Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, but meant to be used with other course materials, December 3, 2001
I highly recommend Marie Mongan's HypnoBirthing course, which I took in Februrary 2000. I had a painless 18-20 hour labor. I did feel pain for the first "surges" when I was home, as I scrunched my eyeballs, went into the fetal position and tensed my entire body. But as soon as I relaxed my entire body and went limp like a rag doll (as I learned to do by listening to the Rainbow Relaxation tape every day for a month prior to my due date) the pain stopped. Any time I felt a surge, I stopped what I was doing, leaned over, relaxed and breathed deeply. I never asked for or needed an epidural. At times, I also felt endorphins, which the book claims is the bodies "natural anesthesia." My son's labor (our first baby) was a wonderful, transformative, spiritual experience and I cannot wait to go through labor and give birth again.This book (with a number of relaxation/self-hypnosis exercises to be practiced alone or with a partner) is a course workbook to be used in conjunction with course materials. When I read it, it occurred to me it would have made little sense without the benefit of taking the class. Note, however, that the author is the first person to admit that it was never meant to be a stand-alone book. Another book I highly recommend is CHILDBIRTH WITHOUT FEAR by the late, great Dr. GRANTLY DICK-REED. One of the refreshing things about Marie Mongan is that she credits Dr. Dick-Reed with inspiring her to create the HypnoBirthing program. Dr. Dick-Reed's book (unfortunately out of print, but I found it at my local library) explains in greater detail all aspects of labor and delivery (actually the best description I have ever read.) He is the one who theorized that releasing fear and tension during labor is what enables women around the world to have a painless labor/birth experience. Reading THAT book will help to understand and appreciate Marie Mongan's book (especially if you don't have a HypnoBirthing practioner near you) and the other course materials she created.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for all moms-to-be, June 9, 2000
This book is wonderful! It explains the process of hypnobirthing completely. It is easy to understand and is written well. The author explains how women experience pain in childbirth only because we are conditioned to think its necessary. Marie Mongan elaborates on this theory, the "Curse of Eve", as she calls it. After reading this book I definitely felt more confident about my pending birth of my second child, and I am more relaxed in my day-to-day events. She explains how we are affected by stress and fear, how it works against our body's natural flow of labor. This book also explains techniques for relaxing and for inducing self-hypnosis. It also includes the different stages of labor and different sections for your birthing partner. It is not intended to be the only source if you choose this type of birthing process, you should also consult a therapist who is knowledgeable in hypnobirthing. She even has a website for more information! I definitely recommend this book for any mom-to-be, especially if your first birthing experience was not what you wanted for yourself and your baby.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT WORKS. PERIOD., May 28, 2004
I was a skeptic. But with my first pregnancy, I had so many problems with drugs *not working*. The epidural wore off. Twice. And the third time it never took. I had other drugs on top of it, and they ran through me like water. The doctor said my adrenaline was running so high, it didn't seem like anything would take. And when it finally came time to push, I was so exhausted, they had to use forceps to keep me from a c-section. And I felt every bit of it.So with the second pregnancy, I knew better than to rely on drugs. I had to learn how to deal with it on my own. At first, I was panicked. And then I read this book. I thought they were crazy. But what the heck - I gave it a try. I labored at home for 18 hours without even having to call my doula yet. My husband watched football playoff games!!! But be careful - you can cut it too close! I genuinely felt very little pain! But if I had it to do over again, I would have gotten to the hospital just a bit sooner, because my daughter was born only 20 minutes after I got in my hospital bed! I was not in near the amount of pain after delivery, my daughter was very alert, and best of all, I had - I still can't believe I'm saying this - a WONDERFUL labor and delivery. It reaffirmed for me what we are really capable of handling - not just having handed to us, but *handling*.
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