Hi - I am Debbie, and I am really passionate about getting YOU the birth you want!
This is because I had two normal, straight-forward births, both of which were a positive experience.
I discovered hypnobirthing when I was pregnant.. mainly from being nosy and the fear of missing out on something! I investigated more and discovered Maggie’s wonderful calming voice on Natal Hypnotherapy CDs, I read about hypnobirthing and I learned and practised relaxation and visualisation throughout the last couple of months of my pregnancy. I had an amazing birth experience, my labour wasn't without pain but I felt in control and confident that my body knew what to do - it really does!! My healthy daughter (with an APGAR score of 10) was born without pain medication or surgical intervention, and no stitches were required. The midwives involved were amazed at how calm I was and were eager to understand more about hypnotherapy for childbirth.
For the birth of my second child I practiced hypnobirthing techniques again and listened to the CDs even more which gave even better results. After being told by the midwife to go home as I wasn’t in established labour (!!), I stayed in the hospital and 2 hours later I gave birth to my second healthy daughter. My positive experience has left me eager to teach others about how your body is made to do it, as long as you are informed and learn about how you can make it even easier for your body to just get on with it. My daughters are growing up very fast and I hope I can teach them both about hypnobirthing one day.
I have talked to so many mums about their birth experiences and a lot of the stories are not as positive as my own. I want more women to have a positive experience of birth and not be in fear of what their body is essentially designed to do. Women instinctively know how to birth but over time these have somewhat been lost through outside influences such as negative birth stories and media representations, to name a couple, and the fear of giving birth has built up over many generations.
Giving birth can be an experience to be celebrated and approached with positivity rather than anxiety, and hypnobirthing teaches a practical and realistic way to reduce fear and to re-connect with your birthing body. Labour may well be long, arduous and hard work (as the name 'labour' suggests), but it should not be frightening or 'impossible without intervention'.
It was after the birth of my first child that I realised how effective the techniques were and practised even further for my second birth, which gave even better results... and that is so important.. practice, practice, practice! I believe it is important to teach women the simple techniques that can be practised again and again at home, to enable women and birth partners to effectively put them into practice at the birth. I chose to qualify as a practitioner, feeling passionately that I wanted to help others access the same preparation and skills which had benefited me. I undertook my training in 2012 and was taught by Maggie Howell who established Natal Hypnotherapy. I continue to uphold my hypnobirthing and antenatal qualifications by taking part in regular CPD sessions to ensure my knowledge is accurate and up to date. I am mentored by the inspirational and highly experienced antenatal and childbirth educator, hypnotherapist and Birth Doula Dani Diosi (www.mamaserene.co.uk) and am also a member of FEDANT (Federation of Antenatal Education) as well as being fully insured (certificate can be provided on request).
I am also a facilitator for the local Positive Birth Group in Bury St Edmunds and an active volunteer and member the West Suffolk Maternity Voices Partnership, helping improve the local maternity system for parents and parents-to-be. I can often be found discussing how Hypnotherapy can help women and their partners achieve emotional and physical well-being before, during and after the birth, and how it can make the transition to parenthood a joyous, unforgettable event.
I am also a facilitator for the local Positive Birth Group in Bury St Edmunds and an active volunteer and member the West Suffolk Maternity Voices Partnership, helping improve the local maternity system for parents and parents-to-be. I can often be found discussing how Hypnotherapy can help women and their partners achieve emotional and physical well-being before, during and after the birth, and how it can make the transition to parenthood a joyous, unforgettable event.
"Nothing in life is to be feared it is only to be understood" [Marie Curie]
