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Frequently Answered Questions
(Answered by Kerry, Founder of Hypnobabies)
Q) When in pregnancy is the best time to begin learning Hypnosis for Childbirth?
A)
Anytime! Some women find that they want to start early in their
pregnancy, as soon as they have decided on a natural childbirth, which
does help them to stay more relaxed and comfortable and this is
obviously good for mom and baby's health. Others feel that they want to
start later on, at about 7 months as they are able to devote more time
to the program (approximately 30 minutes a day and up.) Be aware that
your childbirth hypnosis CDs/tapes and scripts need to be done
regularly all the way until your baby comes, so you will need to decide
how much time and effort is manageable for your family.
Q) I heard a critique of Hypnosis for Childbirth that it
takes women away from their birth experience; does this teach women to
distance themselves from the labor and birth?
A) Great
question! I know there are those who believe that the pain of
childbirth is empowering and that we should never seek to diminish it,
but I firmly believe that a woman experiencing agony in labor during
natural childbirth without hypnosis, or a woman groggy from narcotics
during a medicated birth, (I've done both) do not make her any "closer"
to the birth experience itself, much less empower her in any way. The
trauma that can be caused by birthing pain during labor is seriously
negative, and all most women want to do is get away from it, make it
stop, go home. A woman can't even feel her labor with an epidural and
so cannot connect with it.
Hypnosis allows the woman to actually tune completely inside of herself, where her own incredible strength truly lies, feel every contraction, every move of her baby, and be hyper-aware of everything going on, while being confident, relaxed and comfortable, even joyous, and I cannot imagine being closer to birthing than that.
TopQ) How does hypnosis for childbirth work?
A) Short version: Like computer data entry. If you want to create a document to use later, you open one, enter the text and save the contents in a “file”, then give the file a name. Later, when you want to edit that document, you find the file name and open it, add to the document text and save it again. When you are completely finished with your document, you find the file by its name, complete and ready, and print it out for your use.
In Hypnobabies, our “files” are our medical hypno-anesthesia “scripts” in the form of CD tracks and paper scripts, and all you have to do is *listen* to them. In doing so, you train your inner mind, just like entering text, what to accept. Each week, you add a little bit of training, just like the text in your document, and your inner mind creates a new belief system about childbirth. It accepts that the normal birthing sensations that you will have when you give birth; pushing, pulling, stretching, pressure sensations, will indeed be there, but without discomfort attached to them. You train it to accept cues and techniques to bring you deeper into relaxation and hypnosis, and when you use them on your birthing day, just like printing out your document, they are there for you automatically! Your mind is very powerful and is capable of creating the deepest physical relaxation possible as well as a very comfortable birthing experience. Use it!
A) Long version: Call me for our Introduction to Hypnobabies CD, with a 20 minute explanation of what hypnosis and Hypnobabies are, and a special gift – our “Relax Me” hypnosis session, which allows you to actually experience deep relaxation and a hypnotic state, as well as learn a special cue that trains you to become calm and relaxed in any situation, which you can use for the rest of your life!
Q: I have been planning to use many upright positions during my labor, but all I have seen are video tapes of women using hypnosis for childbirth that are just lying down. Do I have to be immobile for my birth to maintain my focus and concentration?
A: No! You can choose a birth hypnosis program that uses techniques that allow you to walk, talk and move and still be completely comfortable and deeply in hypnosis. You will be free to choose any positions that work best for you and your baby. Ask any prospective instructor or hypnotherapist about this before choosing a program or class. Hypnobabies has these important techniques and we call it, "Eyes Open Childbirth Hypnosis." Excellent!
Q: What is the difference between Hypnobabies and Lamaze?
A:
In Hypnobabies we do only deep abdominal breathing and use hypnosis for
comfort, relaxation and confidence. There are no distraction-type
breathing exercises that could lead to hyper-ventilation. Our
techniques are deep self-hypnosis cues, CDs or audio tapes and medical
hypno-anesthesia, producing a state of the deepest physical, mental and
emotional relaxation possible, along with post-hypnotic pain
elimination. Hypnobabies is a complete childbirth program, and completely replaces courses like Lamaze, Bradley, Birthing From Within, etc.
Hypnobabies
students are expectant couples who want to have an unmedicated birth
experience with as much comfort as possible and are willing to use the
power of their own minds to achieve this. Successful Natural Hypnotic
Childbirth!
Q) Must I have a partner to do this or can I do it alone?
A)
It is always nice to have someone to help you as you prepare for the
baby's birth, but if this is not possible, you can still achieve a
comfortable birthing by studying on your own. Just make sure that you
have all of your hypnosis scripts on CD or audio tape and use them
every day.
Q) What "hypno-tools" should a good childbirth hypnosis class have?
A)
An excellent class will have an instructor who has a background in
childbirth education, so that you will not have to take another type of
childbirth class that may indeed be opposite in philosophy than your
hypno-class, and which may show birth videos imparting negative
messages to your subconscious mind. The instructor should also have
training in hypnosis so that they can help you with any personal issues
or hypnotic depth problems that may arise.
The class will
include at least 14 hours of instruction, and have a childbirth
hypnosis session in each class. You should be given a modified version
of the hypnosis script for that session to take home with you to
practice with, and the course should include at least 3 CDs or audio
tapes that have real hypnosis sessions on them, one of which is a
Fear-Clearing session. Interviewing your prospective hypno-teacher
ahead of time and asking about these things will help you decide
whether a class or a home study course will be right for you.
Q) Do I have to take a class to be successful?
A)
There are several ways to prepare for childbirth using Hypnosis. One
way is to take a childbirth class that is specifically geared to using
hypnosis for elimination of fear and pain, such as Hypnobabies. You can
also choose to engage in hypnosis sessions with a qualified
hypnotherapist who has a good program already developed just for
childbirth. You will want to make sure that you receive CDs/audio tapes
to use at home as well as your office hypnosis sessions if you choose
this way, so that the hypnotic suggestions will be reinforced
constantly.
Another option is to study on your own, and be aware
that you will need the right tools to do this with. Hypnosis for
Childbirth Home Study Courses must contain at least 6 CDs/audio tapes,
a cue for entering hypnosis, deepening techniques for practice with a
Birth Partner or Doula and detailed explanations of how hypnosis works
with childbirth, as well as a scheduled practice regimen.
A) Our Hypnobabies Home Study Course for Expectant Mothers is being used with great success by mothers all over the world right now, and it contains the same basic curriculum, hypnosis scripts and cues, but we suggest that anyone who is near a Hypnobabies Instructor take our Hypnobabies Class with a Certified Hypnobabies Instructor (HCHI certified). The benefits of attending a Hypnobabies Class include:
- More detailed information on every subject
- Additional handouts
- 5 Hypnobabies scripts in a booklet, including our very important Visualize Your Birth script (which is not in the home study course)
- Hypnosis demonstrations of all Hypnobabies techniques
- Depth assessment of each student’s hypnosis levels by the Hypnobabies instructor
- Phone consultations with your Hypnobabies Instructor
- Prenatal exercise demonstration and practice
- Full hands-on training for the Birth Partner, including the Birth Partner’s Guide Booklet and the Birth Partner’s hypnosis CD
- The book “Back Labor No More”, and in-depth explanations, demonstrations and practice of the Belly Lift from this book (so important)
- Optimal Fetal Positioning explanations and demonstrations to prevent posterior presentation
- Our Birthing Rehearsal in Class # 6, which is invaluable for helping each Hypno-Mom fully understand and experience their Hypnobabies techniques in a birthing scenario, complete with Birth Balls, changing positions, walking etc. It is also great practice for the Birth Partner to use his deepening cues and techniques that help the mom so wonderfully during labor. This helps build the confidence level of Mom and the Birth Partner tremendously.
And……from our VP Carole Thorpe:
“I would add FUN!!! A lot of kidding and just plain silliness happens in my Hypnobabies classes. Camaraderie is not to be underestimated. Generally, I have noticed that some of the birth partners show up to Class One and exhibit the body language/attitude of "OHMIGOSH!...what has my wife gotten me into now?!" The classroom setting with other couples helps them to see that they are not alone in this "different" way to help their wife have their baby. It is helpful to hypno-dads/birth partners to see that Hypnobabies can be beautiful and effective, and also enjoyable.”
