I know that a lot of people see doula support, antenatal education, #birth preparation and #postnatal planning as a luxury that only the rich can afford. I personally don’t think this is the case. Lots of people are prepared to spend £1500 or more on a travel system for a new #baby and they think this is ok. How much is a #positive birth experience worth to you? How much for a #happy and #confident postnatal period? How much to help guard against birth #trauma? I’d like to di

Once labour starts the latent phase/early labour can go on for days, and birth can seem like a long way off. You may have been told that labour progresses at 1cm dilation per hour, but this information is very outdated and not necessarily true. Some people will birth in a much quicker time and others much longer. If you are tired and uncomfortable and want to hurry things along, I’ve listed below some tips that might help, however babies come when they’re ready. If you’re in

Today is the third video in our set of 6, it’s a kneeling sequence, as part of our pregnancy yoga routine. I hope you’ve enjoyed practicing the warm up and the all fours sections. You can now practice all 3 in a row or just try this one for now. All of these routines are appropriate for trimesters 2 and 3 If you have enjoyed this please take a look at the yoga page on my website Pregnancy Yoga – Breathe Birth Yoga and if you’d like to explore my doula services please take a l

Today is the second in a set of 6 pregnancy yoga videos that I’ve recorded for you. Over the coming weeks I will be posting a video each fortnight (Monday’s). Today we have a routine on all fours, week 3 is on knees, week 4 is a standing sequence, week 5 is seated and finally week 6 is a lovely relaxing savasana. Last time was a gentle warm up. You’re welcome to practice each week and slowly make a longer routine for yourself as the weeks go on, by linking the sequences toget

How to know when I’m in established labour, without a vaginal exam There are many reasons why a person may not want a vaginal exam during their birth, they may have experienced previous birth trauma, maybe sexual abuse, maybe they have a fear of birth or maybe they simply know their rights and don’t want one. Some people may think it’s tricky to say no, but it’s totally up to you if you want a stranger to insert their fingers in to your vagina. They have as much right to do t

Lots of people have never heard about the Bishops score, let alone know what it is. If you’re a regular follower of mine you’ll know that I’m a huge advocate of informed decisions. Learning about the Bishops score will enable and empower you to make an informed decision for your baby and yourself. The Bishops score is used to assess the ripeness of your cervix and your likelihood of going into labour in the immediate future. This scoring system was developed in the 1960’s by

Recently in particular I’m hearing so many stories about cohersion, lack of consent, lack of options and a feeling of going back 80 years in the area of human rights. So I wanted to let you know a few things that have come up in conversations for me recently. If you’ve had a previous caesarean birth you can have a vaginal birth next time round, it’s your choice…you can even have a home birth of you want! This is called VBAC or HBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean or home birth

Pregnancy and being a new parent can be an expensive time, so make sure you take advantage of the freebies and offers available to you. Here is a look at some of the things that are available to you… Prescriptions: All NHS prescriptions and dental treatment are free whilst you’re pregnant and for 12 months afterwards. Please ask your midwife for a FW8 form and you can apply for your maternity exemption certificate. Baby on board badge: if you’re going to be travelling on the

When you’re pregnant you have more of a hormone called relaxin in your body. This is the hormone that relaxes the ligaments in your pelvis and softens and lengthens you’re cervix, in preparation for your baby’s arrival. It’s easy to over stretch during pregnancy, due to the relaxin. To prevent this and to stop problems with instability for years to come, it’s worth taking action early. You can try gentle exercise, but it’s important to focus on strength and stability, rather

Today’s pregnancy yoga taster is suitable for the second trimester of pregnancy. There’s a few warriors, plus downward dog, chair pose and some roll ups and downs. By the end of this 12 minutes you should feel relaxed but energised! Please take a look at my other pregnancy yoga tasters and give them a try. You can also see details about my doula support and yoga classes on the other pages of my website www.breathebirthyoga.co.uk #Birth #pregnant #Baby #yoga #trimester #pregna

I wanted to start by saying I think it’s a good idea to be knowledgeable about your body and birth to start with. However you’re never going to know everything, or understand all the medical details like an obstetrician might, but you can be as informed as possible. I always talk about choice and consent, but your decisions need to be coming from a place of INFORMED consent. It might be a simple decision that you’re asked to make whilst in labour e.g. do you want a physiologi

The ever elusive sleep! It’s on the top of nearly every parents wish  list! I’ve recently completed a course in Holistic Sleep Coaching and I look forward to being able to support my postnatal doula clients with the new information I’ve learnt. I’m happy to come to your house and give you some support during the day so you can get some rest and talk about sleep or I can do a couple of night shifts a week, so you can get a bit of sleep whilst I take care of your baby’s night t