Hypnobirthing wins over a sceptic!

I saw a great video today from Heather Van Nest, a US journalist who recently used hypnobirthing instead of pain medication during labour. Her story is really interesting because she had originally planned not to take any childbirth classes before labour. Her husband has a medical background, and they felt that his background would allow him to guide them through the process. You can see the video, and read all about Heather’s experience here on Heather’s blog.

One thing I really liked about Heather’s video was when she showed a clip from when she was in established labour. She was deeply relaxed, and looked almost asleep. She opened her eyes in between contractions to explain that she was currently at about 8cm dilated. So different to the scenes we normally see depicting 8cm dilation! Clearly the hypnobirthing was working!

So how did she end up using hypnobirthing? Well, when Heather was eight months pregnant, she did a news segment on hypnobirthing, during which she interviewed several hypnobirthing mothers and heard all about their positive experiences of childbirth. She then made an on-air promise to take some hypnobirthing classes and try it for herself. She explains that she felt she had nothing to lose by trying it out – after all, she would be delivering in a birthing centre where pain medications would be available on the day if she felt she needed them.

This sums up exactly my attitude towards labour when I decided to use Gentlebirth (which is an Irish hypnobirthing programme). I was sceptical about it, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. And I figured that if I felt I needed an epidural on the day, then I’d be in a hospital where I could get one. So like Heather, I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying it out.

By the time I was 30 weeks pregnant, I had already decided that the course was worthwhile, because it allowed be to release my fears about labour, and look forward to the day that I would meet my baby instead. Oh and it also taught me to sleep really well – a skill I really appreciate! And of course, I had my calm Gentlebirth on the day (or the night as the case may be!), so I am definitely a believer now, no longer a sceptic!

In fact, I am such a believer, that I joined the Gentlebirth affiliate advertising programme. And it’s also why, despite my hatred of unsolicited advice for pregnant women, I break my own rules for this one, and I always ask women if they have heard of Gentlebirth if I find out that they are pregnant. I just feel that, like me and like Heather, they have nothing to lose by trying it out, and potentially they may have a wonderful birthing experience as a result.