Hypnobirthing

I have been using a CD for quite some time but I wanted to get the Mongan Method book & CD too… I had been looking everywhere for it and FINALLY came across it in Barnes & Noble this past weekend. I didn’t want to order it online with out being able to see it and flip though though, just in case I hated it! Well, now I wish I would have bought it sooner. I have been practicing my breathing techniques along with my visualization like a good girl. I am really hoping it helps! I would love feedback from anyone who has happened to use Hypnobirthing (any method!!!) as a means for pain management. I am really hoping that when the time comes I am able to put myself in the zone and I am able to use these techniques. I’m worried there will be lots of distractions in a hospital setting where as at home it’s easy to go somewhere quiet and practice and on top of the hospital… HELLO, pain is quite the distraction by itself!!! I wonder how hard it will be for me to go in and out of trance so I can communicate with my husband and doula as well as nurses when they come in for checks. My goal is to remain MOBILE so I can be in and out of the labor/birthing tub and walk as much as I can as well as change positions… I know that will be impossible with an epidural. On top of all this, being that I look like I am going to give birth at any moment now, everyone wants to ask my preference about labor and they seem to think that telling me “No matter what you do, get the epidural” is great advice. I always just smile and nod because it’s sooo much easier than trying to explain an unconventional method of pain management and lets face it… I really don’t have the patience to argue over an epidural with someone. I just hate feeling like my decision is in some way being challenged. I have been really good about trying not to set any standards or expectations for myself and if it gets to a point where I really can’t handle it anymore I am totally OK with getting the epidural. This is something I have never experienced before and I refuse to let myself have a one track mind about it. I am trying to be open about all the possibilities of labor and delivery and what may or may not happen. I must say though, the closer it gets the more disappointed I am that my goal of having a waterbirth in the hospital seems to be slipping away. I knew it wasn’t guaranteed but I’d really hoped the hospital would make a decision (and the RIGHT one) by now.