HypnoBirthing® UK

[clareb72]

Hello
I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice. Our first born is due mid Feb and
We are following HB, which has been fantastic. We are however planning a hospital birth, which are where my doubts have set in. We visited the ward on Sunday to familiarise ourselves with the surroundings and I am now worried that once we are
In hospital we will be on their conveyor belt and not be able to have the calm, natural birth that we desire. Everything in the hospital seemed to be geared up to getting us in and out as soon as possible- I don’t mind and would prefer to go home the same day, however there was non stop talk of pain, hard labour, being induced and don’t think you are coming in for a rest- “you’ll get the hang of breast feeding once you are
Home”- etc etc. Don’t get me wrong I am sure they do a wonderful, wonderful job and you can feel that there motives of a quick turn around are due to NHS cut backs.
We will of course take our birth plan, which we were also told no one bothered with anymore and my husband knows that he will have to be strong… I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this and if you have any advice.

My sister in law in the USA has two wonderful HB stories but I know in the USA things are more geared towards HB than we are in the UK.

Many thanks

Clare

[ockysmith]

Is there a particular reason that you aren't considering a homebirth Clare? have you read http://www.homebirth.org.uk ? your local NCT branch may very well have a local Homebirth support group as well, these groups aren't intended to persuade you to have a homebirth, rather to help you make a decision whether it is the right thing for you or not. It is for every reason you have mentioned that I myself book homebirths.

If homebirth isn't for you then you always have the option of going to a different hospital, you don't just have to go to the nearest one.

It is also possible to have a great birth in a very interventionist hospital though - you just have to take control of the environment and make sure your birth partner realises how important his/her role is and advocates for you throughout the birth (I can't stress the importance of your partner's involvement - in my experience it makes or breaks a birth) and in the run up to it. Remember the BRAINS acronym, use it lots and spend a lot of time working out your birth plan with your partner & make sure the midwives attending you understand HypnoBirthing (an instruction sheet is good here, plus simple things like using the door sign, covering the clock, drawing the curtains etc..), all things you would have covered in your classes anyway. Have you spoken to your practitioner about this?

Remember it's your body, your baby and your birth!

[clareb72]

Thank you so much for your email and on the back of the information you have provided for us- we are now seriously considering a home birth.
We had thought about it in the beginning but just thought as it was our first baby that being in hospital was the best place to be.
I saw my midwife yesterday who also recommended the homebirth option because of our wishes to have a HB baby- she also put my mind at ease and will give me a scan in a few weeks time just to confirm that baby is still head down ......

Thanks once again and I will of course post my birth story

Clare

[ronac]

Hi. I am a month behind you and expecting my first mid-March.
I also have the same fear. I have been reading and practicing for a few months now at home but fear that in a hospital environment it will all go out of the window. ( we live in a remote area in Scotland so have no access to courses but many women here have used the book/CD alone to good effect).

The local midwife encouraged us to research all hospital options ; not just go to the nearest and also look at Midwife run units which are in or near the bigger hospitals. There is no doubt though that if there were problems with the baby after birth or yourself; however rare the chance, you are best to be a minute away from all the best care and equipment rather than an hours drive.

The best tip we had was to think of and bring things form home to make the environment more homely; cushions or bean bags, CDs and player, comfortable tops and shorts, nice high energy snacks and drinks. Apparently most hospitals will consider lowering the lighting in some rooms which may help.

I have also given my husband a one page crib sheet on the techniques
so that if I do freak out he can keep me on track. (Now he has to just put down his Paul Rankin books and read it!).

Good Luck

[amylou]

I hope you both find the hospital/place you choose to birth aids rather than hinders your experience, best wishes and I look forward to hearing about your beautiful new babies

[deb moxon]

Hi,

We HB in hospital as we'd moved house the day before! They were great - I know it does depend upon the hospital you're in but if your partner is your advocate and is confident then you should be fine- I think a lot of the time midwives tell people what they think they are expecting to hear and you may find that they find you a refreshing change. If not just make sure you stick to your guns when you know the decision you have made is right for you. But do take things in with you - some of the less obvious ones are pillows as they are often in demand and they don't have enough and your birthing ball if using one as the one they have may be a size that doesn't suit I kept rolling off there's cos it was too big.

Take care.

Deb x

[babyboos]

our local hospital has huge hydrotherapy pools so i am going there to give birth the paddling pools you hire or buy for home use just don't compare, luckily our hospital has been teaching hypnosis for childbirth for 15 years also so i am hopefully going to be in good hands when the time comes - good old scottish nhs!