About Me
Hi! I’m Jo – a mum, midwife, certified hypnobirthing teacher, experienced and passionate antenatal educator and founder of Your Birth Your Baby Antenatal Course (YBYB).
The Family (not so) ‘Little’
I launched YBYB in February 2020. Great timing – thanks to Covid. Undeterred, but a little impatient if I’m honest, I opened as soon as it was deemed safe to do so. I’m all about the ‘in person’ experience so my courses are mostly for small groups, face-to-face, fun, sociable and interactive. However, having finally taken the plunge and leading a group Infant Feeding Workshop live online recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find it worked well in facilitating both effective information sharing and natural communication within the group, so I am now pleased to be able to offer my courses as a live online option as well.
This year marks 18 years since I led my first ever antenatal class. I’d particularly enjoyed this aspect of my midwifery training and already had lots of ideas about how I’d like to share information with women in an realistic, empowering and partner inclusive way. Good job too as I was called upon very last minute to run a course on my own as a brand newly qualified midwife in 2005. Daunting at the time but I’ve never looked back.
When I parted ways with the NHS in 2019 I was finally able to focus fully on my vision to create a modern, comprehensive and holistic antenatal programme incorporating physical, physiological and psychological education, preparation and support for pregnancy and birth. I’m able to draw on my experience as a midwife (having spent years navigating ‘the system’) and also use my hypnobirthing training and antenatal teaching expertise to provide the kind of informative and progressive course that my partner and I would have loved to attend as parents-to-be.
It’s easy to feel like a small cog in a gigantic wheel, but in the words of the eminent Dr Rachel Reed, if we can all ‘make a difference one woman at a time’ then I believe we are working together for the greater good.
People say that if you genuinely love what you do, it’s clear for all to see and having specialised in antenatal education provision throughout my career, I’m particularly proud that 100% of YBYB course attendees recommend my course to friends/family members.
Your Birth Your Baby is a solo business. It’s me who answers your emails, takes your calls, confirms your booking, sets the room up, buys in the treats, fills the goodie bags, welcomes you in person and takes you personally through every module of the course, continuing to offer support and guidance post course.
Continuity of care right there!
Luckily I always get a team of willing helpers to help me pack up and reload my car after the course (my husband and younger children). Birth balls, chairs, huge squishy mandala floor cushions, deluxe cushioned yoga mats & head rests to shift and so on. You can tell that your comfort is definitely a priority for me!
I try to share as much information and inspiration as possible via Instagram and Facebook. To be fair, socials are not my strong point – but as a one woman band I’ve just got to grit my teeth and get on with it. I’m getting there…
I’ve started writing a blog page and am thoroughly enjoying writing something more substantial than just snippets on social media. Feel free to have a read here.
I’m a life long learner and real birth nerd. I collect (and read!) pregnancy/birth/postnatal/infant feeding/early parenting books, listen avidly to all the birthy podcasts and do everything I can to keep updated with research and practice, to ensure the course remains relevant, evidence-based and user friendly.
It’s been a privilege over the years to have cared for so many women as their midwife, and I find continuing to support women and their partners as they prepare for their birth and 4th trimester experience to be both fulfilling and life affirming.
I teach weekends at Broussa Day Nursery in central Hale WA15 and evenings at Poppies Day Nursery in Knutsford WA16. Both are beautiful buildings in quiet residential areas with ample free parking on non-restricted roads.
They are such warm, welcoming environments and seem so appropriate for Your Birth Your Baby. Oxytocin flows as we admire the precious prints of pudgy painted handprints on display. See the venue details here.
My new and extended Complete Midwife-led Antenatal and Hypnobirthing Course is now born! It’s been a real labour of love and I’m so excited to get started. Read about the course here.
So, do you and your birth partner want to be active and respected participants in your care, feeling knowledgeable and confident about your choices as you approach your birth?
Would you benefit from access to quality support during and after the course and through to your early baby days?
Are you ready to meet and get to know actual humans in person who are going through a similar period of excitement, growth and change?
If so – please ‘get in touch’ to book a call with me and we can chat together about how I can best support you and any special circumstances that you may wish to discuss. It’s always lovely to start getting to know you before we meet in person and it’s important that you feel confident and happy about trusting me and YBYB to be a small part of your birth and early parenting preparation journey.
I’m already looking forward to meeting you!
Jo (Mum, midwife, certified hypnobirthing teacher, experienced antenatal educator and founder of Your Birth Your Baby Complete Antenatal and Hypnobirthing Course.
*Disclaimer: I’m a qualified midwife but am not your clinical midwife, so cannot therefore make clinical judgements regarding your care. These are best left for you in conjunction with those who know your full medical and obstetric history and are actively involved with you in your maternity care provision. But I can listen, signpost and support you in your quest to make informed decisions that feel right for you as you approach birth and look forward to meeting your baby.
“YBYB antenatal course is a special experience for both parents in a comfortable environment. Any questions were welcomed and answered thoroughly. We would fully recommend to all parents to be”
“Jo is engaging and really inspires confidence. I wish we had discovered these sessions when we were expecting our first baby!”
“We’re so glad we had the benefit of 2 days with an experienced midwife and antenatal educator. Jo tailored each module of the course according to the individual needs and questions that we had on the day. Such a positive experience!”
