hypnobabies vs hypnobirthing....are they the same?

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Permalink Reply by Maggie on May 21, 2010 at 6:46am

Here's my perspective, but I'm not an expert on either one: I read the Hypnobirthing book by Marie Mongan and it was really interesting, but it's expected that you will take a class to learn the actual techniques. With Hypnobabies, there's a home study course you can purchase or you can take a class. I'm going with the Hypnobabies home study course because it costs about a third of what the Hypnobirthing class costs in my area, plus I'm a student and a homeschooling parent so I don't really have the time to take yet another class! Another option (since you don't have much time) would be to go to a licensed hypnosis practitioner in your area and have them teach you some self-hypnosis techniques. Good luck with everything!

Permalink Reply by Michele Zic on May 21, 2010 at 7:33am

hypnobirthing is the name of the childbirth class / childbirth program. within the program they refer to the babies that are born with this method as hypnobabies. it is a wonderful method of childbirthing - it is what I did and highly recommend it! good luck! :)

Permalink Reply by Elena Cooper on May 21, 2010 at 8:20am

I agree with Michele Zic 47 though I haven't done extensive research on Hypnobabies to see if there really is a difference. I used Hypnobirthing for both of my children and really loved it. My doula was also a hypnobirthing instructor and I took classes with her both times (my babies are 7 years apart) and thought it was worth every penny.
After using Hypnobirthing with my first, my sister borrowed my book and cd and proceeded to deliver naturally without having taken a class but just regularly practicing the exercises in the book. So I don' think it is necessary to take a class.
I am a huge fan of Hypnobirthing! It was fantastic for both births that were incredibly different. I am completely in favor of having a doula as well even without hypnobirthing.

Permalink Reply by Usha Tunnell on May 21, 2010 at 12:25pm

There seems to be some misunderstanding here. HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method and Hypnobabies are two different childbirth education programs. I have taken and used both. HypnoBirthing is a method that teaches relaxation and positive visualization. HypnoBabies is a complete childbirth education course. It includes consumer info, nutrition etc as well as medical hypnosis techniques. Here is the official How are we Different page:
http://www.hypnobabies.com/mylink.php?id=3808
I can't say enough good things about Hypnobabies. It helped me through my pregnancies, birth and I still use the techniques! In my personal experience HypnoBirthing is great as long as things go perfectly, but Hypnobabies goes a step further and gave me so many tools to deal with different situations. I used Hypnobabies for my 2nd and 3rd births and love it!

Permalink Reply by Susan McClutchey on May 21, 2010 at 1:04pm

Hi, Melody!

Good question! I took a HypnoBirthing class during my first pregnancy and then used Hypnobabies for my second and third pregnancy, so I'm very familiar with both. To be honest, other than the first few letters of their names, they have more differences than they have similarities. The HypnoBirthing curriculum covers some very basic pregnancy and birth information but focuses on the importance of relaxation and includes some visualizations and a couple guided relaxation scripts to use to prepare, and during the birth. Hypnobabies is a full childbirth education class that teaches nutrition, exercise, natural childbirth techniques for increasing comfort and moving a birth along, the pros and cons of all the choices parents have during the pregnancy and birth and post-partum period so parents can make informed decisions, etc. In addition to all the in-depth childbirth information, Hypnobabies teaches a series of self-hypnosis techniques that build on each other to give moms a large number of deep hypnosis techniques that she can use during her birth. There are instant self-hypnosis cues that she or her birth partner can use to deepen her hypnosis or even bring her into hypnosis instantly. There is an excellent technique called "Eyes Open Childbirth Hypnosis" that allows moms to be deeply relaxed and comfortably in hypnosis while moving around, walking and talking normally. That made such a huge difference for me! When I tried to use HypnoBirthing, I found that my body needed movement to keep the birth going well and my baby moving down, but I needed to remain immobile on a bed with my eyes closed to retain my comfort. That led to an unnecessarily slow and complicated birth, since I wasn't able to work with my body. Because I hadn't learned much about childbirth or interventions, I really didn't have any additional skills or knowledge to fall back on, and I wound up barely missing a c-section only because my OB turned out to be extremely patient and hands-off. If any of her partners had been on call that day, I have no doubt my birth would have ended in surgery simply because I didn't have the knowlege or skills I needed to know how to facilitate a vaginal birth. When I gave birth using Hypnobabies, I had a learned so much about birth! I had a great understanding of the process and all my options, so I had changed my approach completely and chose to birth at a freestanding birth center, and then at home for my third baby. And the births themselves were so much easier using the Hypnobabies skills. I was able to move around normally, express my wishes to my birth team, remain relaxed through even the most intense moments and easily give birth in complete comfort. In fact, I looked and felt so "normal" during my Hypnobabies births that my midwife thought I "wasn't in labor yet", until she checked my dilation and discovered I was fully dilated!

HypnoBirthing is a good step in the right direction, and is definitely better than no relaxation practice at all. But Hypnobabies takes birth preparation to a whole new level with the breadth of the childbirth information and depth of the hypnosis skills and powerful post-hypnotic suggestions. Despite being so much more comprehensive, I found using the Hypnobabies Home Study to prepare for my birth to be easier and more enjoyable than doing the HypnoBirthing class. There is far more explanation about hypnosis and birth, and there is a big selection of scripts to listen to, as opposed to just one or two. (Which gets really old, really fast!) I just can't say enough wonderful things about how complete and helpful Hypnobabies was for me!

Permalink Reply by Laura Lund on May 21, 2010 at 1:40pm

As others have said, they are pretty different. I took HypnoBirthing in 2002 (first natural birth, first home birth). After the class I felt confident that a comfortable birth without pain meds was possible, but I also felt lost on how to actually help make it happen. While searching online I found a supplemental set made by Hypnobabies. It filled in the gaps nicely and I had a lovely, comfortable labor and birth. With my fourth baby (and my 5th, too) I used the full Hypnobabies program and was amazed about how much faster and easier I was able to enter hypnosis using the Hypnobabies techniques. I liked that with Hypnobabies I could instantly enter deep hypnosis and release anesthesia (endorphins) while also using upright positions. I liked that I had access to so many wonderful hypnosis recordings and written tools for use while practicing and birthing. Honestly, I got really tired of HypnoBirthing's Rainbow Relaxation, which is what led me to seek out other materials in the first place. :-P There was more structure with Hypnobabies, too, and I felt confident that by following the outlined sequence of hypnosis training, I was building great hypnosis skills. Maybe it was just a better fit for my logical, analytical personality. :-)

Laura

Permalink Reply by Sheridan Ripley on May 21, 2010 at 2:22pm

I have used both programs. Here is my experience with the two. http://www.pregnancybirthandbabies.com/comparison_between_hypnoclas...

Permalink Reply by Melody A on May 23, 2010 at 7:14am

wow THANKYOU SO MUCH everyone!!!!! all of your advice helps me out so much. :)
would anyone happen to have a hypnobabies home study course i could buy? or is it something i should just pay full price for from the website? the cost for a new course is $143.99