When I first got pregnant with my son Leo in 2006, I was full of the usual misconceptions about birth. Like most people, I believed that giving birth could only safely be undertaken in hospital and was likely to be horribly painful. And - as much as I was excited about having a baby - the thought of actually giving birth filled me with a sense of dread - and fear.

Thankfully, during a tour of my local maternity ward a kind woman recommended HypnoBirthing® to me.  I had come across the name before but had ruled it out originally, as I thought it sounded a bit too alternative for us and I did not think I would be able to convince my partner to come along. As this woman seemed very down to earth, however, I decided to look into it properly - and I am so glad I did! It turned out to be the most valuable preparation we did for the birth of our son, and taught us so much more than the traditional antenatal class that we had also enrolled in.

Even though both myself and my partner had been quite sceptical of HypnoBirthing® initially, we quickly were won over by its scientifically backed approach - once the actual physiological processes of birth were explained it just made so much sense! We loved how relaxed we felt after each session and came away from the course brimming with confidence and even excitement about the upcoming Birthday! Plus, practising the relaxation and visualisation exercises was a wonderful way of directing the focus inwards towards our growing baby, whilst ensuring both some valuable family bonding with my partner and some precious "me time" during the otherwise all too busy final trimester of my pregnancy.

All the practise and preparation really paid off and helped me to keep calm and in control when roughly a week before my due time I got diagnosed with some rare liver condition that resulted in my consultant recommending induction of labour within 7 days if the baby had not shown up by then on its own. The date for induction was set just two days before our son's actual due date - and I was determined that he would have been born by then!

HypnoBirthing® gave me the confidence to trust my instincts and gave me the tools to get into labour naturally - with 1 day to spare before the dreaded deadline for induction! It ultimately gave me the confidence to plan and even fight for a homebirth - when prior to my pregnancy I had always looked at friends who had opted for homebirth with a sense of bewilderment. ("Surely, birth could only safely be undertaken, surrounded by lots of equipment and medical staff in hospital?" I had believed).

In the end my son was born safely and wonderfully in a birthpool, at home, after a very manageable and largely painless 8 hour labour. The experience that birth does not have to be the scary and horrendously painful event that I had previously so dreaded, was such an eye opener and impressed me so deeply that I decided to leave my previous career of Design behind and retrain as a HypnoBirthing® practitioner myself.

I have experienced the power of HypnoBirthing® first hand and know that it works! I passionately believe that every woman should be empowered about her natural ability to give birth easily, safely and comfortably. Fear and misconception have surrounded this most powerful and transformative event in a woman's life for too long in our "advanced" western society - all too often resulting in long drawn out and needlessly painful and complicated births.

 

I teach with passion and compassion and create a 100% supportive environment in which you and your birth companion can learn the technique and explore your choices for your upcoming birth.

I would like to stress that even though I myself opted for a homebirth, HypnoBirthing® techniques have been devised to support gentle childbirth in every environment, be it at home, in a birth centre or in a hospital. I believe that every woman has to choose her place of birthing according to her individual circumstances and depending on where she feels safest and I teach without bias towards any particular option.


Qualifications, Experience and Memberships

• Experienced, Certified HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator (HBCE) since 2008
• Affiliated to HypnoBirthing® Institute
• Active Birth Training modules 1,2 & 4 with Janet Balaskas - (Module 3 to complete in 2012)
• Currently studying towards Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) @ Clifton Practice - to complete December 2011
• Facilitator @ Bristol Homebirth Support Group
• Local Maternity Services Liaison Committee (MSLC) member
• Member of the Federation of Antenatal Educators (FEDANT)
• Member of the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services
• Student Member of Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy