HYPNOBIRTHING WITH BIRTH-ED

All the information and tools you need for giving birth your way

We are here to help you feel informed, in control and confident about giving birth YOUR way.

Feeling fed up of googling your way through pregnancy and finding yourself trawling through old wives’ tales, birth horror stories and not knowing whether you can trust what you read? Finding that a lot of your birth choices are being made for you by your healthcare team, and wanting to know what you’re actually ‘allowed’ to ask for? Finding that everyone you know planned a birth centre, water birth but ended up with an induction on a labour ward? And wondering If there’s anything you can do actually influence the way your birth goes?

Good news. With birth-ed, you’ve found the answer to your worries!

This is me, hard at work, sharing some hypnobirthing magic with a group of parents to be!

Hey, I’m Megan & I’m so glad you’ve found me!

The professional bit- Megan Rossiter, (Cert HE Midwifery, KGHDip Hypnobirthing), current co-chair of Kingston NHS Trust Maternity Voices Partnership.

The personal bit- Mum to 2 and 2 little stars in the sky.

Why am I the right person to help you on this journey?

Something I’ve learned having now supported so many women in their birth preparation is that, as women, we vastly underestimate what giving birth involves and vastly over estimate what the maternity system can provide.

On this journey, I’ve been lucky enough to support many women antenatally, through labour and birthing their babies, so I’ve seen the circumstances in which things go well and situations where we we might be better off doing things a little differently. I’m here to share all my secrets to help you get the positive birth experience you truly deserve.

What’s my experience and background?

My journey supporting women in pregnancy and birth began long before setting up birth-ed or having kids of my own, when I began my midwifery training in 2014. The twists and turns of life led me to setting up birth-ed® in 2017 and I’ve been lucky enough to have supported 1000s of families all over the world in their birth preparation since then.

My experience and expertise have led to guest lecturing at universities including Kings College London; speaking at events like The Baby and Toddler Show; and giving press comments for the BBC, iPaper and Evening Standard.

Through my work within the NHS, I have been involved in some really important projects such as The Ockenden Review and CQC inspections. My role as Co-Chair of Kingston MVP means I maintain excellent connections with staff at Kingston Hospital and other local Trusts.

So how can we help you to get yourself prepared?

When it came to prepping for my own birth, I had an in depth understanding of the mechanisms of birth, hospital protocols and medical procedures, but I needed a way of understanding me. This body, this baby! WE had never done this before. That’s when I discovered hypnobirthing.

In the same way that many of us do, I had been approaching my own birth from just a medical, scientific perspective, so the prospect of ‘hypnobirthing’ made me a little uncomfortable- So if you or your partner are feeling at all skeptical at this stage, believe me, I felt exactly the same!

As it happened, the hypnobirthing tools were exactly what we needed…

To support the physiology of birth that is so often disrupted in the maternity system I was used to.
To eliminate the fear I felt having worked in the maternity system for so long.
To get me to a place where I felt calm and excited about the prospect of giving birth.

So whether you’re feeling a bit nervous after hearing the horror stories the media shares or following on from a difficult experience yourself, or simply keen to find out exactly how you can go into birth with tools to remain calm and comfortable, then hypnobirthing is a great place to start! Combine this with my in depth knowledge of navigating the maternity system & expertise in supporting women to give birth, I found myself creating the unique birth-ed programme.

What makes the birth-ed course so special?

My experience as a mum-to-be attending hypnobirthing classes in an attempt to get the birth I wanted & the local group antenatal classes to hopefully make some mat leave pals, left me feeling somewhat short changed! Both courses sold you the dream! The birth centre, unmedicated, water birth. Except… the hypnobirthing left you unprepared for any other outcome.. and the antenatal course gave you no practical tips to actually make your birth a positive one... Utterly unfair if you ask me!

So if you know, as I did, what it is you want from your birth- to feel calm, confident and supported, minimise the chance of intervention and remain in control of your decisions; then you’re going to need to get yourself informed, have some practical tools up your sleeve to make it happen, and get someone useful at the end of a Whatsapp in case you’re thrown the unexpected (That’s me by the way!). And THAT is what the birth-ed courses are for!

What can you expect from a hypnobirthing and antenatal course with birth-ed?

**No clucking like a chicken.**
‘Hypnobirthing’ tends to conjure up ideas of swinging pocket watches and clicking fingers. But actually, it’s nothing like ‘stage hypnosis’. A better comparison is something like sports psychology, marathon runners use similar techniques to help them break through the 16 mile wall. Hypnobirthing does exactly the same for birth. It helps us utilise the power of our minds to help our bodies perform at their best physically.

LEM_1508 (1).jpg — **A toolbox of techniques for a calm, comfortable and confident birth.**
The hypnobirthing techniques themselves are there for you to practice during pregnancy to help eliminate fear and get you to a place where you’re actually feeling exciting about giving birth! They also act as a tool kit for you to use in labour itself, to aid relaxation & promote the normal physiology of birth whilst helping you maintain a sense of calm and comfort.

**We put you in control.**
T
he information we share in the birth-ed courses is up to date & evidence based. Expect a thorough understanding of the physiology of birth, your birth choices and ‘what if’ situations. We’ve unpicked all the research, so you don’t have to. Knowing what information to trust and how it applies to you, puts you totally in control of the decisions around your birth. You’ll finish the course feeling confident and equipped for any situation.

BBHJ-Homebirth2 (14).jpg — **Less chance of intervention.**
Research into hypnobirthing has shown a reduced rate of intervention- less epidurals, less instrumental births, inductions, caesareans. Believe it or not, choices you make in both pregnancy and labour can actually influence the outcome of your birth! Combine this with our insider knowledge of ‘navigating the system’ and you can be pretty sure intervention will only happen if it’s truly needed.

**Ongoing expert support.**
The birth-ed approach draws from my midwifery background, experience working within the NHS and having now supported thousands of women with their hypnobirthing preparation. My insider knowledge and expertise puts me in the perfect position to support you right up to the birth of your baby- particularly helpful if you’re thrown any last minute curveballs!

group%2Bphoto%2Baugust.jpg — **Like minded Mat Leave pals.**
Often you turn up to your antenatal class and find that all you have in common with the other parents is a baby due at a similar time, and an address within a couple of miles of each other! By choosing a course with birth-ed, you already know that you’re likely to have similar values and approaches, making the Mat Leave friend making that tiny bit easier from the get go!

“I just wanted to say a huge thankyou! My husband and I carried out the birth-ed mini course at our home in July and it was the best decision we ever made! I know my story might sound chaotic, even scary, but I wasn’t scared. I feel so empowered that my body did what it was supposed to do all by itself, with no intervention from another person or pain relief! I was relaxed at home, I didn’t tense a single muscle (until I got in the car!) and I allowed my body to do the most natural thing in the world. Although our son ended up being born n the hospital corridor!! It was the perfect labour and I’m so grateful to you for teaching me the techniques to allow it to happen this way! ”

— LYNSEY

“I just wanted to share my birth story with the group as it was such an incredibly positive and empowering experience thanks to the birth-ed in-person course and amazing online resources. Without the birth-ed course, I wouldn’t have realised I could have so much choice and control around my birth, particularly after ending up on a labour ward with an induction- not the initial plan, but right for us on the day. My experience was so much more positive and richer for it. Thank you so much Megan for your knowledge and expertise - the course was was truly life changing! ”

— HANNAH