HypnoBirthing, The Mongan Method
I came to this book, and the class that you take to go with it, with low expectations, and high hopes.
Starting with page 117 through 271, there's a ton of great information about birthing positions (253-263) and relaxation techniques (pages 117-158). The narrative about the labor and birth process itself was a bit preachy and long-winded, but easy to skim.
You'll notice that I skipped over 100+ pages.
I'm going to just spill the beans on the throw test, from page 68:
Notice that healthy people rarely speak of becoming ill. However, people who are not healthy frequently punctuate their conversation with talk of their physical ailments. Think about the phrase, "The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." Rich people don't often speak of being poor or not being able to afford goods. On the other hand, poor people, or people who "think poor," regularly end thoughts of spending with the phrase, "I can't afford it." They remain in the situation and go through life affording very little. It is therefore essential that you keep your thoughts and language focused on what you do want rather than creating wasted, negative energy around circumstances that you don't want.
I threw the book across the couch.
Let's take a step back and talk about why I'm reading this book at all.
It turns out that there is some research that suggests mothers who engage in hypnobirthing (not TM) have fewer complications/interventions, smoother labors and calmer, more "satisfying" births. And hey, Kate Middleton used hypnosis mp3s to prepare for her birth. (yeah, whatever)
On top of all that, my doctor said that mothers who took these classes seemed calmer and happier in labor and delivery. I went in with as open a mind as I could with something whose primary focus was on hypnosis.
What I did not expect was the classist, moralistic chapters on the how individual "negative" thinking is somehow responsible for systemic injustice.
And what happened in the class itself is a whole other story. Because this is a book review, I'll just stick to what I got out of the book.
The 'Birth of Hypnobirthing' chapter is worth skipping. There's so much talk in the class and the book about limiting negative influences and horrifying stories. Despite that, this chapter is full of Marie Mongan's personal and very negative birth stories. I wouldn't say they are horror stories, but they are about systemic disenfranchisement and the terrible practices of doctors treating birth as an event mothers were better off unconscious during.
Page 48 has a diagram of what the uterine lining looks like. I haven't followed up with my doctor on how accurate this is, but I got my first in-depth explanation of what labor is likely to feel like due to the way that the muscles are laid out. Good stuff!
Then there's a bunch of stuff about why doctors and hospitals are bad.
Finally, we get to the techniques and practices in chapter "Preparing your Mind and Body for Success" on page 117. THIS IS WHAT I WANTED THE BOOK FOR. I also got a copy of the Rainbow Relaxation CD, which has a nice lady repeating some pleasant (and in a couple instances extremely patronizing) affirmations. I was able to overcome my annoyance at some of the comments and felt relaxed listening to the CDs. You can get a copy of the CD on archive.org.
I'm starting in on the rainbow relaxation CD, and have read through what's said in it. It's relaxing! I can't really provide a solid judgement on that really until after the birth, but hey, for now, feels pretty good.
Like I said earlier -- the pages about relaxation which start around page 117 and end at about 271 (with a bit of what I considered useless advice inbetween) are pretty ok.
Overall, this book didn't pass the throw test, and I hope to find some better information about the practice of hypnobirthing down the road (versus HypnoBirthing[tm] -- a whole other set of drama about how a couple individuals stopped working together...). The book came with my class though, so I'm keeping it. For now.
