered a class in hypnobirthing.  Ok, a little hippie-dippy... but hey, at this point, anything that might help me was worth trying!

The woman who taught the course was VERY nice and due to my special (medical) situation she let me attend a few classes with some women who were farther along than I was, so I could start early. After I attended those, I started my "real" class with 2 couples who were due when I was.

I really enjoyed the classes.  I can't say that I was truly hypnotized.  I didn't cluck like a chicken.  What DID help me was the mindset.  Women have been giving birth for millions of years without medication.  Our bodies are designed to do this!  Most of the pain of childbirth is caused by fear and the tension that it causes.  Just relax and trust your body!

We watched videos of women giving birth without any medical intervention.  Usually they just had nurses popping in, checking their progress, and basically observing.  There wasn't any screaming, they just sort of groaned, gave a louder grunt, and BAM, there was the baby!

So, with that "ammo" in my head I felt SO much better about having my baby.  I could do it.. I absolutely KNEW I could!  So, the classes, more than anything, were reassuring and helped me overcome all the mental pictures of screaming pain-ridden women that had been installed in my head by the movies and stories I'd been exposed to my whole life.  For that reason alone, the class was more than worth it!

This is the book I was given for my class.  If you are considering an unmedicated birth, read this book! It is so reassuring and encouraging!