Giveaway: Hypnobirthing Sample Pack (ended)
**This Giveaway has ended**
When you think back to your birth do you describe the process as peaceful, calm, or maybe even painless? Most of you will answer this with a big fat “Hell NO” but this is exactly the way women using the Hypnobirthing method recall their birthing experience. Don’t believe me? Well, you might after I tell you that I am one of these women. Here is an excerpt from my birth story:
“The wonderful thing about my labor was the distortion of time that I experienced. I could not tell you how long I spent in various positions, in the tub, standing, on the birthing ball, on my hands and knees, rocking back and forth…it’s all a blur. What I do remember so vividly is the imagery that I experienced through each contraction.
As a surge would wash over my body I imagined being in the ocean swimming under waves. When swimming under waves there is a certain point where you can look up and see the sun sparkling through the water, you know you are close to being able to resurface, untouched by the power of the wave churning above you. Each contraction was like this for me. I would swim down under the wave and watch for that glisten of the sun. I focused my mind on the beauty, the quiet and the serenity I feel in the water and this allowed my body to remain relaxed. Just as in swimming under waves or surfing, if you tense up and fight the power of the ocean you almost always end up taking a beating. Contractions were exactly the same idea.”
I continued to birth in this peaceful manner for 15 hours, 15 hours of emergency induced labor started with the all evil Pitocin drip. What is even more incredible is that I did this with zero pain medication. ZIP! And just for the record I’m no superhero, I’m a measly 5’2″ 115lbs and I cry when I get a paper cut (seriously it’s pitiful). I was able to have this incredible birth experience because of Hypnobirthing and the relaxation techniques that I learned throughout my pregnancy.
So what is this hypnobirthing thing all about? You can read tons of Hypnobirthing information on the official Hypno site but here is a basic overview:
HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method is as much a philosophy as it is a technique. The concept of HypnoBirthing® is not new, but rather a “rebirth” of the philosophy of birthing as it existed thousands of years ago and as it was recaptured in the work of Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, an English obstetrician, who, in the 1920s, was one of the first to forward the concept of natural birthing. The method teaches you that, in the absence of fear and tension, or special medical circumstances, severe pain does not have to be an accompaniment of labor.
When using the Hypnobirthing-Mongan Method You will gain an understanding of how the birthing muscles work in perfect harmony–as they were designed to–when your body is sufficiently relaxed and you trust birth. You will learn how to achieve this kind of relaxation, free of the resistance that fear creates, and you will learn to use your natural birthing instincts for a calm, serene and comfortable birth.
When you have your baby with Hypnobirthing, you will not be in a trance or a sleep. What you will experience is similar to the daydreaming, or focusing, that occurs when you are engrossed in a book or a movie or staring into a fire.
You will be conversant and in good spirits–totally relaxed, but fully in control. Awake throughout, you will be aware of your body’s surges and your baby’s progress; but because you will have trained yourself to reach complete relaxation, you will be able to determine the degree and the manner in which you will feel the surges. You will experience birthing in an atmosphere of calm relaxation, free of the fear that prevents the muscles of your body from functioning as nature inte
nded them to. In this calm state, your body’s natural relaxant, endorphins, replaces the stress hormones that constrict and cause pain.
No joke you guys, this stuff is for real. During my birth using Hypnobirthing I was completely aware of everything going on around me, I could converse as usual in between “surges” or contractions and then slip right back into this peaceful, meditative zone. Throughout the birthing process I was aware of what was going on within my body, having been educated on what to expect, what to feel for, and how to visualize what was going on.
One of the best things that I enjoyed about the Hypnobirthing method is that the practice went beyond just the birthing experience. Each day I would set aside 15 minutes or so and listen to the relaxation c.d.’s, positive birthing affirmations or quiet music and focus on learning how to completely relax. There are several exercises that Hypnobirthing has you do throughout your pregnancy that draw you and your partner closer and focus your attention and thoughts on what your baby is experiencing and facilities that special connection.
I could go on and on about how positive my birth experience was thanks to this method and I want to share that positive image with every expectant mother I meet. Lucky for you Modern Day Mom readers the kind folks at the Hypnobirthing-The Mongan Method are offering an incredible gift set to one of our readers. Whether you jump head first into this method or take parts of it with you on your pregnancy and birthing journey, I can assure you that you will be grateful for these amazing tools and the confidence the practice gives you! Not expecting? Become your best friends hero and win this giveaway for her!
Check out the loot:
Hypnobirthing Tote Bag (to hold all your winnings!)
Hypnobirthing- The Mongan Method– Book
Birth as We Know It– DVD
Born in Water A Sacred Journey–DVD
Rainbow Relaxation–C.D.
Hypnobirthing Stories–C.D.
Amazing Birth Affirmations–DVD
Amazing Births Inspirational DVD
Knowing the Unborn–DVD
Continue the Calm…with Hypno Parenting–C.D.
Leave us a comment telling us a favorite memory from your birth or if you are expecting for the first time what your perfect birth experience would be like. We will choose a winner for this amazing Hypnobirthing package on Friday April 22nd!
It’s so nice to read about a successful Hypnobirth…especially on Pitocin! My husband and I just finished our Hypnobirth classes a few weeks ago, and I’m due this Thursday (4/21). Whenever I tell people our plan of a med-free birth, I get lots of negative feedback, basically saying I’ll never be able to do it. I hope my birth goes exactly as yours did…peaceful, in control and empowering. Hearing your story is inspirational, and it encourages me that I can do the same…whenever this baby decides to arrive. Thank you!
Like you Julie I had people rolling their eyes at me when I told them about our plans for a med free Hypno birth! Now I get stares of disbelief! BUT when the hospital staff is coming by to tell you they heard about your amazing birth and that you should teach an all natural class, you know that this stuff is powerful and works! I wish we had been able to attend a class but unfortunately they weren’t offered in our area at the time.
Good luck with everything and congrats on your little one…you can DO this!
My birth was crazy, everything was out of wack & I didn’t get to have the birth I planned at all. We are TTC our second child & I think I would love to try this technique out!
Is there such a thing as a “perfect birth”?? Besides the obvious of wanting a healthy baby and mommy, for me the most important part is that my husband be there. He is a firefighter and works 24-48 (he’s at work 24 hours straight and then he’s off work for 48 hours straight). As my due date (August 1) gets closer, I worry that he won’t be home when I go into labor or that for some reason he won’t be able to get to the hospital in time. There are other family members willing to stand in if necessary but I don’t want any of them. I only want him. As long as my little boy is healthy and my husband is there, I feel like I can tackle anything. I do on this side of it, anyway. We’ll see when D-Day gets here :)
I am not expecting, but my husband and I have begun to talk about trying to conceive within the next year or year and a half. I am currently training to work with women at different stages of their reproductive lives on nutrition and lifestyle practices to balance each woman’s unique mind/body constitution. This book is on the required reading list of a class I am taking in June!
If I could describe my ideal birth, it would be a deeply transformative experience of my power as a woman. It would be incredibly emotional and intense, yet also serene and sweet. I would have the capacity to be fully present in each moment and surrender to the labor process however it unfolds. I look forward to learning the hypnobirthing method for my own labor and also being able to recommend it to my clients!
I had a FAR from ideal birth experience. Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong (aside from ending in a c-section) did. I left the delivery room feeling like a total failure. I still have a lot of guilt and regret about the way that things happened. Bringing a child into this world should be a peaceful empowering journey, and I look forward to having better success when baby #2 comes around!
[...] also been busy writing for http://www.moderndaymoms.com We have a sweet hypnobirthing sample pack that we are giving away this week so if you are interested in learning about this birthing method [...]
My husband and I are expecting our first baby May 20th. We live in North Dakota and they offer no classes in our area (Bradley, Hypno, etc). This would be very helpful for us. We are planning a med-free birth, and yes like the other ladies said, alot of people roll their eyes at us! Hypnobirthing sounds amazing, I would love to use this during our birth in May :-)
I really want to prove everyone wrong. Every time I mention that I am thinking about using a form of meditation and breathing to get through the pain of childbirth, I get usually negative responses. Usually people are gentle, but some reply in the form of laughs or even rolled eyes. I can’t understand why people seem to look down at this approach. Do they just want to be right? Do they just want you to come back to them and say, you know childbirth hurt like hell and I should have had them put a 6 inch needle in my spine? Not sure where the motivation is to poo-poo natural birth. At this point, I am 5 months along and haven’t researched too much about which approach to use in natural birth. But I am a yogi and feel like breath, hyponosis, meditation is the way to go. I am looking forward to the challenge.