Kemi Johnson is a KGHypnobirthing (KGH) trainer, teacher and an independent midwife. She runs Birth Joy and has been a trainer with KGHypnobirthing for many years. Here she talks about her discovery of KGHypnobirthing and how it has transformed her life.
How hypnobirthing got my attention
“I was supporting a couple who were terrified of birth. They needed some extra help to gain confidence about their ability to birth and had heard of hypnobirthing but were not sure what it was. When I asked a colleague, they raved about Katharine Graves,” explains Kemi. They attended a KGHypnobirthing weekend parents’ course at St Thomas’ Hospital and came back a different couple. Kemi was still doubtful and wanted to see how they approached the birth, as they really were terrified at the prospect of having a baby.
More confident with hypnobirthing
“During the birth, the couple did not require me in the room and gave birth beautifully to their son. They were really, really confident,” she exclaims in surprise. The KGHypnobirthing course had given them so much confidence and Kemi reports how she saw them become so calm, such a change from how they had been before the course. A real testament to the course, she elaborates, “Their son arrived into the world calmly and is still calm.”
First contact with Katharine Graves
Kemi says, “I was intrigued. On the same day I tracked Katharine down by searching for her name on Google and gave her a call.” It was coincidental that Katharine was running a hypnobirthing teacher training course that day and she suggested that Kemi came along to discover what KGHypnobirthing was really all about. “Katharine had not answered any of my questions on the phone. It was so significant, a meeting of minds. I met a huge aspect of my destiny and I’m not overstating it, it actually changed my whole life.”
Huge impact of hypnobirthing
“I thought I would spend all of my life in the birth room. 
Now I devote more of my time to teaching hypnobirthing which I love,” she enthuses. Kemi also reads avidly, attending conferences and learning about everything birth-related. “There is so much research out there. We’re all complete nerds and don’t stop reading, reading, reading,” she observes. Kemi teaches parents with Katharine Graves at the monthly KGH parents’ courses at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. She also trains KGH teachers around the country for KGHypnobirthing and assists pregnant women and their partners as an independent midwife and as a private KGH teacher. Kemi concludes, “It’s a brilliant life. It really is.”
Hypnobirthing teacher training courses are held regularly across the UK in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, London, Manchester and York.
