ANTENATAL & Hypnobirthing classes in Rayleigh, Essex
Hi! I'm Michelle...
...An antenatal and hypnobirthing teacher from Rayleigh, Essex who
has the privilege of supporting expectant parents, like you, at this
precious and unique time with balanced, modern and
up-to-date antenatal classes, and I feel passionately about
you having a positive birth experience, no matter how or
where you choose to birth your baby.
You will leave my engaging and interactive one-day
hypnobirthing course equipped with coping tools and
techniques to use in ALL types of birth. I believe that
'the true value of a birth plan is not in the actual plan itself, it's
within the process of becoming informed about your options', and discussing your preferences with your birth partner. Babies don't always stick to the birth plan, but hypnobirthing will give you a new found confidence, supporting you to make informed decisions along your journey, working united with your birth partner and your care providers as a team.
A local digital directory of pre- and post-natal services in Rayleigh SS6, Essex.
From pregnancy yoga classes to parent & baby groups. A digital download with direct links to websites and social media accounts for 28 local services - whether you are wanting a pregnancy treatment to pamper yourself with or looking for support with feeding or sleeping once baby is here.
Plus a BONUS discount code for £15 of my Positive Birth Course, access here!
FREE DOWNLOAD- BUMP TO BABY DIRECTORY
About Me
I was absolutely petrified of giving birth! All I knew about birth- I didn't like. I hated the idea of being out of control, the hospital/ emergency environment make me feel anxious, and I used to wonder why something so essential to life looked so painful....
As part of our antenatal classes at Southend Hospital we had a tour around their Mid-wife led unit, and I was dreading what I would see and hear; so much so that we almost skipped that particular class..... but I am so glad that we didn't. I saw a lady walking into the unit with her husband, she stopped and held onto the hand rail as she was having a contraction.... and then continued walking again. It was so different to how I imagined labour to look like. That was when I realised that I needed to learn more about birth, so looked at the different options available in our local area of Rayleigh, and booked on to Hypnobirthing classes, and it was by far the best thing that we did during pregnancy, for me both, my husband, our baby, and me.
Why I was so thankful for Hypnobirthihg...
My son's birth-
Once my contractions reached reached '3 in 10 minutes' as advised by the midwife we travelled to the mid-wife led unit in the car. On arrival, I was examined and told that I wasn't even 1cm dilated so we were sent back home. I felt so deflated... I was having regular contractions but the only thing at that stage that I could have was a paracetamol.... when we got back home 'I got into my zone' and used every hypnobirthing tool we had in our box! After 3 or so more hours my husband was adamant that we needed to travel back in, I was so worried that they'd say that I was now only 2 cm, I didn't want to go... I was happy in the bath and wanted to stay there.... eventually I agreed and we travelled back in.
It was lucky that we did because on arrival I was fully dilated and very soon our baby boy was here! The coping tools and techniques that I had learnt in our hypnobirthing classes definitely got me through those 3 hours in the bath, and I don't know how things would have progressed or what I would have done without them!
We had planned to birth my daughter in our home in Rayleigh, as I really did not enjoy the two car journeys with my son's birth, and as part of our birth preparation did refresher hypnobirthing classes. We had our home birth, but it wasn't the home birth I had imagined.....
After having one child already, I thought I knew what to expect when it came to birth... but just like how no two children are the same... neither are their births!
My contractions felt completely different this time round, over the course of the weekend I wasn't really sure if I was in labour or not... their were no midwives available to come and assess me, and when the contractions got to a stage where we realised this really was the real deal it was too late for anyone to get to us. My husband and sister were at home with me, and delivered my daughter. The paramedics arrived shortly after. My husband and sister were busy following instructions from the 999 operator so all I had was my own voice in my head for encouragement, talking me through her birth, and my toolbox of coping techniques we had learnt on our hypnobirthing classes. The voice in my head was coming from a place of calm and confidence, which I truly believe was down to what I had learnt in our hypnobirthing classes.
The tools and techniques I teach in my hypnobirthing classes can be used in ALL types of births- water births, induced births, with intervention and caesarean births . One thing that surprised me most when I first learnt about hypnobirthing was the science behind it. With a degree in Psychology... and having also been a Maths teacher for over 10 years... I like things to be logical or evidence-based. I also like my sessions to be fun, interactive and engaging. I can promise you my hybnobirthing classes are nothing like being back at school! .....If you would like to learn about these coping tools and techniques for birth, and want to approach your birth with calm and confidence take a look at my one-day group hypnobirthing and antenatal course. Or if your partner is still a little dubious about hypnobirthing (like mine was), take a read of the science behind it. It really is more logical than you might first expect!