It takes a village to have a positive birth and a positive postpartum!
Here are some practitioners I personally know and trust. Most of them I either have seen or currently see as part of my own health care and wellness team!
But what works for me, may not work for you. Be sure to go with a modality and a practitioner that feels good for you!

DOULA:
Moran at 2Life Doula
Cheryl at Ideal Birth
Sammy Griffin Birth Support
Lisa at Divine Doulas
Caroline Reis
Abbey Braithwaite

OSTEO:
Dr. Bron – East Brisbane
Bec at Freya Health – Woolloongabba
Sarah at Pivot Osteo – Paddington
Rebecca at Brisbane Osteopathic Centre – Wilston
Simone at Northside Therapies – Kallangur

CHIRO:
Jemima at Thrive Health Co – Graceville
Olive Chiropractic – Mount Gravatt
Liz or Belinda at HPC – Camp Hill
Belinda at Avenue Chiropractic – Ashgrove
Christine at Your Body Works – Gordon Park
Harriet at North Brisbane Chiropractic – Everton Park
Ohana – North Lakes

ACUPUNCTURE:
Amy at Sakura – Carina Heights
Kate at Awaken – Bulimba
Peter Kington – Greenslopes
Georgie Smith – Spring Hill
Kirsty Eng – Herston
The Happy Healthy Clinic – Ashgrove

MASSAGE:
Merakai Therapies – Hawthorne
Catherine Dore – Taringa
Marissa at Nurture Her Wellbeing – Auchenflower

NUTRITIONISTS – NATUROPATHS:
Miranda – Holland Park
Melissa at Elixir – East Brisbane
Bec at Freya Health – Woolloongabba
Larissa – West End
Mikaela Duffy – Ashgrove and Northlakes

PERINATAL EXERCISE:
Inna Bliss Yoga – Camp Hill and Bulimba
Stretch Yoga and Pilates – Holland Park
Pear Exercise Physiology – Stafford
Be In Blossom – Chermside
Bettina Rae – Online

LACTATION CONSULTANT – BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT:
Australian Breastfeeding Association – Various Local Support Groups, Online, and 24 Hour Helpline (1800 686 268)
Dr Robyn Thompson – Online
Julie-Anne at A Little Help – Norman Park
Dianne at Close Bonds – Graceville
Full Circle Midwifery and Lactation – Kelvin Grove

WOMEN’S HEALTH PHYSIO:
Body & Birth Physio – Paddington
Pear Exercise Physiology – Stafford

THERAPISTS – COUNSELLORS:
Kat Anderson Psychologist – Paddington
Anne Castles Perinatal Counsellor – Kenmore
Kirsten Finn Psychology – Ashgrove
Naomi Jama Psychology – Bardon, Spring Hill, Geebung
Peach Tree Perinatal Wellness – Springwood, Geebung, Morayfield

OTHER FABULOUS PEOPLE AND RESOURCES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT:
Belinda Chapman – Fertility
Brooke Maree – Babywearing Consultant

I am thrilled to let you know that The What Happens Next Workshop is on!

What am I talking about?

Dr Bron (of Dr Bron Osteo fame) and I are teaming up to support you with everything you need to know from preconception through to early pregnancy.

We both get so many questions and comments from you all about those early days – unfortunately there is a “I wish I had known” theme to most of them.

So we are here to help you know all the things so future you doesn’t have to say, “I wish I had known”

We will tackle all the big issues.

– how to get your body ready for pregnancy
– what even are my options for models of care
– how to choose a caregiver
– how to support your body during pregnancy 

And we can address all the small issues!
We really want this workshop to serve you so we will leave plenty of time for questions, chatting, and mingling.

Speaking of mingling, this workshop definitely has an eat, drink and be merry vibe.
As I write this Dr Bron (she is a good friend but even so I literally cannot refer to her as anything other than Dr Bron), is finalising our refreshment caravan.
Think mocktails and yummy apps.

We cannot wait!
If you are wanting to join us, the workshop is on Friday 30 April from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Soul Space in Newmarket.
Tickets are $50.00 and spaces are limited.
You can book in here.
Please feel free to bring along your bestie…even if they aren’t planning on making a baby any time soon, this workshop is about empowering women to take control of their health and insist on care that best supports them as an individual.

And if you are not in Brisbane, you can still come!
We aim to please so we have both in person and Zoom options.  
Whether you are with us in person or in spirt, we will make every effort to ensure you are included and feel connected!
To reserve a Zoom spot, please use the link above and the coupon code ZOOM for your $25.00 ticket.
And if you are tuning in from your living room, please feel free to mix up a mocktail so you don’t feel like you are missing out!

See you there!

Another positive birth story for you!

Because of COVID restrictions, this couple took the course over Zoom.
And I think this birth story goes to show you that it doesn’t matter so much how you get the information and the tools…they work!

I also love how this mother mentioned that her birth was not a calm and serene hypnobirth…because most aren’t!
Especially towards the end of our labours when we are bearing down and pushing our babies out…that is a demanding time and often part of letting go involves making noise, crying, and asking more of our partners.

And speaking of partners, birth really does work best when they have the same knowledge and tools that we do and can support us physically and emotionally.

Hypnobirthing isn’t about a quiet birth or a totally tranquil birth…it is about ensuring that you and your partner have the information and the tools that you need to make birth the best experience for you!

I wanted to write to let you know our little girl was born about two weeks ago.

I am so thankful that my partner and I did your hypnobirthing course. 

I had always hoped for a natural, intervention free birth, and thanks to hypnobirthing, I also went in prepared for whatever course my birth needed to take. 

I woke up at 2:00am on Sunday to the beginning of very strong surges. Being our first baby, I was unsure if it was the real thing or not (this is not to say the surges were not intense, because they were! I was just very wary of “false labour” and being turned away from the hospital if it wasn’t the real deal). 

I had your advice to labour at home for as long as possible in mind. And between 2:00am and 9:00am I was comfortable labouring at home.
Then around 9:00am I vomited, my waters broke, and I had a sudden urge to bear down and push… and we realised it was definitely business time! 

We arrived at the hospital at 9:30am (after a very rough car ride).
The midwife decided to take me straight to the birthing suite, and my first and only examination revealed I was fully dilated and ready to go. 

I’ll admit it may not have looked or sounded like the calm hypnobirths that I have seen in videos. There were tears and lots of noise. There were definitely times when self doubt and fear crept in. However in those times, my partner and my midwife were fully equipped and easily able to help bring me back to a positive birthing mindset.

I was also equipped with the knowledge gained during your course, that those feelings I was experiencing usually occur when the body is about to undergo a huge transition. Knowing that I was close to meeting our baby was reassuring to me. 

There was ONE particular affirmation that kept popping into my mind during the hardest times – my baby and body know what to do.
These words really helped me to surrender. 

I birthed her on all fours, in the shower of the birth suite, at 11:13am. Her birth was completely natural and intervention free – exactly as we had hoped for.

She has since been a superstar baby and my recovery is going really well. Which I’m sure is partly due to how much a healthy, positive birth can influence things like breastfeeding, sleep, and healing.

Thank you for your wonderful course and follow up messages prior to the birth. 

You helped us achieve the type of birth that I always knew I wanted, but that in our society nowadays is made to seem unrealistic or unachievable. 

I am SO grateful!

Rosanna and Raphael had a challenging labour but they used their tools and made the decisions that were best for them and that it is what it is all about.

This birth story is a great example of knowing your options!
First, Rosanna knew her options around an induction. Including the option to wait until labour started spontaneously.
She knew her options around labouring at home and used her hypnobirthing tools to help set up a comfortable environment and to cope with the intensity of the surges.
She knew her options around monitoring.
She knew her options around breaking her waters and how that might impact her labour.
She knew her options around pain relief and decided which was right for her and when.
And she was able to communicate with her caregivers about her options for birth and come up with a plan that she was comfortable with.

If you don’t know your options, you don’t have any!
And it is so important to also understand your options and the potential consequences associated with different labour pathways.
Rosanna navigated this challenging labour so well and ensured that she was making the decisions that were best for her and for her baby.

Here is Raphael’s birth story as written by his beautiful mother, Rosanna.

Our bub was born on 28 October. We named him Raphael.
I’d like to share the birth journey with you.

Prior to labour, Raphael never fully engaged in my pelvis, his head was at a less than optimal angle.
I went into labour naturally when I was 41 + 2.
I laboured at home for hours and when I arrived at the hospital I was already 6 to 7 centimetres dilated.
The midwife could not believe how well I was handling the surges. Your course totally helped me dissociate the surges as being painful – instead I just felt them as sensations throughout the whole labour.
I was lucky enough to get a birth suite with a bath so I laboured in there for several hours.

Unfortunately from this point onwards, my birth took on a course far from what I expected.

They ended up getting me out of the bath as my pulse got quite high. I suspect it was because I became dehydrated. I was hooked up to a saline IV and I agreed to CTG monitoring. 

Raphael’s head was still high so we opted to break my waters, hoping that would help get his head lower. At this point I was about 8 to 9 centimetres dilated.
As there was no meconium when my waters were broken and my pulse had lowered, I was allowed to get back into the bath.
My surges continued and intensified for a few more hours and I began involuntarily pushing.
After a few hours of this, I was still 8 to 9 centimetres dilated and Raphael’s head was still not at the right angle.
My midwife did not want me to push on a cervix which was not fully dilated as she said this could cause swelling.

Up until this point I had not needed any interventions to cope with the surges, but after those intense hours I decided to get an epidural.
After the epidural my cervix dilated to 10 centimetres.

Over the next few hours, I was moved into several different positions to try to encourage Raphael to get into a better position for birth.
During this time the CTG detected a drop in Raphael’s heart rate so we opted for a foetal scalp electrode in order to get better reading.
His heart rate ended up stabilising and being okay.

Even thought he was still not in an optimal position, I began pushing.
After pushing for an hour to no avail I was given an option to go straight to c-section or to try the ventouse. If ventouse was unsuccessful, then we would need to proceed to a c-section.
We were told there would be a 90% chance of a successful ventouse delivery and as I did not want to start motherhood with major surgery we choose the ventouse.
After two good pushes with the ventouse, it popped off Raphael’s head and we proceeded straight to an emergency c-section where they attempted to get him out by hand, then forceps, and then finally and successfully by hand again. 

Due to the effects of the ventouse, Raphael needed support immediately after birth.
It absolutely broke my heart that I could not have the skin to skin with (or even touch) my baby immediately after birth. The shining light throughout my whole labour (which ended up lasting around 24 hours) was that I would have my baby in my arms at the end. And when that did not happen, it was devastating.

Luckily Raphael only needed 2 nights in NCCU.
I had expressed a lot of colostrum towards the end of the pregnancy and he went through all of it while in NCCU.
He has made a great recovery and we have had great success with breastfeeding so far. He is gaining weight like there is no tomorrow! 

Even though the birth was not the intervention free experience I hoped for, I still found the knowledge I gained in your course so valuable.
It made us aware of our options, aware of the consequences of our choices, and helped us understand the medical terminology and interventions presented throughout the birth. 

Your course also made me believe my body could handle a natural birth (which I never previously believed) and made me no longer fear labour and birth, which was a huge deal for me.

Your course also gave me strength to say no to the suggestions of inductions which were offered on numerous occasions as I was over 40 weeks.

Your course also helped me disassociate pain with the birthing experience which I found to be a big game changer. I am someone who always believed my pain tolerance was low (I am known to cry during blood tests)!
The midwife was so impressed with how I handled the surges, she wanted me to teach other pregnant mamas how to handle them too! 

I am enjoying the blissful newborn bubble. Even the fourth trimester is challenging at times, I try and look past that as I know this special stage will be over too quickly!

The Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth program is for all births.
But if you know a caesarean section is what is best for you, there is a specific Positive Caesarean Course.
The Positive Caesarean Course covers the same hypnobirthing tools as the traditional course, it just demonstrates more specifically how to apply them to to a caesarean birth.
Megan and Tony took the Positive Caesarean Course to help them prepare for the birth of their baby girl.

Before the course they were not feeling calm and confident.
But after taking the course, practicing their tools, communicating their preferences to their caregiver, they did feel calm and confident.
And they had the positive birth that they were hoping for.

Our beautiful baby girl, Poppy, was born on 30 October by elective caesarean section.
We are all doing well. 

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the time you spent with Tony and I, it really made our birthing experience stress free and truly beautiful.

Going into my pregnancy, I was so scared that I would sit on the couch and cry at night, but after seeing you and doing the Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Caesarean Course everything changed.
It made me look forward her birthing day in a calm way.
In particular, the guided affirmations and fear release hypnosis really worked for me. Also learning how to tune out when people would tell me their birthing horror stories was really helpful.
I walked into theatre so happy and confident. 

After my experience I really want mums-to-be who decide to have an elective c-cection to know that it can be a calm, special, and beautiful experience.
For me, personally, my c-section was the best decision I made!
You and your program empowered me and gave me much needed confidence and I can’t thank you enough. 

Also, my recovery has been amazing. This was another thing I was really worried about and that the course helped me with. I listened to the recovery affirmations in the lead up so I was in a really good mindset after birth.