Hello! My name is Yvonne and I am the founder of Relaxed Birthing. I have so much to say about Relaxed Birthing, hypnobirthing and why I do what I do so I thought I’d write an extra post for anyone who wants to know a little bit more.
I’m a real information person. I like research, I like facts and I like evidence. I also like to laugh too – don’t worry my classes aren’t heavy going! They are relaxed, fun and informative (amongst other things).
Here is the history of relaxed Birthing……
It was during my pregnancy with Isabelle 11 years ago that my interest in, and passion for, Antenatal Education and hypnobirthing began. I attended NCT antenatal classes, and I took a course in hypnobirthing, both of which gave me support and confidence in my pregnancy. I read everything I could get my hands on and felt well prepared for what was ahead. My labour didn’t pan out the way I intended, but I knew that the techniques I has learnt had made such a difference to how well I coped. The midwives who looked after me during my labour all commented on how calm and relaxed I was and how peaceful the room was.
Where it all began……. 
Early labour
When Isabelle was two, I still had the passion and interest in all things pregnancy and birth and so I started my training to become an Antenatal Teacher with NCT. This became my passion and I still love every single class I teach.
In 2012, during my second pregnancy, my hypnobirthing journey continued as I learnt even more skills and techniques and was so happy with how empowered I felt and how calm my son’s birth was as a result.
I regularly heard about similar experiences from other parents – hypnobirthing was providing women with amazing tools for labour. It makes perfect sense! All of this encouraged me to answer the calling I was feeling to train as a hypnobirthing practitioner and set up Relaxed Birthing to share my skills and knowledge with other parents.
Always learning…
Continual learning and updating is very important to me. I have had the pleasure of training with three incredibly well-respected women within the area of hypnobirthing – Maggie Howell (Natal Hypnotherapy), Sophie Fletcher (Mindful Mama) and Mia Scotland (Rewind). I have combined all of my experience gathered over the years through my training and working with couples, to create a hypnobirthing course that provides the perfect preparation for labour. I am so excited to be incorporating the fantastic resources from The Calm Birth School into my approach.
I hope that my classes will provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere to explore both you and your birthing partner’s needs, providing you with the best possible preparation for birth. My hypnobirthing courses will teach you simple, effective hypnobirthing techniques and self-help skills for labour so you can have an empowering and positive birth experience no matter how or where you birth your baby. Hypnobirthing isn’t just for home births, water births or drug free births. I feel so passionately about the role of hypnobirthing in helping you prepare for any kind of birth and it making a difference to all women. Therefore you will receive my complete and unwavering, non-judgemental support for your labour choices – I will give you evidence-based information to help you make the choices that are right for you and your family.
Training & Qualifications:
- Diploma of Higher Education in Antenatal Education – University of Worcester
- NCT License to Practice (Antenatal Practitioner)
- Natal Hypnotherapy Hypnosis for Birth training with Maggie Howell (RCM Accredited training)
- Hypnobirthing and Mindfulness – Pregnancy, Birth and the First Year with Sophie Fletcher (UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy)
- Rewind Therapy Training for resolving birth trauma with Mia Scotland
- NLP Practitioner with Mark Harris
- Fertile Body Method practitioner (Fertility hypnosis) with Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer
- PhD in Exercise and Physical Activity during pregnancy – in progress!
I am regularly updating my knowledge by attending workshops, study days and conferences. Study days attended in the past year have been focused on topics such as water birth, building the microbiome, barriers to bonding, health behaviour change and baby proofing the couple relationship. I am also a university lecturer, currently studying for a PhD in Exercise During Pregnancy, so I have a varied teaching background to draw from.
I hope this gives you a little more insight into who I am and how Relaxed Birthing was born. If you have any questions please do get in touch as I will be very happy to speak to you.
