HypnoBirthing Part I

I finally started a HypnoBirthing class. I chose to take this class for a few reasons. First of all, I decided that for this delivery I'd like to go "natural"/sans medication. I know that for me, I would need some support and guidance in making that happen. I don't want to go in there saying, "Oh, I'll try to go natural and if it doesn't work out I'll just get an epidural." I think going in there with that attitude, there's a 99.9% chance I'll just end up with an epidural. I figure the more determined I am ahead of time will help me remain so during my actual labor and delivery. I have a number of friends who have said good things to me about the HypnoBirthing ideas and program and have had positive experiences with it themselves. My doctor was also very supportive of me taking the classes and said that they have really great information and ideas in them. And a friend, Cara Dahlquist, from my old ward said that she was going to start teaching the classes, so I decided to jump on it and sign up. Here is a link to her website.


A friend of mine said she wanted me to blog about my experience with the classes, and I figure this is a good way to remind me of what I'm learning and solidify my birth plan. So here it goes...


There are five classes, each 2 1/2 hours long. Miles attended the first class with me. The basic ideas that were covered were: Physiology of birth, Fear/Tension/Pain Syndrome, What Hypnosis is and is not


I thought it was interesting to learn about how your body works during delivery and understand better how each organ functions. Apparently the uterus has multiple muscles that work in conjunction with each other to help bring the baby down and into the birth canal for delivery. It was interesting to learn how different medications, such as Pitocin, can be counter-productive and actually work against your uterine muscles.


We also discussed letting go of preconceived fears that you have regarding labor and delivery. The HypnoBirthing program suggests using different words/phrases for commonly used words/phrases in birthing, to elicit a more calm/peaceful imagery. For example: use surge instead of contraction or special circumstances instead of complications, etc.... There was a long list of terms. Initially I thought this sounded kind of silly to me. When I hear the term contraction I don't immediately think of something negative. To me it just sounds like a medical term. However, as she read through the two different lists of terms, the latter (HypnoBirthing terms) did sound more gentle and calming. And while I do think I've heard a lot of wonderful birthing stories, I also think there is some residual fear/tension that is brought up at the idea of delivering a baby naturally.


Along these same lines, HypnoBirthing also suggests to not hear a lot of negativity regarding births. Again, I thought this was kind of silly since it is what it is. I mean, really, no matter what you plan for, you can never say with 100% assurance that things will go according to plan. However, as a therapist with past experience and understanding regarding behaviors in connections with thought processes, I can also see that filling your mind with positive words, experiences, imagery, and visualization can really make a difference in an outcome.


Overall, it was a good introduction to HypnoBirthing and in getting me to think about how I want my baby's birth to go. I thought Cara did a great job and was not overly pushy and crazy eccentric about these things. She expressed how it has worked for her, but also displayed no judgement toward mothers who use epidurals or don't deliver their babies naturally. I'm excited to learn more and work on preparing my mind and body for a wonderful birthing experience!