Are you apprehensive about birth?
Is this your first time giving birth?
Have you had a negative birth experience in the past?
If you have answered yes to any of these three questions I hear you and let me first say congratulations on your pregnancy.
I have been working with parents for many years now to help them prepare for the arrival of their bundle of joy.
This is a beautiful journey and it’s so special to share a fraction of it with you as you birth yourself as a parent too. The birth experience can have a big influence on how you connect and interact with your baby so it makes total sense to prepare as much as you can.
You might ask why would you need to learn about birth? Women have been birthing since the beginning of time so it’s nothing new. It’s true, but what’s also true is that we used to live in tight–knit communities. One or more of the women around you would have had lots of experience around giving birth. There would have been at least one wise woman, a midwife of sorts, that could share her wisdom and knowledge with you.
In that respect I’m afraid just searching for information on the internet just doesn’t cut it.
I’m a confident person, happy to ask questions and to challenge the status quo if it doesn’t feel right for me. When I became pregnant I realised that my confidence was dwindling as the months passed. There was so much contradictory information out there. So much anxiety around birth. Some of my appointments with the midwife were not great. I came to see that what I wanted didn’t seem to matter much. One of the midwives scanned me head to toe and told me point blank that I am not “allowed” a home birth. I found out afterwards that it was something to do with policy and BMI. The hospital where I had all my scans and prenatal care had no concerns as their BMI threshold was higher than the one of the trust this midwife belonged to. She did not base her assessment on anything else but the fact that my BMI was not in the right bracket. There were no other health concerns of any kind.
Why am I sharing this? Because there are many amazing medical professionals out there to support you but this is your journey. It’s about you having the confidence to ask all the questions you need to in order to make an informed decision when it comes to your body, birth and baby.
Using hypnobirthing has allowed me to keep calm and focused on labour and birth. I was blessed to have the birth I was hoping for, at home, in the birthing pool.
The parents I have been working with had all different birth experiences. Some have gone according to plan A and some they had to adapt to plan B or C or D. What I found great about The Wise Hippo Birth Preparation Programme is that it covers the mind-body connection, practical things like birth positions and procedures, what’s available and so much more. The focus is on the right birth on the day whatever that might be. It’s about empowering you with knowledge so you have the confidence and ability to adapt to situations, feeling in control and knowing what to do.
Read more about The Wise Hippo Birth Preparation Programme.