Read What Other's Have to say........

5 Star Review
"After falling pregnant and reading the weekly emails from The Baby Centre and NCT etc., I was amazed by how clever my body was, and how naturally it was creating this new life. How does it know what to do?!?! I'd mention things to my midwife, like: "I can't get through a cup of tea, a sniff of it can make me feel sick", and "I'm craving orange juice", and she'd reply: "your body knows not to have caffeine so puts you off tea, and will tell you what it needs, like orange juice which is good for unlocking nutrients from what we eat". How clever! I felt like I really needed to learn how to listen to my body, and started to think about why birth, which is so natural for the female body seems to be so feared and more often than not problematic. I thought, surely, my body is designed to handle this and somehow knows what it’s doing. It seems my only conscious involvement, (after conception of course!) could potentially interfere with this natural miracle so I wanted to find a way of having the most natural labour I could. After some internet research, I stumbled across articles about hypnobirthing. I thought it sounded a bit 'New Age' and 'hippyish', but after reading more I thought it was something I wanted to try. I told my partner and he just about managed not to roll his eyes at what, I think, he hoped was just another crazy hormonal idea that would pass!I found Charlotte's details on the KG hypnobirthing site, and thought being an NHS midwife and a hypnobirthing practitioner, she sounded like a good balance of reality and hippy!!! ;-)Charlotte responded to my course enquiry quickly, answered all of my initial questions, and came across on the email as normal and quite humorous! My partner works shifts and Charlotte was very accommodating, providing her shift details and allowing us to pick dates and times that suited us. So, to the first session. Charlotte arrived at our house on time to provide our 1 to 3 session (me, Ben and Bump -we're all in this together, after-all). It actually turned out to be 1 to 4, as our very nervous cat, who normally leaves the house when we have visitors, seemed to be very relaxed with Charlotte! Cats are well known to be a good judge of character! Ben and I had read the hypnobirthing book that Charlotte had sent us in advance, and I had listened to the relaxation CD. We felt quite prepared, but still nervous about meeting Charlotte, and also anxious about all the relaxation (hippy) stuff. We really needn't have worried, as Charlotte is a lovely warm person, and it won't take you long to feel like you've known her forever. She's very open, honest and talks a lot - Haha! But then, she had too because we asked her lots of questions! She doesn't preach to you, and certainly wouldn't force you into discussing or doing something you didn't want to. We did the first (dreaded) relaxation exercise, and we got through it without giggling! A major achievement on my part! It does feel strange closing your eyes whilst sat on your sofa, and then having someone you've only just met reading to you.After the first session, Ben was still not too sure about the relaxation exercises, but was glad Charlotte was so nice, not a hippy, (not that we have anything against hippies!) and was most pleased that I was really positive and that I felt we'd made the right choice to commit to this course. We had four sessions in total, and with every one Charlotte was informative, relaxed, honest, funny and never once made us feel stupid for asking silly simple biology-based questions. We also got used to the relaxation exercises; I'd sleep like a baby after every session, and 'Mr Sceptical' ("the relaxation doesn't and won't work for me") fell asleep actually during one!! Charlotte never rushed the sessions; she would make sure all of the course material was covered and our questions were answered even when the session had overrun. I noticed, even after the first session, I had become more relaxed, excited and positive about the birth of our baby. I'm now nearing the start of maternity leave, and people at work scoff when I say I'm getting excited about meeting my baby ...cue the birth horror stories! I don't stop them from telling me, I simply zone out! They think I'm deluded for looking forward to the birth. I've not told anyone we are hypnobirthing, as I really think some of them won't 'get it', but as a result of completing the course I can identify why their births had issues, and seemed to be traumatic! Obviously, we recognise that an intervention-free birth cannot be guaranteed, but we now know how to get the best from my body! Friends have commented about how relaxed I appear. I really am. I have faith in my mind and my body and my baby. I believe in the techniques of hypnobirthing. Ok, at this stage, 34 weeks, I can only tell you I feel well-prepared for birth: the proof is in the pudding, as they say! I'll review my hypnobirthing experience when my bundle arrives! If he gives me time!!!From Ben's point of view, he's learnt how to support me during the birth. He understands his important role and has gained a lot of knowledge about the female body and the natural process of birth. He feels more confident to deal with the medical staff, which is great because it means I don't have to worry about him, and I can just concentrate on listening to my body to achieve a gentle birth. We would definitely recommend a course with Charlotte. We will miss our session this week :-( but we know she's there if we need her, by mobile, by email, by WhatsApp and on Facebook!" Zoe S