Hypnobirthing Classes Near Me

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FAQs:

What is Hypnobirthing?

HypnoBirthing is a form of self-hypnosis that is designed to help birthing people move through the labor and birthing process in a calm, relaxed state. It was first introduced in 1989 by hypnotherapist Marie Mongan to help reduce anxiety, fear, and pain during childbirth. Many proponents say that it may help shorten labor and reduce the need for cesarean deliveries

What are Hypnobirthing Classes?

Hypnosis, visualization and deep relaxation techniques can take weeks or months to master. Moms-to-be and their partners attend small weekly group hypnobirthing classes where moms practice the techniques with their partners. Students may also be asked to practice the techniques at home every day leading up to their due dates. These classes may also include pregnancy nutrition advice and other tips for how to have a minimal- or no-intervention birth. You may also learn about what happens during the labor process and get information about hiring doulas, delayed cord clamping, and reducing pregnancy interventions.

Who Should Practice Hypnobirthing?

Hypnobirthing is perfect for a mom who has a quiet or inward reaction to stress. It takes much practice to be able to maintain a sense of peace through the intensity of birth. If you area person who handles stress by going inwards and focusing deeply, hypnobirthing is perfect for you!

What is the Difference Between Hypnobabies and HypnoBirthing?

Both of the techniques are actually similar to some extent as they both involve self-hypnosis. The difference is that hypnobabies teaches you medical-grade hypnosis techniques, usually called hypno-anesthesia. And unlike hypnobirthing, which takes you to some sort of sleeping mode, hypnobabies involves “staying awake” during childbirth. A fun fact about hypnobabies is that it was founded by a hypnobirthing instructor who believed medical-grade hypnosis techniques are more effective in training the subconscious to give a more relaxed and peaceful birth.

What is the Difference Between Lamaze and Hypnobirthing?

Lamaze was created in the 1950s by French obstetrician Fernand Lamaze. The method promotes evidence-based birthing practices including breathing techniques and comfort measures. It’s one of the most well-known birthing methods, mostly due to their famous “hee hee hoo” breathing technique, which they have now abandoned. The method doesn’t address mindset and partner support as fully as other methods. Hypnobirthing is a birthing method rooted in the premise that birth is a natural process that can be hindered by mindset. It promotes the utilization of self-hypnosis, relaxation, visualization, and trust of one’s body to safely birth. The main thrust of this program is unmedicated birth for low-risk mothers. While it does discuss letting go of fear and allowing the birthing process to progress no matter what happens, it lacks the education about the evidence for interventions that others provide.

When Should I Take a Hypnobirthing Class?

You can begin your hypnobirthing classes anytime following your 20-week scan and many women start between 28-32 weeks so they have plenty of time to get into a great mindset and practice the techniques. Women do still benefit with only two or three weeks to practice so its never to late to add some hypnobirthing tools to your birth preparation.

How Long Does it Take to Learn Hypnobirthing?

Every person is unique, it can take as little as two weeks to become confident with the hypnobirthing techniques and mindset but ideally give yourself 6-8 weeks. The more practice you do the easier it is to drop down into the state of deep relaxation which is so helpful during birth.

Does Hypnobirthing Actually Work?

If you’re wondering this, we encourage you to think about what you mean by “work”. Do you mean: reduce pain? Eliminate pain? Help you manage anxiety? Help make labor easier? Improve birth outcomes? Ultimately, it’s important to recognize what you want to achieve from a birthing process and decide if those techniques will actually help you achieve that. 

If you’re expecting hypnobirthing to eliminate all pain, then you may be disappointed by it, because it’s not likely that any birthing method, hypnosis, or relaxation technique can completely eliminate pain from labor. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t still make a significant difference in your mental and physical state during labor. 

Research has shown that using hypnobirthing techniques might help speed along the first stage of labor, which is generally the longest and can last from 12 to 19 hours. Even if it’s only shortened a little bit, any reduction of time spent in labor can make a difference! In another review of about 3,000 women across 9 studies, hypnobirthing techniques lowered the use of pain medication in women. Overall, when we look at research studies, there is not a lot of clear evidence pointing to clinical labor benefits for those who use hypnobirthing, but studies suggest that women who do use hypnobirthing are happy that they did and feel that it benefitted them. And that’s the most important thing at the end of the day.

What is the Difference Between Online Hypnobirthing Classes and In-Person Hypnobirthing Classes?

Hypnobirthing courses are offered both online and in-person, and no single format is right for everyone. While online courses are often more affordable and can be completed based on your schedule, in-person courses typically offer a better chance to meet prospective parents in your area and can sometimes be a welcome respite from everyday life during which you can focus solely on your pregnancy.

How Much is Hypnobirthing Classes?

The classes can range in price but usually cost $200 to $300. You should ask your insurance carrier whether it’s covered. Many childbirth classes are but some are not. Hypnobirthing can be a great option for moms with low-risk pregnancies who are hoping for a birth without pain medication and want the benefits of the relaxation techniques taught in the classes. But no matter what happens on the big day and whether things go mostly according to plan or not, what's really important is the beautiful, healthy baby you get to hold in your arms when it's all over.

Who Created Hypnobirthing?

An English obstetrician named Dr. Grantly Dick-Read put forward the concept of natural birthing in the 1920’s. Natural birthing is a core tenant of HypnoBirthing philosophy that states that childbirth, extenuating circumstance aside, can be free from extreme pain. The philosophy of natural birth spans back thousands of years into the past.

Marie Mongan was an award winning hypnotherapist with over thirty years of experience as a councilor and an educator who created HypnoBirthing. She developed HypnoBirthing as a way to empower birthing people to develop better decision making skills and to explore their choices in pursuit of their birth goals.

Marie served as a college dean and was named a Ford Foundation Fellowship recipient to Harvard. She was a licensed hypnotherapist and hypnoanesthesiologist with experience as an instructor of both fields. 

Marie gave birth to four children without labor interventions or medications by using the concepts written about by Dr. Dick-Read in the 1920’s. She also used the works of Dr. Jonathan Dye, a pioneer of natural childbirth. 

Today HypnoBirthing is practiced worldwide with professional educators in 46 different countries.

What are Hypnobirthing Techniques?

Hypnobirthing techniques are practices that you can do that will help you connect with the resources inside of you that are already ready to give birth. These practices will help you understand and trust your body. They will help you have confidence in yourself and your own ability to give birth fearlessly, and maybe even painlessly.

Types of Hypnobirthing Techniques

Practitioners say hypnobirthing can create an altered state of conscious awareness. Hypnobirthing involves learning techniques that you can use in preparation for and during labour like:

- visualisation

- pregnancy and birth affirmations

- relaxation

- deep breathing

- self-hypnosis

- mindfulness.

Reasons to Try Hypnobirthing

Here are some of the reasons that you might choose to try hypnobirthing:

1. Hypnobirthing can help you manage stress hormones, such as adrenalin, and reduce anxiety, which should lead to a calmer birth. During labour, your body produces a chemical called oxytocin, which helps progress your labour. Stress hormones affect the production of oxytocin, and make your labour longer.

2. Managing stress may also help to reduce some of the fear and pain experienced during labour.

3. In some cases, hypnobirthing has been shown to make labour shorter.

4. Practising hypnobirthing – whether it’s at a class, with a book or CD – may help you to feel more prepared and in control when labour starts.

4. It may help you cope with anxieties if you had a previous traumatic birth experience.

5. Hypnobirthing may reduce the need for drugs and medical intervention. However, you can have additional pain relief as well if you want to.

6. It can be added to any birth plan and the techniques can be used wherever you give birth – in a hospital or birth centre, or at home.

7. Hypnobirthing may benefit you after birth too, with some evidence showing that it can lower the chance of postnatal depression.

8. Hypnobirthing can help your birth partner play a more active role during labour.

Advantages of Hypnobirthing

Here are advantages of hypnobirthing:

1. Teaches you deep levels of relaxation to eliminate the fear that causes tension and pain

2. Gives your partner or birthing companion an integral role in the birthing

3. Teaches you and your birthing partner how to work alongside your birthing team to achieve the birth you desire

4. Shortens the first phase of labor by several hours

5. Leave you feeling alert, fresh, and awake with energy during your labor

6. Reduces the need for an episiotomy

7. Empowers parents with techniques to achieve a gentle, calm birth for themselves and their baby whatever turn their birthing takes

8. Embraces the concept of pre-birth parenting

9. Teaches you breathing techniques that allow you to breathe your baby into the world without the violence of hard, physical pushing

10. Allows you and your partner to approach birth and parenting informed and empowered

Disadvantages of Hypnobirthing

Here are some disadvantages of hypnobirthing:

1. There can be a difference between what you expect to or hope will happen during labour and the reality of your birth experience.

2. Styles and language may vary between different hypnobirthing schools or practitioners, so you may wish to look into what suits you best.

3. It takes time to learn about hypnobirthing, practice it and master the breathing, visualisation and self-hypnosis techniques. It is more effective when it has been practised regularly during pregnancy so will take time and commitment

4. Hypnobirthing courses are an additional cost. Although in some parts of the UK, NHS hospitals have introduced free hypnobirthing classes.

5. Women who use self-hypnosis techniques may seem so relaxed that health care professionals could underestimate their progression of labour.

6. There is very little research on the feelings and experiences of birth partners when hypnobirthing is used.

Topics Covered in a Hypnobirth Class

Here are the common topics covered in a hypnobirthing class:

1. The way a human body has evolved to give birth

2. Techniques for assisting those natural birth instincts

3. Techniques for prenatal bonding

4. Techniques for immediate deepening of self relaxation

5. Techniques for breathing during labor

6. Techniques for visualization to bring about relaxation

7. Techniques for the birth partner to use

8. Massage and toning techniques to help you prepare your body for birth

9. Techniques to lessen the likelihood of interventions

10. Meditative techniques to release fear and negative emotions that will benefit you throughout life

11. Labor preparation techniques

12. Techniques to assist in your baby’s descent

13. Breastfeeding techniques

14. Techniques for postpartum bonding with your baby

HypnoBirthing Tips

Taking control of your childbirth experience allows you to relax, suppress the instinct of fight or flight in moments of panic, and self regulate your stress hormone levels through the intentional release of endorphins. These HypnoBirthing tips may help you along your journey.

1. Allow negativity to fade away

Through intention and practice, you’ll learn to put aside the plethora of birth stories you’ve heard throughout your life and allow your own birth experience to unfold outside of the shadow of other’s fear of birth.

2. Grow your personal knowledge

There’s just one HypnoBirthing method, but there are countless lenses through which you can study that method. A deep understanding will make it easier to have HypnoBirthing become your default experience during birth.

3. Find the right practice group

HypnoBirthing is a practice, so you have to actually practice it. The best way to practice HypnoBirthing is with other people. Having a group to answer your questions and help you stay accountable will keep you focussed.

4. Practice, practice, practice

HypnoBirthing is essentially exerting control over your mind. That in and of itself is a challenge under the best of circumstances. You’re a badass who’s going to do it during childbirth. Get your calendar set on repeat. Stick to it.

5. Come back again and again

You’re not checking out, you’re checking in. So your thoughts are going to keep coming back and you’re going to keep letting them pass right on by. You don’t need to think. Your body knows how to do this on its own.

6. Keep your body active

While HypnoBirthing is focussed on controlling the mind, the mind is not a closed system. You are your body and your mind all at once. So it stands to reason that one works better when the other is in healthy condition.

7. Chill out, at least for a minute

You’re not just having a baby, you’re also still dealing with all the other things you’ve spent a lifetime building and committing to. But you won’t always be growing a human, so try to find at least ten minutes to relax each day.

8. Focus on the positive

Don’t just let the negative pass you by, fill that fear shaped void with positivity. Find some beautifully filmed, inspirational births to balance out the fear. The alternative to no thought doesn’t have to be fearful thoughts.

9. Make a mantra

Birth plans are great but you’re not going to be able to remember line 2 of paragraph 4 on page 3 when you’re 8 hours into transforming into a baby delivery magician. Distill it down to its core elements. Know that one sentence.

How to Practice Hypnobirthing

Once you have learned different hypnobirthing techniques in birthing classes, your next task is to practice them at home. Hypnobirthing is all about practice; the more you do it, the more you are capable of using it in your labor and during birth. It only takes about 60 minutes to practice different hypnobirthing techniques.  

1. Start with practicing a few days a week. You should make a schedule of which days and at what time you’re going to practice it. You can also coordinate with your partner to practice scripts where your partner will assist you with getting into a state of hypnosis.

2. When you are near the end of your third trimester, it’s so beneficial to start practicing some of the techniques daily. Everyday techniques include a) relaxation through audio tracks, which you can do easily at night, or using other scripts you got as a part of your birthing classes, b) positive affirmations that you can paste at different places around your house, c) breathing techniques that can be practiced while you’re at the signal or cooking.

3. Practice massage techniques with your partner once a week.

4. Making a birth plan, reading positive childbirth stories, or listening to positive affirmations are among the techniques that can be practiced whenever you feel you have time.

How to Choose the Best Online Hypnobirthing Classes

When you’re ready to sign up for an online HypnoBirthing course, finding the program that’s right for you can come down to your timeline, budget, and birth goals. 

1. Timeline: Are you still in your first trimester with lots of time to work through a longer course or are you headed in for an induction tomorrow? Knowing how long you have to prepare will help you choose a course that is the right duration.

2. Budget: Online HypnoBirthing courses range in price from free to around $200.

3. Birth Goals: Whether you’re planning a home water birth, an elective cesarean birth, or something in between, your birth goals should play a major part in helping you determine which course is right for you. As you consider different online HypnoBirthing courses, make a point to ensure the course content aligns with your goals for birth.

Sources:

What to Expect

Very Well Family

Hypno Birthing

The Hypnobirthing Midwife

Tommy’s

She Births Bravely

NCT

Wildwood Birth Collective

Baby 2 Body

Balanced Families

 

The content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Medical information changes constantly, and therefore the content on this website should not be assumed to be current, complete or exhaustive. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor or 9-1-1 (in the United States) immediately.