HypnoBirthing Part II

Today was my second class. Miles did not come with me today since he has a lot of work to do. While Cara said it would be ok for him to miss some classes, there's a part of me that would also like him to be there so he can be on the same page as me and hopefully be a good support during the birth. I'll just have to fill him in really well.


Since my last class I've been reading the book I was given in the first week, HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method. I'm only about 40 pages in, but I am really enjoying it so far. Here is a quote that really encouraged me and made me feel more positive about this choice I've made to delivery my baby naturally.


"I could not believe that a God who had created the body with such perfection could have designed a system of procreation that was flawed.... Why are the lesser animals blessed with smooth, easy birthing while we, the very highest of creatures, made in the image and likeness of God, are destined to suffer?"


I couldn't agree more. Every birth that I have witnessed (three others besides my own) has brought me to tears. I find the whole experience so beautiful. Why should bringing life into this world be something so terrible, painful and awful? I should state here, that I also appreciate that in the book she reiterates that this method is most useful for women experiencing a normal pregnancy without any special circumstances. I felt this was important as I know many women who have had extreme difficulty and life-threatening problems in their deliveries. Obviously, HypnoBirthing cannot prevent or change those circumstances. Anyway, I've been enjoying reading the positive stories and experiences of women (and men as their birthing companions) in birthing their babies.


So today this is what we covered in class: Prenatal bonding, Working as partners, Slow Breathing, Deep Relaxation, birth videos, Touch Massage, and Scripts.


We talked about the different types of breathing to help produce a feeling of relaxation. I must say, I often enjoy these different practices we do because it helps me to feel very relaxed and nearly fall asleep! Luckily, Cara doesn't get mad when I get too sleepy. :) In fact, today she read through a relaxation script while having a nice waterfall-like sound playing and diffusing Serenity herbs. It was so great to just lie there and listen to her while I encouraged my mind and body into a relaxation state. We discussed afterwards that it is also positive to have affirmations read while doing this because when you are in a relaxed state, your mind is less likely to retort back with negative thoughts or contradictions. I also think it is helpful to have those positive affirmations embedded into your subconscious so you hopefully start believing them before you even realize it.


I liked the discussion on "breathing the baby down" and visualizing the baby coming down. One of the affirmations Cara said she liked (and I agree) is, "Each surge brings me closer to my baby." I think that will be helpful to imagine each surge as a positive thing my body is doing to help my baby enter this world, rather than something negative that is just causing me pain. It was also interesting to think about how we are told to push our babies out, when in reality, if we just waited and did nothing, our body would do it on its own. I know this is true, because when I was in labor with Owen and practiced my pushes, he started crowning after just three sets of pushes. The nurse told me to stop and not do anything (laugh, sneeze, push, etc.) and to wait for the doctor. But I could tell with each contraction surge I had, that he was coming out anyway. So back to what I was saying...rather than just holding my breath, pushing, and forcing the baby out in a way that isn't as productive, I can help breath the baby out in a manner that works with my body.


I feel like so much of what I am learning makes sense to me. Our bodies truly are made to do this. It's no accident in how we were created and meant to bring life to this earth. I also liked watching a birthing video of a woman who does an *amazing* job of using HypnoBirthing and hardly utters more than a few moans while delivering her baby. Crazy awesome. I don't know that I'm expecting everything to go just as perfectly for me, but why not aim for it and visualize a positive experience?


More to come next week....