Mumpreneur: Hypnobirthing

Mumpreneur: Hypnobirthing

By Andrea Smith BSc (hons) Clinical Hypnosis, Dip Hb

I’ve trained as a midwife and am a Registered Nurse working part time at Frimley Park NHS trust. When I trained 20 years ago, there was little or no support for pregnant mothers, they were expected to give birth and go home three days later.

My first son Kelvin was born in Glasgow. I was in labour for 24 hours with no pain medication or knowledge of breathing techniques and it was one of the longest days of my life. I remember my husband having his sandwiches and calling friends telling them funny things. He even tried the tens machine and at one point cranked my tens machine up to 10 to see me almost jump off the bed. After the birth of his son, my husband carried Kelvin to show him the Rangers football ground through the window and proceeded to drink and eat my tea and toast.

In 1999, we moved to Tilford in Surrey when Kelvin was 9 months old to a house that needed total renovation. My second pregnancy was spent with organising builders and relocating to a friend’s house for 5 months in Ashington, West Sussex. I did not attend antenatal classes and was not under a midwife.  I was busy driving back and forward as my son went to nursery in Tilford. I went to The Royal Surrey hospital for regular check ups and was only concerned with getting the house back from the builders so I could have my baby in my home. One week before my due date, I was nesting as they call it scrubbing the floor of the bathroom and my waters broke. My husband took me back to our friend’s house to drop of our son and an hour later we were driving to the hospital, and 45 minutes after that my baby girl Kirsty arrived, again no pain medication or support.

My thoughts over the last few years bringing up my children - how could I make the birth of a most precious child a positive experience for women? Most of my friends, colleagues and co-workers had stories to tell about the birth of their children, some positive but mostly painful and traumatic. The experiences of the births of my two children motivated me to learn a new skill, in order to help mothers look forward to their pregnancy and birth with excitement and anticipation.

Some women during their first pregnancy can become a stressed and anxious. This may be because of the stories they’ve heard from friends or family or just fear of the unknown. Its not just first time mothers who feel like this. Women who have experienced a difficult childbirth can also feel anxious and worried. In truth, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, or simply nervous and want help and support, my Hypnobirthing programme will help you with those difficulties.

Having a baby can create the most joyful moments in your life, ones that you’ll want to remember as positive and empowering. My aim is to help you to have the best possible natural childbirth. 

By attending hypnobirthing classes, you will develop a range of skills and hypnotherapy techniques that you can use during childbirth and beyond, so that you and your baby can have a calm, comfortable and relaxed natural birthing where you with your birth partner are in control.

The father or birth partner becomes an active and supportive presence during the birth experience. As a father, you will know that you have played a positive role in the pregnancy and birth of your baby through hypnobirthing.

I trained as a Clinical Hypnotherapist and completed the first science Degree in Clinical Hypnosis. Drawing on my years of experience as a nurse and midwife, I started running Hypnobirthing courses for mothers in 2011, following my training with Katharine Graves, London.

My aim is to offer this service to as many pregnant mothers and birth partners as I possibly can, even to those women who are just thinking of having a baby. It is a proven method of diffusing fear and other unhelpful emotions, which may have a negative impact during the birth of their baby. On this programme, you could deliver your baby in a natural, calm, drug-free and comfortable way and labour will be shorter.

Hypnobirthing courses run in Farnham, Godalming and Guildford and if desired in the home.

My motto as a Hypnobirthing Specialist Teacher is -

“I have a burning desire and driving passion to make a difference to the birthing experience of as many mothers as possible and in turn make a difference to the lives of as many babies as possible”.

If you want to learn more about the natural birthing programme, you can explore the website - www.hypnobirthing-hindhead.co.uk.   OR

Contact me - Andrea Smith 07967151790 for a chat, where I will answer any questions you may have.