What has my holiday in Italy got to do with hypnobirthing?

Last year I was invited to Italy by Alice Parkinson to train a group of KGHypnobirthing teachers. One of the joys of the course was Giorgio, Alice’s baby son, who held out has arms and insisted on a hug every time I saw him.

Alice and her husband Gavin have restored a beautiful stone farmhouse in the hills of Tuscany and they let out self-catering accommodation http://cavalenzano.com/  and they are now expecting their second baby. At very short notice I had an invitation to stay with them for a week and rather jokingly said, ‘If the baby arrives when I am there I will doula for you.’

As I arrived Gavin came out to the car with the news: ‘She’s in labour!’  Perfect timing.

Birth stories are one of the highlights of this job, but even more so when the baby arrives upside down!

Many breach babies are now routinely delivered in hospital with a caesarean as this is deemed the safest option. However this should not always be the case. I know many hypnobirthing mothers who have delivered breech babies naturally and safely and strongly believe that this over medicalized stance on delivering breech babies is wrong.

I will not launch into this debate now, but just share this heart-warming story of the baby who was not going to wait for a caesarean.

Tracey had been advised that with her babies bottom was fully engaged in a breech position and therefore she had no option but to book in for a caesarean. This she did reluctantly as she had wanted a natural birth.

Recent press articles have highlighted issues with NHS policies regarding caesarean births.  

Highlighted in the BBC is a warning by the coronor that there is 'a risk of future deaths if the NHS favours vaginal delivery over Caesarean sections on the basis of cost.'  The full article is available here.

The Daily Mail talks about ‘NHS policing pregnancies to put women off caesareans.’  The full article is available here.

In 2011 NICE guidelines stated that all women can have a caesarean.  This was controversial with many criticising some mothers for being 'too posh to push.'

We were very happy to hear about the progress of hypobirthing at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan.  They have a launch event upcoming and we wish them great success in using hypnobirthing in their hospital. 

Below is an interview with two of their midwives, Lesley Price and Karen Colquitt, talking to Wish FM News about their uptake of KG hypnobirthing.  They are embarking on a comprehensive program with eleven trained midwives.

Here they discuss the benefits:

KG Hypnobirthing is very proud to be supporting the Doula UK Conference being held on 19th March in London. This precedes World Doula Week which commences on the 22nd March.

Any birth professional, from doulas to midwives, hypnobirthing and antenatal teachers, health visitors and other persons who support women in the perinatal period would find this event a true learning experience.

They have a fascinating line up of talkers and workshops including talks from:

The first of a series of two reports published by The Lancet has revealed the extent that breast feeding could benefit mothers, babies and the global economy.

Around the world breast feeding rates vary dramatically, significantly, higher-income countries having much lower rates. One of the lowest levels being in the UK where at 12 months less than 1% of infants are breastfed.

Modelling conducted details how substantial some of these benefits could be. Putting some significant figures in the report, including that scaling up breast feeding to almost universal level could:

It was a privilege to recently teach KG Hypnobirthing to Sandi Thom and her husband Matt Benson. Sandi, a singer/song writer from Scotland is expecting her first child soon and is relishing this opportunity to learn about Hypnobirthing.

Sandi and Matt’s baby will have heard lots of singing during the pregnancy, I am sure these songs will be very soothing for baby when they arrive in this world.

Sandi’s new single, ‘Earthquake’ can be downloaded or streamed from here. http://www.sandithom.com/earthquake/.

Lovely to have an alert arrive in my inbox this morning with a picture of The Hypnobirthing Book being shared on Instagram by Tom Fletcher with some lovely positive comments.  Tom Fletcher and his wife Giovanna enjoyed a Hypnobirth with their first child and planning a second hypnobirth.  Good luck to them both and thank you for taking the time to share their story and help spread the word about how wonderful hypnobirthing is.

View their latest blog in Hello Magazine here .  

I have recently returned from a wonderful trip teaching KG Hypnobirthing to a group in Dubai.  A fascinating city and as always I felt honoured to teach such a lovely group.  Sharing insights into different challenges that varied cultures experience during childbirth can be very educational for us all.  The demand for Hypnobirthing keeps growing and growing and we are happy to keep helping spread the word.    

KG Hypnobirthing are delighted to be at the RCM conference, It is a wonderful opportunity to meet with new and established midwives and to have a friendly chat about KG Hypnobirthing.