Hypnobirthing & Antenatal Classes
Honest - Empowering - Evidence-based
Balancing Birth Hypnobirthing is a full antenatal course for you and your birth partner, allowing you to feel prepared and ready to embrace your labour and birth. All brought to you by an experienced midwife and hypnobirthing expert.
A relaxed and engaging course where we will explore all you need to know to feel prepared for your birth. However you want your birth to be, you will be given the tools you need to help make that happen!
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Whether you're looking at ways to cope more easily in early labour, to have a more comfortable birth by discovering alternatives to medical pain relief, or if you will be having a birth with interventions and want to learn tools to help you make informed decisions and feel in control, then this is the course for you.
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Although the benefits of hypnobirthing can sometimes feel like magic - it's actually very scientific and evidence- based. Despite it sounding like it's a bit hippy-ish, it really isn't.
If you're not already convinced of the benefits hypnobirthing can offer you, then click here to find out more!
Keep scrolling to find the course option that is right for you, or Get in touch for more information.
What will i learn?
Everything you need to know to prepare for birth & beyond
Realistic,
practical and Engaging content
Feel empowered, prepared and ready to experience your birth with excited anticipation.
how your body
actually works
in labour -
work with it,
not against it
Tools to help you have a calmer, shorter and more comfortable birth
Relaxation & breathing techniques
Enjoy your pregnancy, and go on to have the birth that is right for you.
Feel ready to embrace parenthood
Who can benefit from Hypnobirthing?
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The short answer to this question is EVERYONE! But do read on to learn about some of the many benefits hypnobirthing can bring you...
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After completing your course, the way you view labour & birth will have been transformed from fear and anxiety, to calm and confidence. Leaving you to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and look forward to your birth rather than seeing it as something to endure. You'll have a new understanding of your body's innate ability to bring your baby into this world when your body and mind can work in harmony. You will feel prepared, confident, and empowered to make informed choices that are right for you and your baby, even in situations where birth doesn't work out as you expected.
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Both you and your birth partner will be taught a range of skills & techniques to help you remain calm, comfortable and in control throughout your pregnancy, birth & beyond. These are beneficial for anyone, but can be particularly useful if you're feeling anxious about birth.
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The key thing about hypnobirthing is that it's not about any particular birth outcome, but how you feel about your experience that is important. A positive birth experience is much more likely when you go into your birth trusting the process and feeling informed, prepared and confident about your birth. The benefits of this will last a lifetime so it's an investment well worth making.
Intensive Hypnobirthing Course
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This course is 4 hours long where we cover the essentials of hypnobirthing, with additional 1 hour Postnatal planning session online. This course is ideal for someone that's nearing their due date or someone who has done another pregnancy class such as NCT or other traditional antenatal class, but wants to explore hypnobirthing in more depth.
Calm Caeseraen Birth Course
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The benefits of hypnobirthing can be used to help you to prepare for your abdominal birth, empowering you so you can have a more calm and positive experience for both you, your partner and your baby.
This 3 hour course is for you if you want to get the best out of your Caesarean birth
What else is included?
A beautifully illustrated Hypnobirthing work book covering all the information from the course in detail for you to refer back to and digest in your own time. ​
Birth partner scripts, positive birth stories and birth plan guide.
Visual relaxation aids and affirmation cards.
Powerful MP3 tracks for you to listen to and practice in the lead up to your birth
A welcome bag full of gorgeous goodies to help you relax and prepare for birth.
My on going support until the birth of your baby. I will be available via message or short chat should you need clarity on something, advice if your birth plans change, or you want a positivity boost!
Access to the Balancing Birth closed Facebook group where you can connect with other local hypnobirthing mamas
What is Hypnobirthing?
Hypnobirthing is a method of keeping calm and relaxed during your birth. It provides you with the knowledge of what is actually happening in your body during labour and birth, including the hormones that make it happen and how you can influence these. Having this understanding just makes it all make sense, allowing you to be able to trust the process, and to see the importance of being relaxed, so that your mind is working with your body, allowing more ease and comfort during birth, and for you to feel more confident and in control.
People often hear 'hypnobirthing' and think of being hypnotised, or of embarrassing stage hypnosis shows, or think that it's just for home waterbirths. Hypnobirthing is nothing like this at all! Really the name is a bit misleading and doesn't do justice to what hypnobirthing actually is - an evidence-based, scientific and empowering approach to birth preparation to help you to get the birth you want, whatever that birth looks like.
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The 'hypno' bit comes from the Greek word for sleep. Not that you're actually asleep, but the relaxation techniques you will learn help to put you into a brain-state almost like a daydream where your conditioned subconscious beliefs and fears about birth can be reprogrammed to those of confidence and calm while you're still fully in control and can come back into the moment whenever you choose.
The neuroscience behind using hypnosis during pregnancy and birth shows us that when pregnant women use particular breathing patterns, positive visualisations, and self-hypnosis, the brain can learn to associate giving birth as something that is not to be feared, but is a natural and normal process that a woman's body is designed very well to do.
Frequently Asked Questions
All of your Hypnobirthing questions answered.
Does hypnobirthing replace the need for other pain relief during labour?
There is no right or wrong way to use hypnobirthing to help during your birth. Some people find they can use the breathing techniques and their toolkit of coping strategies all the way through labour so don't require other forms of pain relief. Others may find they want to use their hypnobirthing tools alongside other forms of pain relief. If your aim is to avoid drugs completely, then hypnobirthing will certainly be able to help you to do that! But if you’re open minded about other pain relief options, it is likely you wouldn't need these until further into your labour, and the techniques you learn will be invaluable during times when other options may be limited such as during early labour at home, on the journey to your place of birth, and whilst being assessed.
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When should I use hypnobirthing?
Quite honestly, once you have learnt and practiced your hypnobirthing techniques, you will have them for life, not just for birth! They can be used in any situation that may be painful or feel stressful. They can be used anywhere! At home in the earlier stages of labour, or if you're staying at home to give birth, while in the car on the way to the birthing unit, whilst waiting to be admitted, on the induction ward, during a caesarean birth, in triage. They can be used throughout your labour and birth to help you to feel more calm, in control, and help you to have a more positive birth experience!
You can also continue using your new skills and breathing techniques beyond the birth during your recovery - for any after-pains, while any stitches are healing, or after a caesarean birth, or any other situations that may be uncomfortable or stressful. Your partner can use them too!
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Does my birth partner need to attend the hypnobirthing classes with me?
Ideally, yes they do! Your birth partner will become an essential part of your team, so it is important that they learn alongside you. As well as learning the practical techniques so that you can practice together in the lead up to your birth, they will also benefit from learning about your options and choices you have during labour, so they have the knowledge and confidence to be your advocate if needed. It is very normal for your birth partner (or even you) to feel sceptical about hypnobirthing! - this is something we see very often, so don't be put off if they are initially brought along as a reluctant participant - just explain that you’d like their support in something that is important to you. Once they hear all the science behind hypnobirthing it's almost guaranteed that they will quite quickly change their mind to being fully on-board.
If your partner is unable to attend due to work commitments etc. then another family member or close friend may attend in their place.
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When is the best time to attend a hypnobirthing course?
My hypnobirthing courses are taught either as one-to-one sessions or in small groups so that I can give you the best possible support. You can come from as early as 16 weeks of pregnancy. Advantages of starting earlier means you have more time to practice and really embed the techniques you will learn so you can get maximum benefit. Taking the course earlier can also be really useful for those feeling more anxious in pregnancy, to help you learn skills to enjoy a more relaxed pregnancy as well as preparing for the birth itself. You can attend the course any time up until when you have your baby, but ideally you will have completed your course by around 36 weeks of pregnancy so you still have time to practice all your techniques to get the more benefit. However, whenever you decide to join me you’ll find incredible value from the course...It is never too late!
If you have only discovered hypnobirthing very near the end of your pregnancy, there is the option of my intensive course, however if you do have time to do the full course you will get more value from it.
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Do I need to be planning to give birth at home or in a birth centre to use hypnobirthing?
Not at all! Birth centres and home births can be a great choice, as the birthing environment can better support your birthing physiology, and helps your birthing hormones to flow, as well as may other benefits which will be covered during the course. These birth choices are not an option for everyone, or something everyone wants - Hypnobirthing is an option for eveyone! Whatever your birth preferences, or birth requirements are, hypnobirthing will be able to help you! It can reduce stress and anxiety, help you feel more in control and able to make informed decisions if interventions become necessary, or can help you to have a calm VBAC birth or Caesaraen birth. The techniques can be particularly valuable in helping you to deal with any unexpected situations that may arise during your pregnancy, birth or postnatally. Wherever you choose to give birth, hypnobirthing can help you to have a more positive and empowered experience.