My Services

Private birth education in the comfort of your own home or online with an experienced midwife. Forget your typical antenatal classes where you might focus on what to pack in your hospital bag or how to change your baby’s first nappy. We will cover this but so much more. I'm here to talk to you, as a registered midwife, about what birth is really like. I’m here to inform and empower you, to guide you through navigating the NHS maternity care system as it is (not as we wish it was). I’m here to talk about how to get the birth you want, whether that’s a vaginal waterbirth or an elective caesarean. I can discuss with you how to avoid the most common form of interventions in birth and the evidence behind induction of labour. I'm here to teach you how to make informed and empowered decisions, and what birth might look and feel like if your baby needs help to be born. I can equip you with everything that you need to have a fantastic birthing experience, for every type of birth. We will also cover life after birth, the reality of caring for a newborn baby, realistic sleep expectations, postnatal recovery, what you can expect in the postpartum period and all things infant feeding – breastfeeding and/or bottle feeding to create a feeding plan that reflects your intentions. Pricing: • 1x 2-hour class = £140 • 2x 2-hour class = £270 • 3x 2-hour class = £390 • 4x 2-hour class = £495 Please note that the content we cover and the time we have to spend on each topic will depend on how many sessions you book. I will happily adapt the focus and content of each session to suit your needs and be led by your questions. If you would like to also incorporate any of my other offerings into your classes then please let me know,(https://www.theauthenticmidwife.co.uk/contact) and this can be arranged. Please also see my full pregnancy preparation package or my complete pregnancy and postnatal package if this is something you are interested in.

Hypnobirthing classes to prepare you mentally, emotionally and physically to give birth, in the comfort of your own home or online. I am an experienced KG Hypnobirthing teacher and will bring all my experience as a registered midwife to my hypnobirthing teaching. My teaching is designed to help you ‘get out of your own way’ and go into your birthing experience with the attitude of ‘bring it on!’ instead of ‘I’m not sure how I will cope.’ For years we can consciously or subconsciously buy into the narrative that ‘childbirth is awful.’ We watch TV series after series or film after film that all tell us the same thing: birth is scary, birth is painful. Birth no longer happens in our communities but behind closed doors, in hospital. Giving birth is the only time you will go into hospital when there is nothing wrong with you: you’re just having a baby! And yet many people are (understandably) petrified, full of doubt and disbelief that they can do this. And so I'm here to tell you that you can! Whether you are planning a vaginal birth or an elective caesarean, my hypnobirthing teaching is designed to equip you with tools to help you feel mentally and physically equipped and empowered, and to teach you what birth is really like, not what you’ve been told happens from toxic media narratives, social media or strangers birth horror stories. From my years of midwifery practice, I've learnt that if we don’t feel mentally and emotionally ready to let go and if we don’t believe we can actually do this, our bodies sometimes aren’t ready to let go of our babies. Where the mind leads, the body follows. My hypnobirthing teaching is honest, no bull****, REAL talk. My hypnobirthing teaching is also unique as I incorporate my experience and expertise in using biomechanics and movement in midwifery to help labour progress, guiding you and your partner in postures that you can take into the birth room. I believe this knowledge, paired with all of the mental and emotional preparation, sets you up well to feel strong and powerful during your labour and birth, as well as increasing your chances of a vaginal birth. If you are planning an elective caesarean, I also teach a hypnobirthing session designed for caesarean birth. Hypnobirthing is for all types of birth, and I teach it because as a midwife, I believe it works. I will supply you with all the necessary resources to practice after our session/s and this is included in the cost of the course.  Pricing: • 1x 2-hour class = £140 • 2x 2-hour class = £270 • 3x 2-hour class = £390 • 4x 2-hour class = £495

Do you have questions about your birth plan? Not sure where to start? Are you confused around what you are "allowed" and "not allowed" to do? Is there something specific you are worried about? Have you been told “you can’t” birth where you want to or are being offered a whole range of interventions that don’t make sense to you? Do you have birth preferences that you are being told are "against guidelines" and are struggling to find the best way to have this conversation with your midwife or obstetrician? Please feel free to book in a session with me where we can discuss questions, concerns and ways for you to feel not only empowered by your birth plan, but also equipped to have any difficult, challenging or confusing conversations. As a registered midwife with years of experience, I can support you to make a decision that feels right for you. Leave feeling excited about your birth, in whatever way you are choosing to birth your baby! This session can be either face to face or online and lasts up to two hours. Pricing: • 1x birth planning consultancy session = £150 I can also help you create a birth preferences plan that reflects everything you want, wherever and however you are planning to give birth. So whether you know exactly what you want but need some support in managing how you achieve it, or if you have no idea and need some support in feeling this out, a birth planning consultancy session is for you.

We often tend to spend so much time preparing and planning for birth that we can forget to think about our infant feeding and postpartum plans too. Many families have desires to breastfeed their babies, whether that’s exclusively breastfeeding, mixed feeding, or exclusively bottle feeding. As a breastfeeding and lactation specialist, I don’t think there’s a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to feed your baby, however what I care about is making sure that you are the person making the decision about what your infant feeding journey looks like and that you are not forced into one way or another without the necessary information and guidance that you need to make it. In the U.K. we have very low breastfeeding rates, and ultimately, I believe this is often down to a complete lack of support. Breastfeeding may be ‘natural’, but that doesn’t make it easy. And yet so many women and birthing people have expectations that their baby’s will just crawl to the breast and latch on straight after birth and then feel like a failure when their baby doesn’t; or are fed an equally damaging narrative that breastfeeding is painful and that it hurts. This is why antenatal knowledge and preparation is so important to ensure that you have all the information you need to get your infant feeding journey off to the best start possible. In this session we can put together a calm, logical and achievable feeding plan that reflects your intentions. Whether this is your first feeding journey or your fourth, this antenatal feeding preparation session is a space to discuss how to latch your baby on to your breast, how to know your baby is getting enough milk, signs that further support may be needed, when and how to start pumping and can also include when and how to formula feed (if formula feeding is in your own personal plan). The antenatal breastfeeding preparation session also includes: • Advice and guidance on how to harvest colostrum in pregnancy. We can also practice this together if you wish (to do so I recommend you are at least 36 weeks pregnant) • How to latch your baby on to your breast (a personalised discussion based on your own body shape and breast size, opposed to a more generalised discussion with the assumption that all women’s bodies and breasts are the same!) • Guidance on breastfeeding positions and what positions might be suitable and when to use them. We can discuss positions that you can use when inside your own home and when out and about, positions that optimise milk transfer and use gravity to support you and positions that can aid a deeper latch, depending again on your breast size and postpartum body. • Signs of the most common feeding challenges and tips on how to avoid or troubleshoot these, should they arise. We can also discuss more serious signs of when further help or support might be needed, and where you can go to access this. • How to set yourself up to have the best feeding experience possible, including tips for managing your environment in hospital and at home. • Discussion around managing feeding expectations and how birth partners and your partner (if you have one) can help. • What is normal and not normal in the first few weeks after birth. • How to maintain and manage your milk supply. • If you plan to bottle feed, we can discuss how to give your baby a bottle, how to responsively feed your baby, tips to avoid confusion between breast and bottle (if you are switching between the two), the best bottle feeding positions, how to make up a bottle and how to sterilise the equipment. • The opportunity to discuss any previous challenging feeding experiences if this is not your first child, and ways to avoid repeating these this time round. This session can be booked any time in pregnancy, but can sometimes be of most benefit when booked around 34-38 weeks. The session generally tends to last up to 2 hours long and can be either facilitated at home or online. Pricing: • 1x antenatal breastfeeding preparation session = £140

I am a qualified pregnancy and postnatal yoga teacher. I currently teach both pregnancy and postnatal classes at various yoga studios across London and during the summer months teach pregnancy yoga in the park. If you are interested in finding out where I teach and for information, please get in touch and I can send you my updated timetable, or see my Instagram page @TheAuthenticMidwife (https://www.instagram.com/theauthenticmidwife) The benefits of pregnancy yoga include supporting optimal fetal positioning, reducing stress, anxiety and low mood, improving sleep (pregnancy insomnia can be particularly challenging), increasing energy levels, enhancing circulation and improving coping abilities for birth. Some evidence also suggests yoga in pregnancy shortens the duration of labour and may increase the likelihood of a vaginal birth. If you are interested in a private pregnancy yoga class in the comfort of your own home, designed to personally support your pregnancy, I’d love to work with you. I am also happy to teach a private class for yourself and any pregnant friends. Please do get in touch if this is something you are interested in. Pricing: • 1:1 private pregnancy yoga class lasting 1 hour = £75 • 1:1 private pregnancy yoga class lasting 2 hours incorporating hypnobirthing teaching and essentials breathing techniques, birth affirmations and mindfulness for birth = £135 • A private pregnancy yoga class lasting 1 hour for yourself + up to 4 friends = £95 • A private pregnancy yoga class lasting 2 hours incorporating hypnobirthing teaching and essentials breathing techniques, birth affirmations and mindfulness for birth for yourself + up to 4 friends = £180

I run a regular Birth Preparation Workshop that I have designed to equip you physically, mentally and emotionally for labour and birth at various studios across London. I tend to update my Instagram page @TheAuthenticMidwife (https://www.instagram.com/theauthenticmidwife)with upcoming dates and locations. Please also feel free to get in touch and I can send you these. My birth preparation workshop includes: • A workshop to prepare you mentally, emotionally and physically for birth and to equip you in how to have the most empowering birth possible, however your baby is born. • A pregnancy yoga class for labour & birth to support and aid optimal fetal positioning, no matter what type of birth you are hoping for. I will share my knowledge of biomechanics in midwifery alongside postures to take with you into the birth room. • Essential hypnobirthing tools and techniques for ALL types of birth. Hypnobirthing can be used for any type of birth, and I will teach a mixture of breathwork, affirmations and meditations to help you prepare mentally and emotionally for childbirth. • Birth advocacy discussions and how to avoid the most common unnecessary interventions for ALL types of birth. With rising rates of intervention in the NHS maternity care system, I believe this is a crucial conversation and one which can change your entire birthing experience. • A birth planning session with me, an experienced NHS midwife. So what do you need to know? What should a birth plan look like? I will go through this together and share tips that she thinks are essential. • Birth partner support. I will share tips on how your birth partner can support you, how they can be your advocate and why this is so important. • My workshops are also an opportunity to connect with local like-minded expectant mothers. • My workshops are suitable for anyone at any stage of pregnancy and suitable for all types of birth plans (whether you’re planning a home-birth, hospital-based birth or an elective caesarean section). No prior yoga experience necessary. Pricing: Price and length of workshop, and number of participants can vary. They usually range from 2-3 hours and £40-£55 per space. Number of participants can be anywhere from 5-15+. Please contact me here (https://www.theauthenticmidwife.co.uk/contact)and I can send you information on my next workshop and how to reserve your space.

Is your partner pregnant and you’re not sure how to support her? Are you the pregnant partner and worried that your partner feels lost, frightened or will be totally overwhelmed when it comes down to showing up for you on the big day?! If so, my ‘how to be the best birth partner’ session is for you. This session can be held with you (the birth partner) independently or you (the pregnant partner) and your birth partner! In this session we will cover: • What the evidence says about having good birth advocates (believe me, birth partners really matter). • What your role will be on the day: what do you do?! • How you can support your partner including breathing techniques, postures and aiding her with hydration/nutrition to help labour progress. • How to ensure her birth preferences are being adhered to. • How to have difficult conversations with your healthcare providers. • How to ensure your partners care is safe and evidence based. • How to speak up if you’re worried something is wrong. • How to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for becoming a parent, alongside supporting your partner. • How to help your partner get feeding off to a good start once your baby is born. • How to help once you get home. Pricing: • 1x how to be the best birth partner session = £140

This package includes everything that I think you need to know before you give birth and what your partner needs to know too. This package includes: • 2x 2-hour antenatal education classes. • 2x 2-hour hypnobirthing classes. • The opportunity to discuss your birth preferences and support with putting a birth plan together for all types of birth. • 1x antenatal infant feeding preparation session lasting up to 2 hours. • Birth partner discussion: how you can be the best birth advocate and what exactly should you do?! • 10 hours of authentic, real, evidence based antenatal education with me. Pricing: • £675 (please note that if travel times are more than 30-40 mins each way, I may need to add on a small fee to cover this).

This is the everything you need pregnancy and postpartum package. It includes everything that I think you and your partner need to know before you give birth, and everything that you both need to know after too. This package includes: • 2x 2-hour antenatal education classes • 2x 2-hour hypnobirthing classes • The opportunity to discuss your birth preferences and support with putting a birth plan together for all types of birth • 1x antenatal infant feeding preparation session lasting up to 2 hours • Birth partner discussion: how you can be the best birth advocate and what exactly should you do?! • 2x 2-hour postnatal care at home sessions. These can be taken anytime in the first 28 days after birth • 1x 1:1 breastfeeding or bottle-feeding session lasting up to 2 hours to be taken in the first 14 days • 1x 1:1 follow up feeding session lasting up to 90 minutes in the first six weeks • 2 weeks of unlimited WhatsApp support after your baby is born Pricing: • £1,100 (please note that if travel times are more than 30-40 mins each way and you wish to have all sessions at home, I may need to add on a small fee to cover this).