Where to begin.......Well I’ll simply start with why I choose for me and my husband to do a hypnobirthing course. Our first child was born after a prolonged induction and then emergency C-Section due to prolonged second stage. I felt out of control from the initial plan of induction through to the delivery of our daughter, and for some time after her birth until I actually got home! This was not an experience I wanted to repeat at any point in my life. I did know however that I still ..read more

Rupert is 7 months tomorrow. How did that happen. I’m still trying to come to terms with my birth but seeing as it is maternal mental health week I’d thought I’d finally share it.   Rupert is my first baby and first pregnancy. My sister is the fabulous Devon Mama. I did the course with her extra early and I thought I had it all sussed. I had practised my hypnobirthing and planned my birth like a wedding. It was all I ever thought about during my pregnan ..read more

My waters broke at home in bed at midnight the day of our due date. Contractions came fast and strong soon after and we were advised to get to the hospital. I used the tens machine on the way to hospital. After being checked over we stayed in the waiting room to get to 5cms and hoped that the pool that we had requested would be available . The waiting room was really uncomfortable, with bright lights and people coming and going, not the surroundings I had envisioned . At around 3am we moved ..read more

So my first birth was what many people would describe as a perfect birth. I had a water birth at the hospital and used gas and air for pain relief. However I was absolutely terrified throughout the whole experience as I hadn't done any research/learnt any breathing techniques/ done any hypnobirthing. I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't trust my instincts or my body and I came out of a relatively positive birth feeling traumatised. Now my second birth was d ..read more

I turned 38 weeks on Saturday July 13th 2019, which also happened to be the weekend my husband & I had booked for our final weekend away as a couple - we were heading to a spa in Falmouth! We arrived, dropped our bags, walked into town, had lunch, walked back to the hotel, got changed, went to the spa, I had a swim, got out of the pool… and my waters broke. In the spa. I had always wondered whether I’d know it was my waters for sure or whether I would think I&am ..read more

My baby boy was due 30/09/19, after two sweeps and a lot of walking up and down hills it was time for an induction. I felt able to deal with this because I was prepared for change and for my birth plan to change, just like hypnobirthing teaches us. I was able to make informed decisions about my labour and I felt confident in doing this. Learning hypnobirthing isn’t just about relaxing and breathing. It taught me technical information about babies, labour and birth so I was knowledg ..read more

Stacey is a friend of mine, I had never known anyone so excited and calm about birth. I invited Stacey to come along to one of my group courses as I thought hypnobirthing would suit her down to ground after birthing three babies already. After the course had finished she was so excited to prepare for the birth of her fouth baby. She quietly came over and said to me that she was going to have a 'Free Birth' just her, her husband Mitch and the family in the comfort of their o ..read more

The Birth Story of Beau Kiwi I’d read a lot of different birthing books and around half way through my pregnancy I was starting to think about a home birth. The idea of having my own space, not having to leave the house and just stay completely in my zone really appealed to me, not to mention the fact I could be eating Thai in my own bed with a glass of champagne whilst cuddling my newborn after the birth. I bought a birth pool in a box off Facebook and planned out a relaxed space ..read more

My labour was nothing but amazing. I never thought I'd use the word labour and amazing in the same sentence. Due to my son not growing at the rate he needed to I was having regular growth scans. On Tuesday 6th February I went in to have my last growth scan to be told they wanted to induce me that afternoon, completely taken back by this I told the doctor No and that I needed to go home and think about it. After going home and discussing the options with my husband, we made the decisi ..read more

I met Jenny from Jenny South Photography at the Mothercare expectant parent event in Plymouth I was 16 weeks with a tiny bump, she had set up an in store free bump shoot to advertise her lovely maternity shoots, she had a long flowing dress hanging up and I was dying to put it on right there and then. I decided I had to book in for a shoot. Jenny recommended around 30 weeks when bump is nice and big but your not to uncomfortable at the end. Unfortunately I broke my foot at 28 weeks and did ..read more