Birth Programme - Joyful Birth

Confused or apprehensive about how to have a good birth?
Are you scared of birth?
Do you feel anxious about how painful birth might be?
Do you have specific fears you want to work through?
Have you experienced birth trauma or birth grief?
Or would you like help planning a positive birth?
Do you need help to change your mindset about birth?
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Maybe you’ve been

- searching for classes to help you
- hiding under your duvet trying not to think about it
- gone to your local antenatal class
- read a hypnobirthing book or CD
- written out some positive affirmations
- spoken to your friends
- been watching birthing videos or reading books
- or worse – been on google (yikes)
- (or even worse, been watching One Born Every Minute?????)
BUT
You’re still lying awake at night, wondering how you’re going to manage it and you can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe it’s making you feel panicked or sick. Or maybe you are totally disassociating from it.

CONGRATULATIONS – you are in the majority of the population!!!
It’s normal to be fearful of birth. That is a NORMAL fear. I’ve yet to meet one women who isn’t, in any way at all, scared of birth throughout her entire pregnancy. However, with that should also be confidence, an inner calm and a plan of how you’re going to achieve your best possible birth and embrace the whole experience.

The issue with much of the mainstream antenatal education (books, classes, CDs) is that they:

- focus on the mechanics of birth and the physical process
- don’t focus on your individual needs
- don’t give you the tools to help you release your fears
- don’t acknowledge your fears
- mask over worries or anxieties (ie give you a set of affirmations which either you don’t believe in or aren’t relevant to you)
- don’t provide you with enough information to alleviate your fears
Meaning you may not:

- be calm in your pregnancy
- feel confident around your upcoming birth
- have no plan as to how you are going to approach it
- embrace labour and birth
- achieve the birth you want
- bond with your baby post birth

Joyful Birth may be for you if:
you recognise the importance of birth
you are ready to work through your fears
you’ve tried other therapies and nothing has worked
you are open to trying a completely different approach
you prioritise your health and well-being
you are willing to put in the work to get the best birth for you (at least 4 sessions and 5-10 mins a few times a week)

Sessions available in person at Albany Street Clinic, Edinburgh or else by Skype