Hypobirthing - Birth Breathing

I used what I would call 'hypnobirth-ish' techniques to breathe through the contractions with my second birth, but when it came to pushing it was all instinct - my body took over and second stage was over in less than five minutes. To have 'breathed the baby out' I would have had to actively try and stop myself from pushing and there was just no way that would have been possible, DD2 was on her way out and not even her mama could stop her I have to say though, that I actually quite enjoyed this method of working through each surge, counting up and then counting down - or rather, knowing at roughly which number my contraction would peak and then slow down etc.

Hi there,

I had a very successful hypnobirthing labour. It was also a homebirth, so I was very relaxed and obviously this helps enormously.

I didn't actually find the breathing technique for surges helpful, but because of my state of mind and my understanding of what my body was going through, I was able to stay relaxed and just 'zone out'.

The actual birth was amazing and I breathed my baby out without any issues. The breathing was timed with the urge to push, so it's more like a relaxed form of pushing IYKWIM. I was adamant that I wanted my baby to be born in peaceful surroundings (no stress, tension raised voices etc) and hypnobirthing (and a pinch of good luck) enabled me to achieve this.

I did the course and I don't think I would have been so successful had I just read the book. Everyone's different though, and I'll confess to not being much of a reader. I did practice the techniques and breathing every day though and listened to my affermations twice a day in the last few weeks.

I often think back to that moment of birth with fondness and love. It was so beautiful ♥