ONE SKILL you need to learn for an EASY BIRTH

Hello Lovely, I’ve got a question for you!

When someone tells you to ‘just relax’ how do you feel?

Really take a moment to think about your answer. In fact, let me give you a scenario...

You’re at the dentist's office, feeling vulnerable and a little bit nervous. You’re laid back on that big chair right in the middle of the room with your mouth wide open and there’s a complete stranger coming towards you with pokey tools in hand. Right as they’re about to enter into your personal space they tell you to ‘just relax’.

Do you feel any better than you did 10 seconds before the dentist’s demand? When you heard the word ‘relax’ did you automatically melt into a tranquil state of meditative calm?

Erm no, I highly doubt it. Because being able to easily slip into a state of deep relaxation is a skill and it takes practice!

We don’t often think of relaxation as being a skill but I think most people have picked up a few techniques that they’ve practiced over and over so many times that they just come as second nature. For example, maybe when you’re prompted to relax you automatically take a few deep breaths or shake your muscles out to let the tension go?

These are great tools to have but sometimes they’re not quite enough!

It’s very difficult to override your natural instincts by just consciously thinking to yourself that you should relax. It’s the subconscious part of your brain that controls how your body reacts to what it classes as a stressful situation.

And it really doesn’t matter if you can logically reason to yourself that a situation shouldn’t be scary or stressful either! People who are scared of spiders can logically think to themselves that a spider is much smaller than them and can do them no real harm, but it doesn’t stop their muscles from tensing up and their heart from racing when they spot one! Their fight/flight/freeze response kicks in because in the subconscious part of their brain, spiders are filed under ‘DANGER’.

So what does any of this have to do with having a baby?

The more relaxed we are in labour and birth, the easier it is!

In fact there are so many benefits to being relaxed in labour that I don’t think I could fit them all into one blog post! Here are a few of the biggies:

• Being relaxed in labour means your muscles aren’t tensed up – making for less painful contractions

• Because your muscles aren’t tense they can do their job more easily, often resulting in a faster labour

• When you’re relaxed you’re more likely to let your body work at its own pace which means less chance of tearing

• When you’re relaxed you have a clear mind which means it's easier for you to make the best decisions for you and your baby

• It is so much nicer for your baby to be born into a calm atmosphere rather than their first experience of the world being a room of frenzied panic

In every Mamakind course I teach I ensure that both you and your birth partner learn a variety of super effective relaxation techniques which really target the subconscious part of your brain. So you will absolutely be able to quickly access that tranquil state of meditative calm I was talking about earlier, even when you’re experiencing your strongest contractions!

We’ll practice everything you learn in our sessions together but you can choose your favourite techniques and the ones which work best for you to practice at home, with my continued support; right up until your little one arrives.

It’s important that your birth partner has these tools in their back pocket too because it means that they can be there for you in labour – especially if you have a bit of a wobble because they’ll be able to bring you back into that relaxed mindset really quickly.

And as if this blog post hasn’t given you enough reasons to learn these relaxation techniques I’ll leave you with just one more – these skills are completely transferable to the rest of your life. Having these tools will make you a calmer parent, which I promise your little one will thank you for!

P.S. If you’d like to find out a bit more about Mamakind courses you can take a look here

More About Mamakind Courses

Or send me a message! My number is 07757697593. I’d love to hear from you soon lovely!

Something New Is On It's Way

Hello Lovely,

I have news! There's going to be one more to adore around here because our baby girl will be arriving this Spring!

I'm so excited to start sharing this pregnancy with you and fill you in with everything that's been happening so far. But shall we start with the basics?

• I'm 24 weeks pregnant

• Little one is due to arrive this May

• She's our first baby girl (Her big brother Reuben, is 5)

• She seems to be happy and healthy in there!

• I'm planning a homebirth and practicing my Hypnobirthing (of course!)

Have I missed anything important?

Thankfully this pregnancy has been pretty kind to me so far, but I'll be sharing lots more about the highs and lows soon, so keep an eye out for updates.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or think I've missed anything, you can pop me a message.

And if you're in the bump club too, please let me know how far along you are! We're in this together Mama and I want to chat all things pregnancy with you!

Get in Touch

IS HYPNOBIRTHING WORTH THE PRICE?

From the Google research I'd done, I really thought that Hypnobirthing could be a massive help to me when it came to labour and birth but oh. my. god. THE PRICE!

As a first time Mama I was having the time of my life shopping for prams and co-sleepers and car seats (don't even get me started on the tiny sweet baby clothes!!) but it soon adds up, doesn't it?

And splashing out hundreds of pounds on a hypnobirthing course felt like a risk. What if it didn't work for me? What if it was just something for the hippy-zen-goddess-yoga addicts and I feel like a prat? Would I be better off saving that money for all the nappies we were going to need to buy in the next few years?!

There was always the option of a cheap online course but I really wanted that in person interaction. I was the first of my friends to be pregnant. And all of my Mum's advice was outdated (sorry Mum!).

I wanted to be able to ask questions about things I didn't understand there and then. I wanted support from someone who knew what they were talking about when it came to birth... because I was absolutely clueless!

Well, I obviously didn't stop going on about it because in the end, my birthday present from my partner, Alex, that year was a place on an in-person group hypnobirthing course.

And let me tell you, it was worth every penny.

The course taught Alex and I so much! Being there in-person meant we were both engaged in what we were learning, whereas I think it would be easy to get distracted from a pre-recorded online course. In fact, I feel quite confident in saying that there is no way Alex would have committed to sitting through an online course at all!

But the very best reason for spending our money on an in-person course was this:

My hypnobirthing teacher understood exactly how I was feeling about labour and birth and they were nothing but supportive.

Having the opportunity to build a relationship with a teacher who will be there to hold your hand through such a new and daunting experience is so powerful.

I would be honoured to do the same for you.

Working with me One to One will give you:

• Someone you can turn to with all your questions about labour and birth

• Ongoing support, no matter what you decide is best for your birth

• Bespoke course content tailored to your individual circumstances

• Someone to keep you accountable when it comes to practicing what you've learnt

I'm your best friend for birth prep Mama! And I'd love to hear from you if you're wondering what it would be like to have someone knowledgeable about birth in your corner.

Still not sure if Hypnobirthing is worth it? This November I'm offering my full One to One course for just £275 instead of the normal £350!! All you have to do to secure the offer is place your £50 deposit before the end of November!

If you'd like to find out more about my One to One Hypnobirthing Courses then this is the place for you:

One to One Hypnobirthing

Or if you'd prefer to have a chat so I can answer your questions directly, I'd love you to pop me a message on WhatsApp - 07757697593

I can't wait to hear from you soon!