Hypnobirthing:
a s**t name for the local antenatal class you *actually* need to do
Honest and supportive local antenatal classes for parents in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
If you’re reading this right now, you are most likely pregnant – congratulations!
But between the horror stories of long labours, and the jokes about trying to shit a water melon, I’m guessing you’re thinking that you should probably get clued up on how this whole birth/parenting thing works?!
If this is your first baby, those initial feelings of excitement and joy are prone to giving way to feelings of trepidation with every “you just wait…..” story. Or, maybe you’ve been here before and you want to do things differently this time.
Whatever your reason for being here, Hypnobirthing is the antenatal course to tackle your feelings head on and take you from feeling uncertain and clueless, to confident and prepared for birth, however it unfolds.
Hypnobirthing may sound like some new age, hippy-dippy crap, but it’s actually been around for a long time.
What’s different is my take on it.
Think of me as your favourite independent coffee shop versus going to the Starbucks of antenatal classes.
I am not going to tell you that if you put some fairy lights up and pop some whale music on you will be able to simply breathe your baby out. My approach is packed with local knowledge but rooted in the science behind the physiology of birth and first hand knowledge of births in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire as a practicing doula with nearly a decade of experience working with families in the area.
I’m not teaching you from a generic script or on a webinar; I’m in the room with you for 100% of the course, for any of those “what if” type of questions that pop up in the moment and so we can have some really full and frank discussions without having to wait to put your hand up or type into a question box.
As a truly independent birth educator I can tailor the course to those attending, giving you real examples and, up to date info about experiences at the John Radcliffe, the Horton and Warwick Hospital.
You can count on me:
- not to patronise you
- not to tell you how you should birth your baby
- to challenge how you think about birth (in a good way!)
- to empower you in your choices
Because yes, of course you can’t control everything about birth, but you can prepare for it.
Whilst I can’t offer you the perfect birth that is all sunshine and unicorns, what I can teach you is how to feel calm and in control, no matter what the situation.
So that you can look back on your birth with pride and move forward without carrying the hangover of a difficult birth, giving you more time to soak in those precious moments with your new baby.
Hypnobirthing is about taking you from bystander to full participant at your birth.
I learnt the hard way that going with the flow and feeling laid back about birth are not the same thing as actually having a relaxed birth.
In fact, far from it; being unprepared for how birth works meant not so much going with the flow as being swept away on a tidal wave of interventions that I did not want, did not understand and did not expect.
With a complete hypnobirthing course (not just a couple of modules within your antenatal classes), navigating your way to a positive and empowering birth in the modern maternity system becomes a possibility, not a far-off dream for you and your partner.
And if you’ve been told hypnobirthing is something that can be covered as a module within your generic antenatal classes, think again:
The full course is over 10 hours, building up the layers of techniques and knowledge in the following key areas for an empowering birth in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire:
What do you get?
“After the first session, I left feeling excited about going into labour”
As someone that had heard lots of negative stories around pregnancy and birth, I was hugely anxious about pregnancy. However, after the first Hypnobirthing session, I left feeling excited about going into labour and being able to shape my own birth experience with the knowledge I now had.
Amy left me feeling empowered to make decisions about my labour and birth, including going into the science around what’s happening inside the body. I had a really positive birth experience and I honestly feel that was due to undertaking the course and having the knowledge of what to expect and confidence around what my choices were. I felt the course was hugely beneficial to my partner who was such a great support during labour and birth, knowing what my birth plan was.
How you can work with me:
Group Hypnobirthing Course
The complete local and in-person course; perfect if you are starting out on your parenting journey.
10 hours over 4 sessions
£239 for you and your birth partner, face to face at the studio.
Courses run every other month. Chose the course that suits you and your due date.
Session One: WTF is hypnobirthing and how does it work?
Face up to how you are truly feeling about birth and why that will make the biggest difference, discover ways to feel grounded, calm and genuinely excited for what lies ahead.
Session Two: What can we do to prepare RIGHT NOW?
Unpick the pros and cons of the decisions that we make now, put plans in place that will take you through every eventuality with confidence and learn hands on (or off!) biomechanics techniques to ease you through labour in comfort.
Session Three: Question Everything!
Time to say goodbye to the people pleaser in you as you learn how to speak up for yourself and your baby in an unfamiliar/increasingly medicalised environment and make confident, truly informed decisions.
Session Four: The Big Day and Beyond
Bring all of your knowledge together as we walk through birth from start to finish with all the tips and tricks you have learnt. But birth is just the beginning, right? Learn how to smoothly transition into parenthood, understanding your baby’s needs and how to meet them where they’re at.
1:1 Bespoke Course
Approx 10 hours over 4 sessions
£425 for you and your birth partner, either in person or online at a time to suit you – especially handy if you need to factor in childcare.
Pick what you want to cover from the whole course, and my brains, 1 on 1 to cover the bits you want in most detail.
An ideal option if you are 2nd/3rd time parents who have not used hypnobirthing before. We will start with talking through your previous birth experience(s) in detail, to unpack the impact on your upcoming birth and make plans for this time, focusing in detail on the bits that you do need, skipping past the bits that you don’t.
Get in touch to build your course content and find dates that fit.
Refresher Course
You did hypnobirthing before and now you’re back for baby #2, #3, etc but you want to brush up on techniques and your birth plans, because, well you’ve been kinda busy since your last birth and you’ve forgotten things.
We will talk through your previous birth(s), including any unanswered questions or concerns, and see how that affects plans this time, review techniques, pain relief, birth place options, build a new birth plan and walk you through the phases of labour to refresh your memory of when and how to use techniques.
4 hours over 2 sessions.
£185 for you and your birth partner, either in person or online at a time to suit you, schedule the time around your childcare!
1:1 Caesarean Section Course
You know that you are having a caesarean birth but you want more than to just read a leaflet and turn up on your allocated day.
This course will get you and your birth partner ready with a comprehensive run through of the whole process from start to finish, time to build a caesarean birth plan tailored to your wishes and leave feeling cool, calm and collected as well as prepared for your post-natal recovery.
2.5 hours over one session.
£165 for you and your birth partner, either in person or online at a time to suit you.
“We had a blast of a labour thanks to Hypnobirthing with Amy!”
Amy’s course delivered impartial and informative details on labour, birth places and outcomes. There was plenty of information on how to ramp up those labour hormones and staying calm. We left more confident in my ability to give birth and have a positive experience. Importantly, my husband left with a better understanding of what support he can offer as a birth partner.
I highly recommend this course to expectant parents. We had a blast of a labour thanks to Hypnobirthing with Amy!
“Money well spent that will only benefit you and your baby”
At first Hypnobirthing was a foreign language to me (not my wife) and it’s our first child so we wanted to learn as much as possible. Amy was super friendly, flexible, fun and accommodating to our situation.
We are even more excited now than we were before and not as scared about the birth experience.
We couldn’t recommend Amy enough and for any couples out there sat on the fence, we assure this is money well spent that will only benefit you and your baby.
“Informative, fun and opened up our thinking about birth”
My partner found the class immensely helpful and it made him realise he would be very important and needed during that time. He felt incredibly reassured by gaining knowledge on the different pathways a birth can take.
Understanding all the options and knowing preferences was very important to me and Amy informed us very well and left us feeling confident in knowledge and our preferences.
