Bob and I went to our 2 sessions of the Hypnobirthing class we signed up for. We learned the basics of hypnobirthing, and we'll have opportunities to go over it more with our doula later this month when we meet with her. I like the teachings of hypnobirthing, but unfortunately Bob and I weren't psyched about the teacher of our class. There was a lot that I read in the book that she didn't go over at all, or that I would have liked to hear in more detail. So I look forward to learning more about hypnobirthing from our doula, and I'll probably have to reread some parts of the book to get a firmer understanding.
Here's a photo that Bob took last night while I was mellowed out after a bath and watching my belly shake from the baby's movements. It reminded me of that Tori Amos song, "little earthquakes".
I went to two different prenatal yoga classes this week, to make up for skipping a class last week. I have a goal to go to at least one public yoga class each week. So now I've been to 4 different teachers' prenatal yoga classes, and I have to say I love Britt Fohrman's class! Going to a different teacher made me appreciate her even more. I feel lucky to have a teacher that I like so much. I trust her judgement and I appreciate her teachings. Every class she teaches is different from the previous class, and I am learning a lot about pregnancy and birth just through her yoga classes.
3 comments:
I can say that you look bigger in this photo than you did when I saw you in person last Saturday. Maybe that's because you are lying down and the baby is naked. :-)
Re HypnoBirthing instruction, I am sorry you didn't feel as if you got all you could from your HyopnoBirthing classes, I do hope you mentioned this to your instructor? she needs good feedback and you need good instruction. As HypnoBirthing practitioners we can't cover everything in the book in any great depth, the book is for you to read and refer to as you go through your pregnancy. The classes are designed to teach you both the techniques and for you both to practice practice practise, what you focus on is what you get and you can focus on the negative or point your face (belly......) towards the very best outcome for you. Please do get back in touch with your practitoner to let her know how you feel/felt?
all the very best to you, your Partner and baby on your most positive birthing expereice!
regards
Glynes
glynes@supportedjourneys.co,uk
www.supportedjourneys.co.uk
Hi Glynes,
Thank you for your interest and support. We filled out an evaluation form with our honest opinions and suggestions on the last day of the course. I might also talk to the owner of the facility/organization where the class was held, but I'd like to talk to my doula first about some specifics of what most hypnobirthing classes include.
I like how you said that it is important to focus on the positive outcome. Unfortunately, the teacher of the class I went to went over a lot of things that can go wrong at a hospital birth. I would have liked to hear less talk about hospital politics and more about the relaxation and visualization techniques of hypnobirthing.
I was expecting to practice more during the class.
I had imagined that we would have an opportunity in class to practice the relaxation techniques with our partner. Like setting an anchor, or the light touch massage. However the teacher simply pointed out the pages in the book that we can read, and she breifly mentioned a few, but not clearly and did not give us a chance to practice it. And for the light touch massage, she said "that is just like it sounds, a light touch" and she waved her hands in the air. However in the book it talks about using the backs of your hands/fingers and running them up the person's back. I asked my husband later if he understood what she said about the anchor and touching my shoulder, and he didn't even remember her saying that (since she mentioned it so briefly). What he did remember was how she talked a lot about things to avoid in labor and at the hospital, as opposed to what to focus on. She talked on and on about the importance of hiring a doula, although 5 of the 6 couples had already raised their hands to say they'd hired a doula for the birth. A lot of what she talked about seemed to be her opinions and suggestions as a birth doula, rather than as a hypnobirthing teacher. Also, she had a poster that depicted the fear-tention-pain cycle, and she showed it to us at both classes, stressing what we should avoid, as opposed to what to strive for.
We did practice several guided visualizations, where the teacher played relaxing music and then read to us the rainbow visualization or another guided visualization/meditation. And she taught us sleep breathing and slow breathing and had us practice each for about a minute. However, I didn't feel that her instructions were clear, nor were they consistent with what I'd read in the book. For the sleep breathing she had us inhale and exhale to the same count, where as in the book I think it suggests that the exhale was double the length of the inhale. She didn't demonstrate the breathing, either, just talked about it. And for the birth breathing, she said we don't need to practice that and she didn't describe it at all! So during a break, I approached her and asked if we will learn the birth breathing at the next class, because I remembered reading in the book that we can practice it while going to the bathroom. She was surprised to hear that, and when another student chimed in and pointed out the pages in the book, she read aloud to the class those pages describing the birth breathing. But again, didn't demonstrate and I didn't really understand it. My doula told me she will go over my questions with me, so I think I'll be okay. But I expected to get more of a basic understanding from the class.
Please let me know if the class content that you teach differs from what I've described. I have nothing to compare the class to, except what the book talks about. The book stresses several times how important it is to take a class. I'd like to believe that the class we took is an unfortunate fluke and that most classes better prepare students for a hypnobirth.
Thanks,
Jen
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