You are getting very sleeepy... UPDATED
It's been a baby-crazed weekend around here. Cait went to a shower for a co-worker yesterday, and we went together to the shower for some lesbian friends today, leaving early so we could go to our first childbirth class. Since we'd been at the shower we were running late, but we still had to stop for a quick bite to eat as I'd not found enough at the party to keep me together for a 2 1/2 hour class.
Despite my manic driving, we were still late to the class. As we neared the center, I said to Cait, "Now we won't just be the lesbians in the class, we'll be the LATE lesbians who come in with McDonald's!"* Just as Cait was beginning to panic - having forgotten until I reminded her of the awkwardness of being queer in a typically straight institution - we pulled into the parking lot (the wrong way, unfortunately) and squeezed into the only remaining space, parking in another car. Which had a rainbow flag sticker on it! Could it be....?
Indeed, there are four couples in our class, and two are lesbian! It's a Hypn0birthing class -- taught in a yoga ashram -- and if I'd stopped to think about it, I might not have been so apprehensive, as this is not the most mainstream of childbirth classes to begin with.
We will (or I should say, I will) be the challenging couple in the class, anyway, I think. I'm already struggling with skepticism. My earthy-crunchy side and my scientific side are deeply enmeshed in a war over the whole approach. I *want* to believe in Hypn0birthing and I want it to work for us. I totally believe in natural childbirth . But some of the claims of Hypn0birthing seem a bit over the top to me. It's already been evident in class - I've been the one to ask all the "But how come" and "Well why" questions, whereas the others, who have not said much at all, have mostly been gung-ho with their comments and questions. I'm going to give it a try, though, and hope I can work through my hesitation. It really does sound awesome!
UPDATE: Harpo definitely likes it! As his/her moms were giggling and snorting their way through the "affirmation"** CD last night, s/he was kicking up QUITE a storm. Harpo hasn't been that active in over a week! Maybe we'll learn something from the kid....
*Hey, we were in a hurry, and it was the only thing on the way. And I THOUGHT it had a drive through. But no. What do I know from McDonald's?!
**I hate that word.
Despite my manic driving, we were still late to the class. As we neared the center, I said to Cait, "Now we won't just be the lesbians in the class, we'll be the LATE lesbians who come in with McDonald's!"* Just as Cait was beginning to panic - having forgotten until I reminded her of the awkwardness of being queer in a typically straight institution - we pulled into the parking lot (the wrong way, unfortunately) and squeezed into the only remaining space, parking in another car. Which had a rainbow flag sticker on it! Could it be....?
Indeed, there are four couples in our class, and two are lesbian! It's a Hypn0birthing class -- taught in a yoga ashram -- and if I'd stopped to think about it, I might not have been so apprehensive, as this is not the most mainstream of childbirth classes to begin with.
We will (or I should say, I will) be the challenging couple in the class, anyway, I think. I'm already struggling with skepticism. My earthy-crunchy side and my scientific side are deeply enmeshed in a war over the whole approach. I *want* to believe in Hypn0birthing and I want it to work for us. I totally believe in natural childbirth . But some of the claims of Hypn0birthing seem a bit over the top to me. It's already been evident in class - I've been the one to ask all the "But how come" and "Well why" questions, whereas the others, who have not said much at all, have mostly been gung-ho with their comments and questions. I'm going to give it a try, though, and hope I can work through my hesitation. It really does sound awesome!
UPDATE: Harpo definitely likes it! As his/her moms were giggling and snorting their way through the "affirmation"** CD last night, s/he was kicking up QUITE a storm. Harpo hasn't been that active in over a week! Maybe we'll learn something from the kid....
*Hey, we were in a hurry, and it was the only thing on the way. And I THOUGHT it had a drive through. But no. What do I know from McDonald's?!
**I hate that word.
posted by Jen at
9:48 PM
11 Comments:
I know that Jemma did a variation of hypnobirthing so you might want to ping her for her experiences. She didn't take a class, just reviewed the material/tapes, but she might have some insight.
By
Jennifer, at 10:19 PM
Mom says that I was VERY into My fair Lady when they went while she was about 6 or 7 months preggo with me - I was dancing along...
She should have known then my affinity for theatre...
Perhaps yo have a world healer/ yoga instructor in there?
By
Shelli, at 7:36 AM
Someone in an online pregnancy group I'd belonged to did the hypno thang, and she said it worked out well for her during the birth. She wasn't pain-free, but her whole state of mind was quite calm, she said. Also, there were complications and she ended up having a C-section after being in labor for a long time - she said she thinks she was a lot less tired and stressed out when that decision was made so her body and mind dealt with the situation well.
By
lagiulia, at 8:25 AM
I would love to do something hypno-y, but even on ebay, it's totally cost prohibitive for us. We elected to go with a free doula instead.
By
Display, at 9:00 AM
We play our wedding CD for Smudge on a regular basis (I tuck the ipod earbuds into my waistband). He gets super-active when the dance songs come on, especially Bootylicious.
Occasionally, this makes me worry. ;)
By
Anonymous, at 10:29 AM
I can barely get through my sobriety meditations without being distracted! LOL I can't even imagine trying to center myself during contractions.
By
Sophia, at 10:30 AM
We did hypn0birth. And Kristin was skeptical. And the CD was totally cheesy. And the class was very heterocentric. Even to the point where the instructor told us that she had been concerned because the woman reading the meditations on the CD had such a low voice she thought it was a man. (We didn't think she sounded like a man at all, and what would have been the big deal with that, anyway?)
Umm, where was I, oh yes, we did it without a doula and I think it helped a lot. It actually helped Kristin relax enough to sleep during those last few weeks of the pregnancy (very valuable) And during labor, it kept Kristin relaxed and calm even with the pitocin-induced hard labor. BUT I don't believe it's the end-all that the promoters claim. It didn't keep her from getting extremely exhausted and run down to the point where she knew she wouldn't be able to push (even though with hypn0birth you're not supposed to have to push), so she ended up having an epidural so she could get some rest, and that was a good thing, because when it came down to it, Kristin ended up needing a c-section.
I don't know if you've read our birth story, but I talk about it there. In my August archives.
I'd be happy to email anyone who is curious about our experience.
By
Trista, at 3:02 PM
Yeah we were that couple in our class.
By
Brooke, at 5:29 PM
I used hypnobirthing with my son 4 weeks ago. I'm notoriously hard to get to relax and meditate, and I was skeptical but loved doing the affirmations. I did NOT practice enough however, and my partner was supportive but had a hard time knowing how to help. I had a very big baby (9 pounds 3 oz one week early, first baby) who was posterior and didn't turn until right as he was crowning. Because of his size and position I was in what I consider a lot of pain, but hypnobirthing allowed me to manage it. I couldn't have done it naturally without the relaxation techniques and fear release. Just knowing how my body was supposed to work and that it was normal was a big help. The nurses said I had a difficult labor and they were surprised with how well I handled it. Even though I didn't have the 'pain free' labor advertised I am still very glad we did it. I would say definitely practice lots and try to let go of skepticism as much as possible. You will do just fine.
-MaryAnne
By
Anonymous, at 6:51 PM
It's great to hear the class went so well. And I don't think there's anythign wrong with being the weird couple. But that might be because I think if we ever get that far we too will be the weird couple. *shrug*
By
Anonymous, at 1:15 AM
Have you considered Bradley classes? Over an 85% natural childbirth rate and no hypnosis necessary. Just pure natural relaxation techniques that are very in-line with both earthy-crunchiness and science. I know you're getting within the limit of when you'd have time to take it, but they're absolutely fabulous.
By
Anonymous, at 9:04 PM
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