Faq

We suggest you begin the program near your 7th month of pregnancy. However if you have only several weeks to prepare, you can still benefit simply by speeding up the process. In fact, we have had many women successfully use the program with only 2 weeks of practice. We suggest that each 40 to 60 minute audio is listened to 7 times for maximum results. But if you have only a few weeks to go, you can “piggy back” and shorten your listening to 5 times per audio. There are 4 audio files total that facilitate your learning program and 3 audio’ files for actual use in labor.

Yes. We understand that not every woman has a labor support companion while giving birth. Our program is designed to give every women support whether you are on your own or with a partner.

The Labor Companion Audio makes the hipbirth method unique. After learning the tools that assist you in preparing for your birth, you’re not just expected to remember them! The Labor Companion Audio will help facilitate the tools that you have learned. Simply match the timing of your contractions with the appropriate timing on the audio, (30 second contractions, 60 second, 90 second, up to  2 minutes) and you will never be alone during any of your surges. There’s even a short deepening period after your contraction has ended, creating a deeper level of relaxation and preparing you for your next wonderful surge.

The hipbirth method focuses on relaxation and positive progression while continually suggesting that surges are normal and natural. Reconditioning your mind with a new expectation is essential. Years of conditioning in western society have convinced us that labor is a painful process causing women to suffer for many hours. However, in other cultures where birth is considered normal and easy, women’s births reflect their expectations; they give birth easily and many times painlessly. We all know the stories of women in the rice fields giving birth and immediately returning to work. However exaggerated these stories may or may not be, (did she really have to keep working?), we do know for a fact these woman gave birth easily. By simply changing your perspective about birth you can achieve a faster, easier labor.

The hipbirth method is the perfect complement to any childbirth education or relaxation program. Because the program is concise and directive, learning extra skills to deepen your level of relaxation will only enhance the education you have already received. Many childbirth education courses spend the majority of their class time teaching the birth process and intervention issues. The goal of the hipbirth method is pain management. There are approximately 7 hours of audio material in the hipbirth method. Find a small amount of quiet time each day to sit back and relax; the hipbirth method will do the rest by gently instilling a new expectation for childbirth.

The benefits of  the hipbirth method extend to creating a more comfortable pregnancy. These benefits include better sleep, diminished fears associated with birth, reduced or eliminated need for an episiotomy, accelerated postpartum recovery, lower incidence of postpartum depression and fewer difficulties with breastfeeding. Preparing with this easy and affordable program will help you become more comfortable during and after your pregnancy and will ease the anxiety of childbirth.

Even if you are planning to use an epidural, the hipbirth method will provide you with all the tools necessary to move comfortably through early labor when epidurals are not generally
advised.

Another common concern is when using a relaxation program women will become disassociated from their labor, or won’t feel contractions. Not only will you feel your contractions but also because you are at ease, you will be more present with your body. Women using the hipbirth method often make such remarks as, “That was a really good contraction” with a smile of achievement on their face.

We suggest you begin the program near your 7th month of pregnancy. However if you have only several weeks to prepare, you can still benefit simply by speeding up the process. In fact, we have had many women successfully use the program with only 2 weeks of practice. We suggest that each 40 to 60 minute audio file is listened to 7 times for maximum results. But if you have only a few weeks to go, you can “piggy back” and shorten your listening to 5 times per audio file. There are 4 audio files total that facilitate your learning program and 3 audio files for actual use in labor.

Absolutely, your partner, lover, husband is not excluded. By easily learning the tools that you have developed, your partner becomes the perfect facilitator for the hipbirth method. Bringing you closer through the bonding of birth is an experience that we encourage. We’ve even included “hip notes” which is essentially a cheat sheet so your partner can have easy access to all the tools you have learned.

Mindful relaxation is simply a relaxation tool designed to facilitate “focused concentration.” It is a learned response to the mind that enables you to achieve your desired outcome, i.e. weight loss, anxiety or pain control. When used for the purpose of childbirth, your learned response is to achieve a relaxed and positive attitude toward each and every contraction.

The hipbirth method is designed to teach you on a mental, emotional, and physical level. The hipbirth method is also easily adaptable to any spiritual or religious belief. Covering all your bases is essential in childbirth preparation. The hipbirth method will ensure that you will continually elevate your endorphin levels throughout labor, thus keeping you relaxed and at ease. This is easily accomplished through daily relaxation exercises.

Mindful preparation is a natural process and is part of our daily lives though we may be unaware of it. For example, haven’t you driven several miles in your car and suddenly realized you couldn’t remember what you had just passed? There is no threat of danger in these situations, your conscious mind has simply left the driving to your subconscious, allowing yourself some time for a good daydream. This is a form of mindful relaxation and generally occurs when you are driving a habitual route. Here’s another example: when you’re watching a movie or reading a good book, your awareness is only focused on the illusion. Your body and emotional being respond as if your experience were real by physically reacting with tears, fear or romantic bliss. Relaxing your conscious mind for the sake of momentary enjoyment is a form of mindful preparation. Athletes do it all the time– injuring themselves during a game and not even being aware of it until the game is over. Their focused awareness is on the game not the injury. This type of reaction can only be achieved through mindful relaxation.

Mindful preparation simply feels like a deep state of relaxation. You may experience a feeling of floating as you become more comfortably relaxed. Another way to describe the feeling of mindful relaxation is daydreaming. Your mind becomes so at ease, it naturally drifts into a pleasurable state of awareness. Your subconscious mind takes charge, allowing you to access new suggestions as it reorganizes its old thought patterns. With the hipbirth method the old, outdated expectations of birth are made new with positive suggestions for a normal and easy, no-drama birth.

You must always be a willing participant to practice a learned response. With an inevitable due date approaching, most pregnant women are happy and willing to learn tools that will create an easier labor.

Yes. Mindful relaxation is not determined by whether your eyes are opened or closed, but rather by your state of mind. You make the choice of eyes opened or closed during labor and practice periods.

Yes. The hipbirth method promotes movement. We want you to move as long as possible during your labor while still enjoying the benefits of mindful relaxation.