Rise & Glow Blog | Positive Birth Stories & Hypnobirthing in Action!

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  1. Support Small Businesses this year with this Ultimate Gift list for pregnant mamas, all organised by trimester!

    Pregnancy-first-trimester-gift-ideas

    First trimester

    • “Morning Rescue”, Hottea Mama – a gorgeous refreshing brew to help keep that first trimester nausea at bay https://www.hotteamama.com/
    • Pregnancy Journal, Blush & Gold – capture the important details of your pregnancy to treasure forever https://blushandgold.co.uk/
    • Pregnancy leggings, Latched – this small business is my absolute favourite maternity sportswear brand. Super comfy leggings that grow with you through pregnancy and postnatal – I absolutely lived in mine! https://latched.uk/

     Pregnancy-second-trimester-gift-ideas

    Second trimester

    • Hypnobirthing Course, Rise & Glow Births – second trimester is a great time to start preparing for a positive birth and meeting other parents-to-be at our fun and relaxed antenatal classes https://www.riseandglowbirths.com/
    • Pregnancy pillow, Baby Bub – as bump gets bigger, a decent pregnancy pillow becomes essential for a good night’s sleep. This innovative compact design is great if you don’t have a lot of space https://www.babybub.com/
    • Ginger Switchel, Mother Root – when you fancy something that feels a little grown-up, try this fresh and fiery non-alcoholic sprit with soda water, ice and a slice of lemon https://www.motherroot.london/

     Pregnancy-third-trimester-gift-ideas

    Third trimester

    • Labour prep kit, My Expert Midwife – fabulous products to reduce your risk of tearing during birth, and help with postpartum healing https://myexpertmidwife.com/
    • Maternity photoshoot – a photoshoot in your third trimester with the right photographer will make you feel like a goddess! Lucy Griffiths Doula is a super talented photographer who specialises in maternity, birth and newborn shoots in Kent & South East London https://www.lucygriffithsbirthphotodoula.com/
    • Pregnancy massage – such a great way to soothe any aches, relax, and prepare for the arrival of your baby. Hannah (Serving Hands Massage Doula) is based in Bexley in South East London does wonderful pregnancy and postnatal massage https://www.servinghands.co.uk/

     Pregnancy-fourth-trimester-gift-ideas

    Fourth trimester

    • Oscha sling – babywearing is an absolute gamechanger for soothing your little one, keeping them close, and helping them sleep. There are lots of carriers on the market, but there’s something magic absolute wrapping your bundle of joy in a beautiful snuggly woven wrap. Oschas Slings are based in Scotland and have the most amazing woven designs. I’ve worn my mine pretty much every day for a year for both my babies and I have really special memories of the bond we created in that sling https://oschaslings.com/
    • New Parents Box, Cook – what a great gift to have nutritious, delicious, hand-prepared food in the freezer ready to pop in the oven during that hectic newborn phase https://www.cookfood.net/menu/meal-boxes/new-parents
    • Postnatal doula – treat a newborn mama to a few visits from a postnatal doula. Emma (EmmaDoula) covers homes in South East London and can help with cooking and cleaning, supports you with caring for your newborn baby, and is a listening ear when you need https://www.emmadoula.co.uk/

     

    All recommendations are my own, based on my experiences as a mum of two, and from working with hundreds of pregnant women - I'm not affiliated with any of the above ðŸ™‚ 

    Laura xx

    Group Hypnobirthing Courses

    Private 1:1 Birth Prep Coaching

    [email protected] 

     

  2. Hypnobirthing is for every type of birth. It's not just for natural births and water births, but it's also incredibly valuable for medicalised births. The most important thing is not the mechanics of how your baby is born, but how you FEEL about your experience before, during and after birth...

    > Did you feel in control?

    > Did you feel well-equipped?

    > Did you feel supported?

    In this Positive Caesarean birth story, first time Mum Aimi tells the story of how Hypnobirthing helped during her C-Section.

    Positive Caesarean at Darent Valley Hospital

    My birth wasn’t a physiological water birth as planned but in the end I was okay with that and felt well prepared for every eventually- much due to the HypnoBirthing course which went through all different birth plans including C section. I had written this ‘plan c’ using the template Laura gave us.  The techniques learnt in the sessions helped me and my partner throughout pregnancy, birth and the period afterwards. 

    As I approached 41 weeks, I was going for lots of walks, doing all the old wives tales and thinking ‘my baby will come when my baby is ready…’ I was calm and started to weigh up options. It was great talking to the other women from the course, using BRAIN and hearing their experiences of a sweep. At my 41 week midwife appointment, I decided to have a sweep. Not the most comfortable thing but using the up breathing technique and remembering ‘floppy jaw’ helped massively. I was 1cm dilated and went home for a long walk. I was getting some contractions and the mucus plug came away. I left the midwife by booking in an outpatient induction at Darent Valley Hospital two days later just in case .

    I got to the induction date, and after much thought and consideration of my options, I decided to go in. The midwives at the hospital were fantastic and spoke through options, never pressuring me into anything. I decided to go with rods- a non hormonal option that expands the cervix. I was still 1cm. Again breathing and staying relaxed, as well as birth partner support reminding me of these things, helped with this. I was happy I chose an outpatient induction and got to go home for a good nights sleep. I slept well and had some more contractions throughout the night. I played the HypnoBirthing tracks as I went to sleep. I had done this throughout pregnancy and so these made me feel relaxed and positive. 

    At 8am, I arrived back at the hospital to have the rods taken out. Firstly, I had a CTG to check the baby. During this the baby’s heart rate dropped and the midwife quickly went into action and I was taken to theatre. As I was wheeled there, I remember feeling calm and going through the positive affirmations in my head. My husband kept reminding me to breathe and did this with me. The baby’s heart rate went back up and I had a cervical examination. The midwife noticed something squishy that didn’t feel like her head. A consultant came to do an ultrasound and they couldn’t tell if the umbilical cord was in the way. We decided that the safest thing to do was a C-section rather than break the waters. I was 2cm now. 

    The midwives, consultant and anesthetist were incredible, keeping me calm, relaxed and positive. I can’t thank them enough. Throughout the whole C section I felt this way and continued with my breathing techniques. This was very grounding and helped both me and my birth partner to focus on something. He was amazing stroking my head and using the affirmations we had talked about in the course. He felt confident and informed of the procedure, having gone through it with my birth plan. We spoke through options with the midwives with skin to skin and delayed cord clamping being important to me. They offered to put on music however in that moment I didn’t want it and felt good just talking to my partner and breathing. The moment we saw our little girl over the screen was emotional and amazing, and so were the skin to skin cuddles with her rooting at my cheek looking for milk. Having arrived at the hospital at 8am, she was born less than 2 hours later at 9.57am! 

    Afterwards I found out that it was jelly from the cord that they could feel, and I was at peace with the birth and all the decisions made, knowing we had taken it step by step and were very considered in these.

    During my recovery, I even continued to play the HypnoBirthing tracks to feel relaxed and get to sleep for naps! I feel very fortunate to have had such fantastic support from the hospital, my birth partner and the techniques and people I met from the course.

    The best thing was feeling empowered, confident and in full control throughout my birthing experience. 

    Huge congratulations Aimi and Nikita on the birth of their beaby girl Eleni, and thank you for sharing your positive birth story!

     

    Do you want a Positive Birth too? 

    My antenatal Hypnobirthing courses are available both in-person and online, and are designed to be a fun and relaxing experience for you and your birth partner - a real highlight of your pregnancy.

    Find the perfect class for you: 

    Not sure which course is for you? Sign up to my next FREE Online Mini-Masterclass to start your journey to a glowing pregnancy, a positive birth, and the best possible start to parenthood!