Zamil and I wanted to let you know we were blessed with a beautiful girl, Saira, on Sunday 7 February and she is doing absolutely amazing. We decided to go with an induction to help ensure a smooth delivery. After the gel was applied on Saturday evening my waters naturally broke on Sunday morning which was very exciting as this marked the beginning of our labour of love.
Read MoreThank you for helping us achieve a positive & empowering birth. Without attending the Calm birth course & going to Suzanne’s Active Birth yoga classes, our experience may not have been the same. My husband & I can honestly say we felt so prepared & ready, which gave us the beautiful & calm birth that we’d hoped for.
I spontaneously went into early labour around 5am Tuesday 22/10. I went about my day (as much as you can having contractions, or what I liked to call them “tightenings” every 10 mins) & my husband went to work as usual. Given I wasn’t sure if it was the “real thing”, I spent the morning pottering around my home, listening to a playlist that I’d put together for my baby blessing & something I would listen to most days during the end of pregnancy as it was relaxing & reminded me of all of the love & support we are surrounded by; I went for a walk to get a coffee; painted my nails & focused on staying calm, with trust that my body knew exactly what it was doing & my mind just had to go along with the ride. I didn’t want to get “too excited” as didn’t want adrenaline to take over & I wasn’t focused on how often or how long the tightenings were coming.
Read MoreThe Calm Birth course my partner Brandon and I did in August Suzanne Swan was such an amazing course, it gave us all the tools we needed and was quite honestly the best thing we did to prepare for the birth of our little boy! As luck would have it, on the day my midwife couldn't make it so we were able to use the birth plan we'd written up for our stand-in midwife. I ended up having a beautiful, empowering waterbirth - I have attached a photo mum took! I have just finished writing down and reflecting on the whole experience and really think the Calm Birth course gave us so much knowledge and confidence throughout the whole process!
Read MoreBaby K was born at 39 weeks. With my first child born through emergency caesarean at almost 41 weeks, I was feeling somewhat nervous around possibilities of a successful vaginal birth this time. Adrian and I agreed that we would give VBAC a go and we spent 2 days doing a Private Calmbirth program with Suzanne – we both found the two sessions very informative and Suzanne was very patient and supportive in helping us learn the Calmbirth techniques.
Read MoreTroy and I attended your Calmbirth weekend at the start of last September, and then I came to active birth classes. We just can't thank you enough for what you taught us. Without your help there is very little chance I would have enjoyed the end of my pregnancy with a level head and actually looked forward to labour with excitement! In the end we were counting strong contractions continually for 40 hours at home before heading to the hospital for another 12, where I avoided strong drugs until hormones for the last hour when my contractions seemed to have really weakened. The skills you taught us, the education you gave us, the sense of humour you instilled in us, and the wisdom of readiness to accept whatever came our way - we just can't thank you enough. Your gift to the world is just incredible. Thank you. Those breathing techniques have come in handy during some major screaming baby moments too! xo
Read MoreYour course gave us the tools to prepare, such as the breathing techniques, acupressure and active birth positions. Tyler was able to draw upon what he learnt from the CalmBirth weekend to be an incredible birth partner and help support me through my contractions. Although the pain was an intensity I had never imagined, I believed I had all the tools to get me through it, what we learnt in your course helped with this and I felt empowered and confident to experience the birth I desired.
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Even with all the preparations and best intentions, I grunted and moaned and doubted I could do it.....So the most useful calm birth tools for us were everything Ole took away from it to keep me on track. He was amazing and did not leave my side once, he was even in the tub. We laboured at home from Monday night into Tuesday morning, headed to the birth centre around 9am and had a long, steady build up to a beautiful water birth.
Read MoreWe had a wonderful birth - despite the induction at 39 weeks for Advanced maternal age. It started with a balloon the night before which was pretty intense and I needed the TENS machine and lots of calm birth breathing for the first five hours until the contractions it caused had settled! The following morning my membranes were ruptured and I had 6 hours of gentle contractions on increasing synto; I used calm birth breathing and visualisation for this, as well as aromatherapy, massage, acupressure points and some Birth ball bouncing.
Read MoreI really can't imagine what my birth experience would have been like if I hadn't done the Calmbirth program with Suzanne. I was two weeks past my due date when the doctors informed me I would have to be induced no later than 14 days. Although I was anxious to meet her I knew that she wasn't ready yet so tried to give her as much time as possible....
Read MoreVocalising in labour is the practice of making low, vibratory sound as breath is slowly released. There is a physiological connection between the vocal cords, the respiratory diaphragm, cervix and the perineum. Finding the ‘notes’ that resonate most profoundly with your body is referred to as ‘toning’.
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I just want to say a BIG thank you for your help with preparing me for the birth. My husband and I attended your Calmbirth Weekend in January. The skills I learnt in these classes were invaluable and truly prepared me for my birth and kept me feeling well during my pregnancy.
Read MoreCalmbirth believes when we learn how to embrace birth as a natural part of life and not fear it, and stay connected by working together as a family, then not only will unnecessary intervention rates be reduced but the way we experience and talk about birth will be far more positive and empowering for future generations of families.
Read MorePipers birth was even more magical than we could ever have wished for, Sam was of course AMAZING! His support through language and his confidence in how he could support me physically made all the difference.
As you can see from the photo we were able to birth in the position we had hoped, with me on all fours and Sam facing me in a bean bag. We then sat and snuggled with our baby girl in our arms and marvelled at how quiet, calm and pain free the birth was.
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I had a great birthing experience. When I tell other mums this, they often say “you were lucky”. But I don’t think it was pure luck that helped me have a relaxed labour and problem free delivery. I had simply prepared myself well to deal with the experience. It was incredibly important to me that mentally, I was prepared to deal with my son’s delivery.
Read MoreYou were right, giving birth is not painful, is what my mum used to keep telling me and my sister about the wonder of birth
“It is not painful and once it is over you will have forgotten all about it.” is what my mum used to keep telling me and my sister about the wonder of birth.
“It is not painful and once it is over you will have forgotten all about it.” is what my mum used to keep telling me and my sister about the wonder of birth. Giving birth has always been a natural and peaceful event for generations of women in my family and close circle of friends. Although my great grandmother died after the birth of my nan (that was during the tough 40s in Europe), it never occured to me that birthing could be dangerous at all. I suppose it all comes down to how the story has been passed on from one generating to the next.
Read MoreImagine a calm and joyful beginning to your baby’s life. Kiera was born with no drugs, no gas, and no tearing.
Keira, daughter of Karen and Bear, was born at 8.22pm on the 24th August 2011. We achieved an amazing Calmbirth with no drugs, no gas and no tearing. We are so so pleased and truly had an amazing and empowering experience. She is a stunner (of course I'm biased!!) and we are completely and utterly in love.
Read MoreI love that I can share such an excellent birth experience with you. Both the midwife & the obstetrician commented on how calm I was, and that they were surprised how well I coped with the intensity of the induced labour.
I found the Yogababy & Calm Birth stuff really helpful - particularly the birth affirmations, relaxation, breathing & visualisation, 'blissing out' between contractions, consciously releasing tension, 'loose lips, loose bits', and the continual reminders that the body is designed to do this.
Read MoreWe were both initially nervous about childbirth, particularly with all the negative birthing stories we were told. Calmbirth helped us to get a new perspective on what childbirth can be liked and we were so pleased to welcome our son safely into the world with no stress, no drugs an no tearing!
Read MoreMackenzie was born on Sunday 9th August. 13 days over and Weighing in at 4.54kgs and a record 62cm long!
So it may not have been the birth we planned, but it was none the less Calm the entire time. If nothing else we did it as a team. And after trying every method (I do like to be thorough ) I can tell you that breathing is KEY. On the few occasions a strong contraction caught me off guard and I didn't breathe through it that was the only time I felt discomfort. It truly is incredible what you body can do, and even more so what you can achieve as a partnership.
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