Testimonials;
I was so amazed by the whole experience. I had been in control of my body throughout and my husband was absolutely incredible and part of it the whole way, reassuring me I was doing amazingly, explaining anything I couldn’t to the midwives. He was being incredibly calm and supportive and just knew what to do. My birth was absolutely magical, so calm and controlled that it really was quite a wonderful experience and something I don't think I would have achieved without Hypnobirthing. Thank you so much Anita..
I’d read about hypnobirthing and was slightly sceptical if it would work for me and I’m pleased to say it did! Annette went through everything that we would expect during labour, taught us various breathing techniques which were invaluable during labour and visualisation exercises which really meant I could focus my mind on other things during contractions and also meant my husband had a real role in the lead up to the birth as well as during. He felt confident that he could support me and really kept my mind distracted and ensured I remained relaxed... so much so I got to 6cm with the midwives doubting that I'd even started labouring and the remaining 4cm were done in the pool in a calm and almost enjoyable way. Big thanks to Annette for teaching us everything and helping me to have a stress-free and more importantly, a drug-free birth resulting in baby Willow being born on Christmas Eve.
Thank you Annette for supporting us on our second magical birth, well done Hypnobirthing. I remember laying on the bed after his birth, suddenly aware of the bright lights, the room full of staff, and the fact that I was small, naked, messy, pale and flabby. I repeated over and over "I'm very shocked, I'm very shocked". Due to my previous long labour, I hadn't been mentally prepared that my baby would some so soon. But, on reflection, my second birth was just what I wanted. I had given birth with no pain relief, no examinations and no interference. The only improvement would have been a little more time to acclimatise in hospital before his arrival! Kind regards Amy
Annette the value we gained from attending your course provided a condensed 'preparing for childbirth' and coaching for Ioana my wife. The course gave us time and space to ask questions and explore issues in a more personal setting. The commitment to the appointments made me stop for long enough to think about what was happening and make some important last minute adjustments, which meant I was fully present in mind and body these last few days instead of distracted by a hundred other things. We found the last few days before labour were calmer as was the build up during the day before the birth As a legacy, it's also prompted us to make time for relaxation and moments of calm, this will be important as the pace of family life increases. Best wishes and thanks from me the birthing partner.
Annette was absolutely fantastic. A truly personal service which explained in great detail everything we could possibly do to be prepared for our daughters arrival. Annette was very attentive to our specific needs and had a wealth of knowledge about the birth, the support on hand and after the birth. I could not recommend her more.
Thank you so much, Laura and Taryn X
So many people seem to be put off by the name 'hypnobirthing' but even when you explain what it is and why it works, many remain sceptical, I'm assuming because 'birth is awful' is so deeply steeped into our culture. Even now, some friends don't believe me when I say it was a positive experience - they seem to think it was so traumatic I must have blocked the whole thing out!
I had a friend who I told about hypnobirthing when she was pregnant, but she wasn't interested. A few weeks before she was due she was so anxious about it, I knew she would have a bad experience, (which she did) ... but you can't tell anyone that at that late stage or it will make them even more anxious .... Hope you're well. We are loving being parents! Sarah 2016
I'd recommend Hypnobirthing to anyone expecting a baby. I had a stress free 'enjoyable' labour experience which I strongly believe was down to my husband and I practising Hypnobirthing.
Annette is a wonderful teacher, with a wealth of professional midwife knowledge and experience. I was dreading labour until I met Annette and did her course. Then the weeks leading into the birth of our son I was calm and excited for the labour. It's also helped post birth too with pain relief in my recovery and calming the baby. Alice 2016
I thought the course was fantastic. I went into it anxious and sceptical and left reassured and excited for the birth of our baby. My husband was also very sceptical and I think he got more out of the course than I did. He now knows the role he can play in labour and isn't scared about it. We're both looking forward to the birth of our baby and use the tools taught to us during the course. Anonymous feedback from October 2015 course
The course calmed me down a lot; I have a more positive outlook over the birthing experience.
Anonymous feedback from October 2015 course.
I would definitely recommend Annette and her classes to anyone. Hypnobirthing helped me stay calm and understand what was going on when I was in labour. My mind was in the right place and as my husband said, I just got on with it!
Thanks for teaching me the techniques of calming my thoughts. I really didn't think labour was that bad. I thought it would hurt a lot more. Maybe this is down to the hypnobirthing too? Sara and Jason September 2015
The hypnobirthing course was so useful. It really made it helpful for my husband to understand the birth process, his role and options that we have. I found going over the birth process, looking at birth options/alternatives, relaxation, breathing was excellent for me. It was really helpful that Annette was so knowledgeable and understood the hospital systems. I felt really nervous about birth, but feel so much more prepared and confident which I know will continue to grow the more I practice. I would highly recommend the course and strongly feel it is a positive thing to do with our husband/partner/birth partner. Andrea and Darren June 2014
Thanking you Annette, your course was thought provoking and fun. We enjoyed thinking about our baby and we discussed some things that we wouldn’t have otherwise (between the two of us). We intend to practice the massage and relaxation techniques taught. Thanks for checking what we wanted to cover and adapting the course so that you were able to discuss any of our concerns.
Annette is great and talking from experience rather than a text book. She's a mum of three and a midwife amongst other things... My husband and I attended an NCT course which Annette run and covered some hypnobirthing breathing techniques which really helped manage the labour pains and feel in control. It was my first baby and went pain relief free. Joanne and Simon May 2014
After completing Annette’s course we feel much better informed about how a hospital birth can impact the birthing process and the fact we have choices rather than being told what is going to be done. Feel more in control of what will happen during labour and learning the relaxation and breathing techniques. I now feel more confident about giving birth. We enjoyed learning hypnosis techniques, breathing techniques and how the birthing body is working!
I definitely credit the hypnobirthing for helping me feel relaxed during the whole process and to manage the pain without extra pain relief. It also meant Darren played a really active role in helping to keep me relaxed and breathing, which really helped. Annette, thank you for the education, techniques and advice. It's greatly appreciated! (from Andrea, following the birth of baby Jake).
I liked Annette’s presentation style, her clear explanations the practical tips and demonstrations. I realise now that birth is not scary - rather amazing. Keeping calm is the key. I enjoyed learning how partners can assist and how it is important to work as a team. I liked all the visual aids/models showing us what to expect and we found the information really helpful. I feel more confident to have my baby.
From a partner: It’s been fun and great to have some new friends. I enjoyed the massage session and learning what I can do to help my wife when she is in labour. I was fascinated about the baby’s position and how movement can get him into the right position. It was good to have the time to think about our baby and to discuss our expectations about life as a family.
During the course we enjoyed practising the massage techniques and trying out different birth positions. I found thinking about birth helpful and planning how we will cope in labour. I enjoyed the time to talk to you and my partner and really enjoyed meeting other couples.
Thank you Annette we enjoyed the sessions. The explanations given were very clear and easy to understand, the sessions were informative but informal and non-judgemental. I liked the activities and practising different relaxation techniques.
From a partner: I liked being able to ask silly questions, meeting other couples, feeling more prepared for birth and thinking about the options we have. Thank you Annette I felt it was worth doing the course and I would recommend it to others.
I would describe our attitude to labour/birth as being more positive. We liked learning about the role of the brain and hormones in order to have the best chance of a normal birth. We feel that we now have a better understanding about labour and we really enjoyed meeting other couples.
Facilitator very friendly and helpful and we enjoyed learning about labour and about birth progression. We really enjoyed the classes and as a result feel much more confident and prepared for the arrival of our little one.
I found the course helpful and interesting. The information learnt was informative, especially when we learnt what to expect for our birth. I will think about how to set a nice environment for our baby’s birth, and we will practise the breathing techniques learnt. We really enjoyed the course. It was great fun and very helpful.
The course was informative. I feel much better informed about what to expect during my birth. It was very useful to meet other couples going through the same experience. I intend to practice the breathing and relaxation techniques taught. The course has reiterated my initial thought/plans on how I want to give birth. I felt the overall the course was very useful. It has helped me be prepared for the birth, whether it ends up being natural or C-section, I now feel more relaxed and confident about the whole experience.
I found the course helpful and interesting. The information learnt was informative, especially when we learnt what to expect for our birth. I will think about how to set a nice environment for our baby’s birth, and we will practise the breathing techniques learnt. We really enjoyed the course. It was great fun and very helpful.
It was nice meeting, other couples going through the same experiences and we learnt how flexible we had to be during the birth and for our baby.
The course was good fun and interactive. We made friends and learnt about labour and feel better prepared for birth and labour. We really enjoyed the relaxation and breathing and will practice these techniques at home.
I found the practising the relaxation techniques helpful and the discussion on how to talk to medical staff very useful. I enjoyed meeting other people in same situations and finding out that they don’t know anything about baby’s either.
I liked the activities we practised and having an understanding of what was being taught. Thank you for all the useful information Annette.
I enjoyed the course. I enjoyed meeting new people. I enjoyed learning new things about birth.
The course was very dynamic and illustrative. Annette was very helpful and had a lot of knowledge, so I feel much more prepared for the birth of our baby’
I found it useful having pictures of baby and the body during the birth process. I enjoyed the mixed group activities and enjoyed the sessions in Annette’s home. To sum up the course I found it very useful.
I found the course fun and very useful, we felt that Annette was very knowledgeable and we learnt a lot. We felt it was useful learning and preparing for childbirth. I was prepared for labour and learnt how to avoid a c-section.
I feel more informed about medical interventions and I felt the course empowered me to try to have the birth of my choice.
I found the opportunity to ask lots of questions really useful. I have a better understanding about labour and what to do whilst I’m in labour.
The course was very informative, with good follow up informations (emails etc). Annette was very friendly and approachable, she covered all of our queries and I now feel more prepared for our baby.
Thanks Annette for your time and expertise. It was nice to meet other people and learn together as a group. Thank you very much I hope to meet up soon with our babies.
I enjoyed the course and meeting new people. I enjoyed learning new things about birth and we found the course very dynamic and informative.
We have a comprehensive insight into the realities of labour. We liked meeting other couples and felt that the group was a nice size.
I liked all the activities and tasks. We liked learning about the different stages of labour and the different methods of pain relief available.
From Dad: Thank you for being patient and explaining everything when you saw my blank face.
I liked the preparation for labour. I liked meeting new people in the same situation and listening to their views and concerns. Thanks Annette for all your help.
We enjoyed the relaxation and massage sessions. I liked learning about the different stages of labour and thinking about our choices, especially about cutting our baby’s cord. I found all the sessions very worthwhile and learnt something new at all of them.
I felt talking to Annette was like talking to a friend which we found reassuring that we could ask about anything we were worried about.
I cant hand on heart say I had a hypnobirth as it was so quick, but it certainly helped me cope with it. Joseph was born within 40 minutes of getting to the hospital, your techniques did remind me to keep calm, and the positive benefits this would have on both me and the baby. When the time came to push, it was so different from my first birth. The midwives didn't actually say the word "push" once, as my body just did it!! it was amazing. When Joseph was born, he was quite quiet, I was initially worried but the midwives commented that it was such a calm birth, he was just "calm", and he as been relatively "chilled" since, which I think has to be associated with the birth! Thanks again for your help with the preparation. Jill June 2015
Birth story after a Caesarean section, The c-section was not as scary as I had imagined. I have healed really well and have a beautiful baby girl. I am upset I couldn't give birth to her the way I planned but decided it was better to get her here safely and follow the advice of the consultants. The hypnobirthing really allowed me to stay calm through this and maybe one day I can put it into practice if I get to have a vbac with another child. Jacqueline and Stuart Sept 2014