HypnobabiesLA

Thank you, Hypnobabies LA!

Yvette and her husband Brian welcomed Audrey into the world in January, 2011. It was the second birth and first Hypnobabies experience for this Glendale mom and we're grateful for her hearty recommendation.

"My husband and I decided to take the Hypnobabies childbirth class because we were looking for an alternative to the Bradley method which, although helpful for the birth of my first baby, did not lead to a drug-free birth that I ultimately wanted.

 "Also, we had both heard and read about hypnosis and thought it was the best way to achieve relaxation during childbirth.

 "What surprised me about the class was how much I looked forward to going and how enjoyable the 'homework' was.  Practicing at home, doing the self-hypnosis, was so relaxing and fun, it wasn't really 'work' at all.

 "The most helpful thing I learned was that I could re-program myself into truly knowing that my body was meant to give birth, and that birth is the most natural thing -- not anything to be afraid of.

"Stephanie's experience as a hypnotherapist added to the class, as she guided us into hypnosis effortlessly.  She also taught each class with a measure of humor and I could tell she really cared for each student.

"Altogether, Audrey's birth was so empowering and was really everything I wanted.  I had a mostly pain-free and 100% drug and intervention-free birth.

 "When we got to the hospital, I was already at 10 centimeters.  Only an hour before we got to the hospital, I was laughing and joking around with my doula!

"I felt so empowered -- I can do anything!

 "I'd recommend Hypnobabies to any mom-to-be desiring to bring a child into the world peacefully, without drugs and medical interventions, because I believe it is the most effective way to achieve such a birth."

 

VBAC Study: Natural birth after Cesarean is OKAY!

From the U.S. Dept of Health and Human services, Women's Health for Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: New Insights

Structured Abstract

Objectives: To synthesize the published literature on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). Specifically, to review the trends and incidence of VBAC, maternal benefits and harms, infant benefits and harms, relevant factors influencing each, and the directions for future research.

Data Sources: Relevant studies were identified from multiple searches of MEDLINE®; DARE; the Cochrane databases (1966 to September 2009); and from recent systematic reviews, reference lists, reviews, editorials, Web sites, and experts.

Conclusions: Each year 1.5 million childbearing women have cesarean deliveries, and this population continues to increase. This report adds stronger evidence that VBAC is a reasonable and safe choice for the majority of women with prior cesarean. Moreover, there is emerging evidence of serious harms relating to multiple cesareans. Relatively unexamined contextual factors such as medical liability, economics, hospital structure, and staffing may need to be addressed to prioritize VBAC services. There is still no evidence to inform patients, clinicians, or policymakers about the outcomes of intended route of delivery because the evidence is based largely on the actual route of delivery. This inception cohort is the equivalent of intention to treat for randomized controlled trials and this gap in information is critical. A list of future research considerations as prioritized by national experts is also highlighted in this report.

 

Full report: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/vbacuptp.htm

 

Birth Story of the Month -- February, 2010

This mom welcomed her daughter last month in comfort  & joy after using the Hypnobabies Home Study course. Thanks to the Mocks for sharing their story with Hypnobabies Los Angeles.

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I am so happy to announce Paloma Louette Mock was born on the 29th of Jan. It was a beautiful, powerful, magical experience. As many of you know, I spent the second half of my pregnancy exploring the idea that pain did not have to be part of a woman’s birth experience. And as I learned more about it, I decided to take the Hypnobabies home study course. I spent time everyday for the last two-and-a-half months of my pregnancy meditating, and listening to both the hypnosis and affirmations CD’s. As my due date drew closer, I spent more and more time preparing for her arrival mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Paloma’s due date came and passed. I was 41 weeks and 1 day. My patience was dwindling. It was my third day of having contractions, but they were so far apart (every 20 min) and very mild. I was able to sleep through most of them during the night and carried on as though everything was normal during the day.

As I grew more impatient, I called my midwife and asked her if I could start taking Cohosh to try and get things going. She told me she was down the street and would swing by to check my cervix and see where we were. She arrived, checked my cervix, and told me she was going to stay. She said I already was in labor. I laughed in disbelief, told her I felt great and that I didn’t think I was in labor. Little did I know, I would be holding my little Paloma less than 5 hours later.

My mother came over (she lives next door) along with my Aunt. We called the birth team and celebrated, getting last minute things together. Jo, my 3-year-old daughter, and I sang lullabies to the baby. I would pause to breathe through my contractions comfortably. My birth team arrived, and my home was filled with love and feminine wisdom. I was surrounded by the women of my family. Those that I grew up with, and those that raised me.

As things picked up, I drew inward during my contractions, still comfortable, just more focused. Soon, I was ready to get into the birth tub. Jo got into the tub with me and poured water over my back between contractions, which grew more powerful, but still comfortable.

Soon I was in transition. I hit that wall so many women hit, and I announced I was done. I was prepared to be pregnant forever, I just wanted to stop. My body was tired. When I said this, the midwife asked, “Are you done with the tub, or the whole show?” I told her I was done with the whole show, as she put it. From my statement, the midwives and my doula knew we were almost there. They got me out of the tub and into my bed. I am so glad they did. All snuggled up, my contractions stopped for a few minutes and I took a much needed nap.

I woke up refreshed, to the most powerful contractions. I labored on my hands and knees. At one moment, I felt an energy rush from my body that was so powerful, and so pure, I knew it was the energy of Mother Goddess. I roared like a lion. And at that moment, I felt the soul Paloma and I shared since her conception split into two, and I knew she was ready to be born. There was still a lip left on one side of my cervix, which the midwife pushed out of the way. This was the only uncomfortable part of my birth. But still not painful. Her birth was free of both pain and fear. And as soon as Paloma’s head was past the lip, the birth actually felt wonderful from that moment on. Pushing was so satisfying, and I couldn’t feel the contractions anymore. I only knew I was having one because my body would start pushing by itself. In fact, everything I did was involuntary at that point. I had surrendered to the power of birth and it took over. As she was crowning, my midwives and doula coached me through pushing her head out between contractions, to protect my perineum. I let her shoulders turn, and the rest of her body slipped out of me and the midwife put her on my chest. There she stayed until the placenta was also delivered. My father came in and cut her cord (he also cut Jo’s) and then she nursed.

A few hours later I found out that the moon was full. In fact, it was a Wolf Moon, which is the brightest full moon of the year. That must have been what she was waiting for. : ) The celebration continued through the night. And, eventually we got a little shut eye. Paloma’s birth was empowering, magical, peaceful. She came into this world at home, in our family bed, surrounded by the people that love her. I am eternally grateful for the experience.

California Childbirth Deaths Rise. We lose more moms than Bosnia

As induction and cesarean rates skyrocket, California's maternal death rate has tripled.

A California Department of Public Health that is overdue for release is reported to have grim statistics on the era of medicalized birth.  One article about the report appears in the SF Gate online news source. A bright light is the result from one Orange County hospital, which improved outcome simply by letting moms and babies wait until the babies are ready to be born!  The article notes that this simple improvement in health may be hard to achieve in for-profit hospitals -- because C-sections are TWICE as profitable as vaginal birth.

Take in this food for thought here:  Interventions linked to death rate

Supermodel's unmedicated home birth -- it's hip to be hypnotized!

Gisele Bundchen, successful model, and Boston football player Tom Brady, welcomed their new baby in December at their home -- without medication.

According to several news sources, the Brazilian-Bostonian decided on a water birth after viewing the 2008 documentary, “The Business of Being Born” which highlights how unnecessary medical attention can disrupt the natural process of birth. 

Bundchen has said the birth didn't hurt at all. She has credited a combination of breathing technique and self-hypnosis for her comfortable birth.

If you google "Bundchen birth" you'll find a slew of brief stories, many of them taking a very nasty tone about this -- as if the model's "claim" of comfortable birth were as unbelievable as her salary. The fact is, even tall, slender women who haven't been told their whole lives they have "childbearing hips" can birth their babies naturally in comfort; and even women who can afford the very best medical interventions available can benefit from self-hypnosis.

Congratulations. Thanks for letting folks know about the power of the mind and body.

And welcome to the world, Benjamin Bundchen Brady!

A Midwife's tranformation from skeptic to Hypnobabies believer...

              Despite the fact that I have been attending births for fourteen years, my first experience with Hypnobabies happened only a year ago…and I have to admit that I wasn’t looking forward to it.  Why not?  Because I’d had previous experiences with “hypno”-classes and the subsequent births were often MORE challenging as the parents were not only underprepared for what they were about to experience, they were set up for disappointments with unrealistic expectations of a “pain free” birth if they just did their hypnosis “right”.   It was not unusual for my client to feel labor becoming active (generally 3-4 cm dilated) and panic, thinking she was not doing things ‘right’ because of how it felt, losing all confidence in her ability and desire to complete the job at hand…the exact opposite of what you want in labor.
        The upcoming birth was a first time mother and, as most people know, first babies tend to be the most challenging.  I was skeptical and nervous about it as I knew this was a “Hypnobabies” mother.  I braced myself for the false alarms I often saw, emotional breakdowns, the pep talks I was used to giving about how she was NOT failing or doing it wrong, that her body COULD do this, that nothing was wrong.  During our prenatal visits I would ask her if she had any questions this week about nutrition, signs of labor, questions about the birth – and I was always pleasantly surprised at the depth of her knowledge and she would always assure me that they’d just gone over that information in her Hypnobabies class!  My curiosity was peaked, but I did remain skeptical.
              I got the first call early in the morning that the mother thought her water had broken, but they assured me that she was doing just fine and would keep in touch with me and let me know if anything changed or she needed me.  She planned to do what she’d learned in her Hypnobabies class…to eat well and rest until labor commanded her attention.  Plan for the day was to take naps and watch a DVD!  Alright…now I was impressed!  I didn’t have to tell a first time mom to take it easy in early labor, or calm a panicking family because her water had broken!  How refreshing!
              We kept in contact throughout the day until I headed to their house late that evening.  Contractions were coming very regularly, but she was still calm and handling things very well.  I figured I’d be there for quite a long time as it still sounded like it wasn’t far into her labor.  I got to their home and she was listening to her CD’s, calm and happy – uh oh, more confirmation that I’d probably be there a long time.  Imagine my delight when their son slipped out into the world while his mom sat on a birth stool in her peaceful bedroom!  Tucked into bed, mom smiled and looked at me and said, “That wasn’t nearly as bad as so many people told me it would be!  That was AWESOME!”
              I was thrilled beyond words – but figured that the chances were great that it was the parents that succeeded IN SPITE of the method, not because of the method.  Glad that they had such a positive experience, Hypnobabies hadn’t quite won me over yet – I would need more experience with it before making a final judgment.
              Thankfully I wouldn’t have to wait long.  Another first time mother (who had attended the same class as the previous mother!) called me early in the morning with early labor.  Similar story as her classmate; she labored all day, finally calling me out late in the evening.  A smiling and happy first time mom greeted me from her rented Jacuzzi hot tub in her family room.  I commented to my assistant that we were probably in for a LONG night and after our initial assessment we laid down to rest.  One hour later, when I went to check on the baby, she was out of the water and going to the bathroom.  Still smiling and happy, we all agreed that an internal exam might be a good idea.  I prayed that she would be at least 3cm but braced myself for much less.  To say that I was shocked is an understatement: I found her to be 8cm dilated and her water broken around my hand.  Her response to finding out she was 8cm was a smile and a calm, “yay”!  She got back into her water and soon after she delivered her 10 pound baby girl in her bedroom.  Her response to the birth was that it was “beautiful”.
              I could feel myself converting to being a Hypnobabies fan.  Not for myself, mind you, but for my clients who time and time again had similar experiences.  Calm labors, centered mamas, working hard and never complaining because they EXPECTED and PREPARED to work hard!!  Babies born beautifully by empowered mothers who soon-after say how wonderful their births were.  I found myself referring people eagerly to the Hypnobabies classes, and my reaction to finding out someone was a Hypnobabies family was, “AWESOME!”  It has totally shattered all of my previous misgivings that I had developed, as it became obvious how different the Hypnobabies series was from all other hypno- classes.  The main difference that I saw was the amount (and quality) of childbirth information given.  Family were given information on how to keep themselves healthy through the pregnancy, stages of labor, physiological changes and ways to help facilitate the birth through positional changes and movement – and also given information on ways to use hypnosis to assist them through the birth.  The parents were given realistic expectations so that they could prepare for what they were likely to experience, not false hope of escaping the experience.
              As a midwife, my Hypnobabies births are easy on me as I am dealing with healthy and informed families ready for the challenges ahead – and they are a blessing to the families as the tools and information given to them through their classes help them have the best outcomes possible!!  Yes, Hypnobabies….you turned this skeptic into a fan!

Signed,

Stephanie Soderblom LM CPM
Nurturing Hearts Birth Services
www.azhomebirth.com 

Ben Affleck tells Oprah: I quit smoking w/ hypnosis

Actor Ben Affleck appeared on Oprah's television show on January 20th, 2008 and talked about quitting smoking.

Ben said he finally kicked his 20-year smoking with hypnosis. He  smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for years, until he learned he was becoming a father. "I finally decided to quit smoking when I was going to have a child, and that was the thing that sort of put it over the top for me," Ben says.

Once he made the final decision, Ben says he went to a hypnotist recommended by his friend, Matt Damon. "He sips water and just talks to you for an hour and explains to you how nicotine is poison," Ben says. "And it seems really, like, 'How could this help me?' And all of a sudden you think, 'This is asinine that I had been doing this to myself for all these years.'"

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, understanding your reasons can be vital. "Ben stopped because of his kid. That's internal. That's not someone else giving him a hard time and browbeating him. He's doing it for the right reason," he says. "We should be very cautious about the reasons we pick. Otherwise, we'll run into that same ambivalence that many of us have when we make any kind of behavioral change. Deep down inside, in our core essence, looking at the authentic us, what's the reason to stop smoking? We've got to figure that out to get going."

Excerpted from Oprah.com’s Mind and Body section at www.oprah.com/health.