Antenatal Classes

“Hi Tania,
I hope you got the text message I sent you last week. In case you didn't then I'm happy to report, our son, Dorian Eino Cohen was born a week ago at home in a swift 4 hour birth. Marika used only the tens machine for pain relief and the fantastic midwives made sure things happened smoothly. An acupuncture session on day 6 of week 40 (through a card we picked up in your class) helped, we believe; bring on the birth the next day with further help from a sweep in the morning.

Marika went from 2-3cm to fully dilated in about an hour or so and we were able to read all the signs and felt confident throughout the labour thanks to your class. It was also great when they started pulling out their gear that I knew what everything was and that things were going to plan. More than anything I felt that your repeated mention on the mother's intuition about how things progress and knowing what she needs was extremely valuable. That helped me react to everything Marika asked for and do anything she requested even when I thought it surely can't be happening yet. But of course she knew, and they were.

Anyway, I hope you're well. We look forward to seeing you at the reunion.

Greets"
Adar, Marika + Dorian. 17th January 2008

“I’m very pleased with the classes, teaching experience and the people I have met. I’d highly recommend Tania to friends.”
Kate. Dec 07

“Great handout information. Really enjoyed coming, I feel much more confident now! Thanks for everything Tania.”
Fiona. Dec 07

“I’ll miss the group – its been thoroughly enjoyable and very informative. I would highly recommend this group to friends – in fact I already have!” Hannah. Dec 07
“Very impressed. I now feel confident and ready for baby’s arrival. Very positive approach.”
Andrew. Dec 07

“Would highly recommend Tania to anyone I know. So glad I booked this antenatal class!!”
Krissy. Dec 07

“Classes were informative, fun and addressed any concerns we had. We always felt we could ask any questions. Tania was very knowledgeable and never made us feel stupid for asking silly questions.”
Katherine & Vicky. Dec 07

“My midwife recommended Tania and Bump2Bubba as the best local ante natal classes because they were honest and realistic in approach. We had already signed up to NCT but decided to do Tania's course also. It was to be one of the best decisions we made.
The Bump2Bubba classes were packed full of useful information - everything you'd expect to be told plus a whole lot more. But importantly all the facts were delivered in a completely objective way. If Tania had a personal point of view on how things should be done, she did not show it. She managed to be incredibly informative and helpful without once being judgmental; she gave a balanced perspective and was respectful of people's point of view and preferences. In comparison, we felt that the NCT classes were not as thorough and were biased towards a certain approach to labour and parenting, that on occasion, made us uncomfortable.
Tania's classes were enjoyable and informal. She was approachable and easy to talk to and we met some wonderful people.
We wouldn't hesitate in recommending Bump2Bubba to any prospective mums and dads as one of the best starts you can have on your road to parenthood.”
Nicky & Mark. June 07

HypnoBirthing

“Tania's Hypno birthing sessions were practical and clear. I think it's helpful that she is an experienced midwife. She gave me the confidence to remain calm and focused. I can honestly say I actually enjoyed the birth process. It was an incredible experience. My husband said at one point he couldn't even tell when I was having my contractions I remained so relaxed throughout. After I gave birth to my healthy 7lb 7oz little boy without any medical intervention I felt elated and proud of myself. I still can't quite believe what I achieved.

There is no doubt that having been through it all before is a huge factor both physically and mentally. and I, like a lot of mature mums to be, had approached my first pregnancy and birth as if taking a PhD. reading everything I could find on the subject, taking yoga classes, homeopathy, meditation, bowen , reflexology.... You name it, I tried it. I was determined to be prepared and have all angles covered. Second time around chasing after a lively two year old meant that preparation for the new arrival was quite different - limited to sorting through the first child's cast offs and digging out the Moses basket from the attic! So it was a chance meeting with midwife Tania Pearce that introduced me to the idea of Hypno birthing. Tania an experienced midwife had just graduated in a Hypno birthing course. I was eight months pregnant and was feeling guilty at my lack of focus and preparation for my impending due date. I suggested that Tania try out her new found skills on me and it was agreed that I would be her first Guinea pig.

For the first session Tania came to visit me at home. We talked about the negative perceptions and language surrounding giving birth and where those perceptions might have come from. We talked about why something so natural had become so fearful and medicalised and we discussed changing the negative language surrounding birth. For instance talking about a 'birthing process' instead of 'labour', 'surges' instead of 'contractions' and 'bearing down' instead of 'pushing'. This seemed quite straightforward to me though I wasn't convinced it could make much difference to the experience. Next we watched a video of women who were using the hypno birthing techniques. It was hard to believe that they could remain so calm and relaxed while giving birth. Tania then went through a relaxation technique with me and read out some positive affirmations. She left me with a relaxation cd. to listen to every
day and a list of affirmations to read.

My husband, Sam attended the next session with me. Tania discussed what his involvement in the process could be. She was very sensitive to what Sam felt comfortable with and made him feel confident about what his contribution could be, without making him feel under any pressure. Tania then took me through a relaxation process step-by-step. During this I felt a deep sense of calm and well being. We went
through the breathing techniques and Tania talked me through what to do to get myself back on track if I found myself flipping into my fight or flight response. Sam was given some reading material and a sheet of birth affirmations for him to read to me.

For the next two weeks I listened to the meditation cd once every day and practised my breathing techniques when going to the toilet.

Sunday morning I awoke with a cough and my waters broke. It was quite a shock to see how much fluid there was. I didn't have any contractions at this point. I let my mum and Sam know what was happening then I ran a bath. Mum got up and saw to Skye and asked if I wanted a cooked breakfast. After my bath I had my first surge. I went downstairs and had breakfast during which my contractions became more established and regular until they were about 15 mins. apart. I suggested Sam called the hospital to let them know we would be coming in. Sam thought we should wait. This, I think, was because I seemed so calm and in control but I knew I was well on my way now, so I insisted he called a Taxi. By the time the Taxi arrived my surges were 10 mins apart. I remained completely calm and focused on my breathing.

At the hospital I was examined and the midwife thought I was about 4cms dilated. She offered me pain relief but I said I was fine. We were taken to the delivery room and left for a while. Sam put on my relaxation c.d. The surges were more intense and frequent but I found I could remain relaxed and calm, concentrating on my breathing exercises and on releasing tension from my body. The midwife kept popping in to see if we were okay and to offer gas and air or an epidural. I could tell she was quite confused because she could tell I was progressing but didn't seem to be in pain. She kept saying "You are doing very well!"

As the surges became more and more intense I found I had to retreat deeper and deeper into myself to release tension and give myself over to the process completely. I got up from the bed every now and then and sat on the birthing ball. Sam was very helpful saying affirmations to me that kept me on the right track, reminding me to send love down to the baby. At one point I had to ask him not to talk during surges. He said he couldn't tell when a surge was beginning I looked so still and quiet. The only sign that I was in the middle of a very intense surge was my toes twitching slightly.

The midwife came in to do an examination. She said I was 7cms dilated. She checked my blood pressure and said it was high. She seemed worried by this. Then she said she was going on a break now and introduced me to a different midwife. This all knocked me out of my relaxed state and I asked for gas and air and said maybe I should have an epidural. The midwife jumped at this and said she thought that was a good idea as it would bring down my blood pressure. She seemed visibly relieved. Then she said she would have to move me to another room. I was now having very intense contractions and I could feel the panic rising in me. I started to have thoughts about not being able to go through the final stage. By the time I walked to the new room I was feeling pain and was relying on the gas and air to get me through the contractions. I had definitely flipped into the fight and flight response. As we waited for the anaesthetist to arrive Sam suggested he put the relaxation cd on again. I stopped using the gas and air and concentrated on the cd and my breathing. I noticed how my breathing and relaxation techniques were far more powerful than the gas and air. After a while I felt happy and in control again. I stopped being scared of the contractions and gave myself over to the relaxation technique.

By the time the anaesthetist arrived I was completely still and in control again. The anaesthetist commented on the relaxed atmosphere and questioned whether I was sure I wanted an epidural. He yawned and said he was beginning to feel relaxed and sleepy. He also suggested that every woman in labour should be given this cd to listen to. He was about to give me the epidural when I had a strong feeling of wanting to push. I sat up and said, "the baby's coming, I need to push". The midwife came in and I began the bearing down process. I found this at times difficult and felt the need to force a couple of times but it was when I released down that the baby’s head was able to come out and my healthy 7lbs 7oz son was delivered shortly after.

I felt elated and proud of myself for having conquered my fears. I had a tiny tear, probably due to forcing at the pushing stage but I was thrilled at how positive the whole experience had been, especially compared to the thirty hours of hell and forceps delivery, I had experienced the last time. Recovery was easy as there was no medication to get over. Needless to say, my partner Sam was relieved that the whole process had gone so well and he said compared to the last time it had felt remarkably stress free.”
Mabel. May 07

“I was really worried that it would be like Paul McKenna hypnosis! - but it was far from that. It was just how to train yourself to go to deep relaxation and to be able to visualise positive outcomes - something I found hard initially, but when you brought us through the scripts, I found it easy to concentrate on your voice and it became easier as we progressed through the course.

Things that I thought were brilliant were:

The course made sure that the partner is not a spare part and is absolutely paramount to a positive birthing experience. Even though he knew that he wanted to be involved it made sure that he had a role to play.

The breathing techniques I use even now when I'm trying to calm baby down. I think it helps to have a calmer Mum. It was great through the pregnancy. I listened to the cd every night before I went to bed and never had any problems with a broken nights sleep.

The course and the way you explained things made sure that I was looking forward to the birthing day with minimal apprehension.
Also I think the fear release exercise you did with us was very beneficial - I was sceptical to start with but I think it really worked.

It was great to see the dvd's of women's positive experiences. Having never been at a birth before, all that I could imagine was the tv/ film portrayals with women screaming so to see the hypno births and then to chat over it replaced the negative images that I think most people have.

As for the actual birth!!!!

I used the breathing techniques loads during the first stage and there's no doubt in my mind that these made it fairly ok to cope with. When the midwife came round to check me he was pretty impressed that I'd got to 8 cms dilated with a tens and my hypnobirthing techniques. The 2nd stage was definitely more intense for me and I mostly chucked my hypnobirthing techniques out! However my partner came into his own with massage, encouragement and affirmations. So even though there's no point in pretending this stage wasn't challenging, I think it would have been a lot harder without hypnobirthing. I also found the visualisation techniques worked well for me as we visualised the labour taking 7 hours and it ended up at 7 and a half! Quite amazing.

We can't really thank you enough for preparing us for our beautiful daughter's entry into the world - you were and are so generous with your time and talents and we are lucky that you are so enthusiastic about your job. It's great that you can combine the hypnobirthing with being a midwife - we knew that you spoke and taught from experience.”
Donna-Maria & Bobby June 07