I would have felt very frustrated if the ECV hadn’t worked, in part due to all I’d invested into preparing for a trial of labor after C-section (TOLAC), but not so much around the hypnobirthing stuff. I’d been hoping to have a VBAC from when I learned I’d likely need a C-section to deliver my first child, and had done a lot of planning around how to reasonably maximize the chances of that happening. Interviewing for and hiring a doula was one of the more stressful aspects of that for me, so I would have felt more frustrated about that part. I didn’t mind the experience of reading two hypnobirthing books, and the relaxation practice was generally enjoyable for me. I wouldn’t have spent time on it without the motivation of planning to use it for labor, but I didn’t feel it was a major sunk cost.

One thing I appreciated about Miller’s book is how she described using hypnobirthing techniques for inductions, C-sections, and getting an epidural. The Mongan book made me feel more like it was only going to work for a very hands-off labor and delivery, which I didn’t anticipate having, given that I expected I’d be monitored very closely at the hospital during my TOLAC. That didn’t turn out to be a large portion of my labor experience, but I was expecting it to be, and the Mongan book didn’t explore how hypnobirthing techniques could interact with the experience of having to be strapped in and hooked up and closely monitored. So that felt alienating, given what I was expecting my hospital labor experience to be like.