Yesterday evening was our first hypno-birthing class. Hypnobirthing is a natural birthing process but it's slightly less rigid than the Bradley method.
I really want to keep an open mind about this whole process. As I read the books, I'm making a list of things that I think will work for me. I want to have a natural birth and I think I'm mentally capable of doing it. While not everything that the instructor said resonated with me (she's a little too "feely" for me), she did compare birthing to running a marathon and that hit the spot. I found myself "translating" the instructor's words into scenarios that made sense to me. The instructor said "labor is 90% mental conditioning and 10% physical". This is EXACTLY what I say about running a marathon. Once I translated the scenarios into marathon training, it all makes sense.
For example, most people are afraid of running a marathon. They think it's impossible. Similar to the way most women think pain-free labor is impossible. However, once you have completed your 4 months of marathon training you realize that it's more of a mental exercise than it is physical. I believe this will be the same with labor. I'm going to go into labor thinking, "I can finish this". I know mile 23 hurts like hell but I'll push through it and before I know it, I will have crossed the finish line.
I don't think I'll be able to follow the visualizations that the instructor will propose so this is how I'll visualize my labor. This is comfortable for me and not scary so I believe it will serve the same purpose.
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