I've had 2 kids - both natural births, one at a birthing center and one at home.
With my first one, I didn't take a birthing class. The midwives said they thought I had because I was doing pretty well. But with the second one I took some Hypnobirthing classes. I have to say that it was a HUGE difference.
The first time around, I tightened up every time I had a contraction, and every contraction went straight to my lower back. It was also a pretty long labor (27 hours). So that made everything harder. I was probably actively pushing for at least 4-5 hours.
The second time, using Hypnobirthing techniques, I was able to stay calm and relaxed every time a contraction came. And the best thing was, they didn't go straight to my back. My labor only lasted about 7 and a half hours. I didn't need to push until the very end, only about 5 times. When I said it was time to call the midwife, my husband said, "Isn't it still too soon?" because I wasn't in pain. I told him I thought things were opening up more and we should call her. The timing was perfect; by the time the midwife arrived and had her stuff ready, the contractions were pretty constant. My husband was telling me to squeeze his hand during the contractions, but I said no, I wanted him to lightly stroke my palm out towards the fingertips. For me, this really helped keep me from tensing up. I've realized that if I make fists, my whole body is tense. In Hypnobirthing, you're not supposed to need to push at all. I found that at the very, very end, I couldn't resist the urge to push. But it was still such a better birth experience than my first one.
I should add that I'm in Japan for a few more months and had both of my babies here in Japan. There was a woman teaching Hypnobirthing, but she was moving out of Japan about the time I wanted to learn it. I was a bit frantic and thinking maybe I could fit in classes during the week I was in Michigan, but she agreed to do 2 special sessions with me before she left because I was so eager to try it out. (I had bought and read the book.) Usually, you go for a series of 7 classes (I think).
I'll be back in Michigan and I plan to attend more Hypnobirthing classes before my next one. I highly recommend it.
My mom always talks about Lamazze and says Hypnobirthing is the same thing. I think they're probably very similar, except there's one big difference. I think that Lamazze has you focusing on a point outside your body during the contractions. Whereas, Hypnobirthing has you concentrating on your own body and the baby, and mentally going inside yourself. So the focus is internal rather than external.
I hope this helps! Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions you'd like to ask.
Good luck!
Sam