About The Course

Exciting times here at Your Birth Your Baby as my newly updated and extended Your Birth Your Baby Complete Midwife-Led Antenatal and Hypnobirthing Course is here!

You’re probably here because you already understand the importance of feeling informed, confident and self-empowered during this exciting and sometimes overwhelming time. Whether this is your first, your only, your next or your last baby, how you approach your preparation for birth and early parenting is a significant and very personal decision.

In choosing YBYB, you get not only a qualified midwife, but also a certified hypnobirthing teacher, an expert antenatal educator and a proud mum of 4, all rolled into one!

As an NHS midwife, I had the privilege of supporting many women throughout their pregnancy, birth and postnatal journeys. Women from all backgrounds, with diverse clinical histories and each one with either their own unique set of birth preferences or a ‘plan’ to ‘go with the flow’ (more about that later!). Women experiencing all types of birth (vaginal birth, caesarean birth, water-birth, assisted vaginal birth, induction, spontaneous onset, choosing an epidural and so on), whether on the birth centre, at home or on the obstetric unit. Not forgetting a speedy arrival in the corridor and a car-birth outside a birth centre (both whilst away on my very eventful final year placement as a student midwife!).

So, firstly let me assure you that the YBYB course is founded upon years of relevant professional (and some personal) experience and is most definitely inclusive of ALL types of birth, ALL types of birthing person and ALL types of birthing partner.

You will benefit from a comprehensive 12 hour in-person program, that begins with a fundamental understanding of how your birthing body works on a muscular and hormonal level, and progresses through 4 informative, interactive and thought provoking modules.

There is also an additional ‘Catch-up and Questions’ group session. This live online evening session (which takes place at a time to suit all within a month of your chosen course end date) has evolved so I can be sure to further realise the many advantages of an interactive, face-to-face midwife led course versus a more impersonal ‘one size fits all’ prerecorded course. Having this extra 3 hours built into the structure of the course (now a grand total of 15 hours of contact time) gives me the flexibility to provide meaningful time to respond in detail and in real time to any questions throughout the course and to address and discuss individual needs in a more responsive way. This in turn means a more personalised experience for each and every member of the small group who attend the Your Birth Your Baby Antenatal & Hypnobirthing Course. As an added bonus it’s lovely to ‘meet’ each other again and catch up on how your hypnobirthing practice is coming along! See course content details here.

Not all courses are created equally however. Some antenatal courses will give you the biological facts and then miss the opportunity to share knowledge, tools and techniques that can help to enhance the physiological process of birth however your labour unfolds.

Conversely, some courses may offer a great hypnobirthing toolkit but not be best placed to prepare you to navigate the system, often due to only having limited real life birth experiences to draw upon.

My qualifications and experience as a midwife, hypnobirthing teacher and antenatal educator, make for a powerful combination which enables me to bridge that gap. The YBYB course not only delves deeply into all aspects of birth physiology, but also guides you towards learning how you can support birth physiology using the hypnobirthing tools and techniques explored during the course and practiced by you during your pregnancy.

WHEN TO BOOK

Ideally, aim to attend any time from around 20 weeks as the relaxation and breathing techniques need to be instinctive to provide the most benefit, and that comes best with practice. You will also get longer to enjoy the benefits of your new knowledge-base and skills during your pregnancy.

If you have come across this complete antenatal and hypnobirthing course later on into your pregnancy, you can of course still benefit from the valuable insight, knowledge and skills that all come together to help you to make informed decisions that feel right for you, your birth partner and your baby.

YBYB the 4 modules

My successful Your Birth Your Baby in person, small group course has now been extended to provide a total of 12 hours of evidence-based, non-biased and realistic information, in an interactive and inclusive format for you and your choice of birth partner.

Each group session is kept small (with a maximum of 5 client and birth partner couples) to enable a more personalised experience as I can tailor each course according to those that attend and the questions that come up on the day. No two courses are exactly the same but all will include the following module content and will help prepare you for however and wherever you birth your baby.

MODULE 1

Birth Physiology

  • welcome and introduction
  • where to birth
  • your pelvic anatomy
  • how to help your baby into position for birth
  • the muscles of the uterus
  • birth physiology and the hormones that support birth
  • how to recognise signs your body may be ready for labour
  • when to call the midwife
  • which birth positions best optimise space in your pelvis (inlet, mid-pelvis, outlet) and help your baby to be born
  • latent phase & active 1st stage (the up phase)
  • transition & second stage (the down phase)

MODULE 2

Mind/Body Connection

  • what is hypnobirthing/what is hypnobirthing not?
  • the hormonal cocktail for birth – why oxytocin is your new best friend
  • how to encourage birth enhancing hormones to flow and how to discourage ‘fight or flight’ hormones taking over
  • how to be a valued, involved and fulfilled birth partner
  • setting your birth environment
  • what to do if labour stalls
  • disrupting the fear, tension, pain cycle
  • relaxation discussion and script
  • up breathing
  • down breathing
  • how to use simple and effective hypnobirthing techniques (relaxation, breathing, visualisation, anchoring, triggers, massage and more) in labour, regardless of where you birth and how you birth
  • relaxation script

MODULE 3

YOUR BIRTH RIGHTS:
YOUR CHOICE, YOUR VOICE

  • natural and pharmacological comfort measures
  • how to use a simple but effective decision making framework to help you to consider your care options both on the lead up to your birth and on the big day!
  • how to ask empowered questions
  • how to be an effective advocate
  • how to navigate through your birth with knowledge and confidence if circumstances change
  • what if my baby is breech?
  • what does a ‘back to back’ baby mean for me?
  • how to avoid due date pressure
  • ‘natural’ induction of labour?
  • how to make the right choices for you regarding an offer of induction
  • how to prepare for and what to expect if you need an assisted vaginal birth
  • how, why, when and if to do perineal massage
  • your pelvic floor & further ways to help reduce your risk of tearing
  • how to prepare for a planned or unplanned caesarean birth whilst maintaining certain aspects of care that really matter to you and your newborn baby
  • relaxation script

MODULE 4

Postnatal Planning and Parenting

  • how to research and write meaningful, considered and informed birth preferences together to individualise your care according to your particular circumstances
  • the principles and practicalities of safe sleep
  • what happens immediately after birth
  • the golden hour
  • 3rd stage options & optimal cord care
  • the value of skin-to-skin for baby and you
  • how to promote a gentle transition to life outside the womb for your newborn right from the moment of birth and into the 4th trimester
  • how to care for your postnatal body
  • infant feeding –  how to get off to the best start.
  • your postnatal journey – what to expect, relationships, and how to adjust to life with your brand new human.
  • practice, practice, practice
  • relaxation script

CLICK HERE TO BOOK A CALL

I want you to feel confident that this course is right for you and happy for Your Birth Your Baby to be part of your birth and early parenting preparation. So get in touch to book your free ‘Introduction to YBYB & Hypnobirthing’ 1-1 discovery call with Jo.