The Birth Mum

Repost from 👇

✨Is pregnancy and birth ‘risky’?✨

Hello, it’s Amy () here 👋 taking over for the day. I’ve just finished a full day at uni and this afternoon was all about RISK!

So much of what we do as midwives and students is about assessing 'risk'. A large portion of the booking appointment, for example, assesses the likelihood that someone will develop pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or venous thromboembolism. We also discuss screening, place of birth and lifestyle considerations - all within the context of risk, and all at booking!

The provision of safe care is fundamental to midwifery and as midwives and students we have a responsibility to monitor and manage risk appropriately. However, it can sometimes feel like we’re constantly expecting something to be wrong - and this can have an impact on care pathways, intervention and a woman's experience.

To put maternal risk into context, from 2017-19, 8.8 women per 100,000 died during pregnancy or up to six weeks after giving birth in the UK (MBRRACE, 2021). Of course, that’s 8.8 women too many. But in the context of ‘chance’ that’s 0.0088%. Birth is overwhelmingly a safe and normal physiological event for most people.

So why do we think being pregnant is so 'risky'? 🤔

Is it because any risk is too much risk? Is it because we're responsible for more than one life when caring for pregnant people? Is it because we're scared of litigation?

Risk is personal and subjective and should be discussed and considered appropriately. As midwives and students, we have a number of responsibilities:

✨ Use balanced, evidence-based information when discussing or explaining 'risk'
✨ Personalise risks and benefits as far as possible
✨ Provide statistics as absolute risk, rather than relative risk
✨ Encourage and support women, birthing people and families to make informed decisions
✨ Promote individualised care and advocate for women's choices
✨ Consider the power of language and use ‘chance’ instead of risk, when appropriate
✨ Always remember to be kind, compassionate, safe and sensitive

What do you think about ‘risk’?👇💜

Beautiful 📸:

✨ 1000 followers ✨ Holy moly, thanks very much guys! Got to say I’m quite surprised - especially because I’ve been absolutely useless on here recently! 😅

As a little introduction to anyone new… I’m Amy 👋 student midwife, social media lead for All4Maternity and , and hypnobirthing & antenatal teacher.

I’m passionate about informed decision making and the provision of compassionate, individualised care.

I’m currently on my very first placement, at a wonderful community hub, (hence the radio silence on here) and so far I’m absolutely LOVING it. Can someone please tell me why I didn’t do this ten years ago?! 😩

I’m planning to continue The Birth Mum group courses a bit later on this year. But if anyone is interested in a private course, do pop me a DM 💬

First day ✅ Officially a student midwife! 👩🏼‍⚕️❤️

COUNTER PRESSURE• I adore these images from ❤️ and this advice from is really useful for birth partners, as well as midwives and birth workers!

Did you / your partner use counter pressure techniques? Let me know 👇

Posted •

Counter pressure can be an extremely effective comfort measure. It may be used at any time during labour - although it does require access to the woman/birthing person's back, meaning upright, forward-leaning or side-lying positions are required.

In January's issue of The Practising Midwife journal, Emma Ashworth () shared some excellent advice and techniques, including:

✋ Flat-hand - applying a gentle pressure to lower back with the palm of the hand

🤏 Hip presses - placing both hands either side of the hips and pressing the hip bones together

👊 Fist presses - for a firmer pressure, press your fists into the top of the pelvis or the sides of the spine

🎾 Ball presses - using a small, firm ball like a tennis ball, press or roll it firmly around the area of pain

All4Maternity members can read Emma's helpful article, including more information on the above techniques, in full. Just use the responsive search function on our homepage to look for 'counter pressure'.

HELLO• I’ve had a bit of a break from Instagram over the summer. We’ve been moving, enjoying the summer holidays, and settling the kids into a new place, new school and new pre-school.
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But I’m still here, supporting clients to enjoy a confident, controlled and positive birth experience. Take a look at a few recent testimonials 🤩 Your kind words and reviews always make my heart sing!
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Are you looking for a jam-packed birth preparation and hypnobirthing course? Taught in a relaxed, down to earth and fun style? Well I may just be the instructor for you 🙋‍♀️ Pop me a message if you have any questions or would like a FREE consultation. I’ll be adding new course dates very soon 👀
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VALUES• I’m re-sharing The Birth Mum values today - making what I believe in and what I stand for absolutely clear. These values underpin everything I do as a hypnobirthing instructor - and I will also work hard to uphold these as a student midwife.
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As part of the gang I wholeheartedly agree with their ‘all births for all people’ ethos. Good antenatal education and maternity care is so important and it’s for everyone 🙌
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⚡️EVERY CHOICE IS YOURS

Hypnobirthing will support you to make informed decisions confidently. Your body, your baby, your birth, your choices.
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⚡️ EVERY BODY IS UNIQUE

Every birther, birth partner, family and circumstance is different - and I strive to provide a safe and inclusive place for all.
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⚡️ EVERY BIRTH IS VALID
Standing up, lying down, no drugs, all the drugs, vaginally or abdominally, hypnobirthing is for all people and all births.

I’m probably not your stereotypical hypnobirthing instructor in that I haven’t actually done a hypnobirthing course whilst pregnant myself, and I don’t have my own magical birth experiences to share with you.
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I’ve got two beautiful children. My son, who is 7, and my daughter, who is 2. My son was born via c-section following a failed induction and I chose to have an elective c-section second time round.
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Would I make the same decisions now? No. But you know what you know, don’t you. And the problem was, I didn’t know very much.
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When I was pregnant the first time, as a fairly young and very single 23 year old, I felt a bit alienated by antenatal education as a whole. All the talk of ‘dad’ and ‘husband’ made me feel self-conscious and out of place. I actually looked into hypnobirthing but talked myself out of it. Man - I could kick myself for that decision now!
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And here’s where the problem lies. I did NO birth preparation at all. I didn’t know how my body works, what the birth process requires, what my hormones do, how to use positioning and environment to my advantage. I didn’t know I had options and choices. I didn’t know that every single thing was up to me.
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What I did do - was buy loads of baby clothes 🙄 I spent hours picking the perfect pram and the perfect changing bag. And being honest, I do love all that stuff - but it certainly didn’t help me achieve a positive birth experience, or happy postpartum.
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So birth was something that happened to me, around me, not something I did or had any control over. Do I feel traumatised? No. Do I wish I knew more, prepared better and felt in charge? Absolutely.
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So don’t let your situation, or the name, or the ‘expense’ put you off. Good antenatal education is important. And it’s for everyone. You deserve to feel amazing and positive and in control.
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TL;DR Don’t be like me - do the hypnobirthing course 🤪

THURSDAY 8TH JULY / FREE HYPNOBIRTHING CLASS• If you’re wondering what hypnobirthing is and if it’s for you, a free taster session is the perfect option!
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Join me at 7:30pm on Thursday 8th July from the comfort of your home. You’ll get...

✨ An hour’s taster session covering what hypnobirthing really is
✨ Myth busting for any sceptical birth partners!
✨ Find out how hypnobirthing can help you to build a positive mindset and ensure you’re feeling calm, confident, informed and in control
✨ Gain tips on achieving an enjoyable birth experience
✨ Time for questions and chat
✨ Think of it as a try before you buy - and grab a discount for a full Birth Mum course while you’re there!

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Booking is essential and there are only limited spaces available. Hit the link below to nab your spot! 💫

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-birth-mum-free-hypnobirthing-taster-session-tickets-162207229189

The Birth Mum - Free Hypnobirthing Taster Session Learn how to achieve a calm, confident and empowering birth. Join my FREE taster session and find out what hypnobirthing is really about!

BIRTH PARTNERS• One of the things that I love the most about hypnobirthing is the change you can see in the birth partner.
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They often begin slightly sceptical - turning up just to please the birther and not 100% sure what hypnobirthing is and how it can be useful 🤔
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But they tend to pretty quickly get on board. You can see the light bulb moments 💡 See them understanding birth and their role within it. They know how best to support their partner, how to advocate for them, be their biggest cheerleader and greatest source of oxytocin.
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So this one is for the birth partners. For those who start off unsure but end up being incredible. The ones who feel anxious and nervous but end up really enjoying birth. You make SUCH a difference 🙌

Amazing 📸: 💕

VISION BOARDS• I've got to be honest, when I first heard about creating a vision board for your birth, I thought it was a bit naff, a bit GCSE art project maybe. But oh my god, how wrong I was! They are so helpful and lots of my clients find them a really useful and enjoyable tool.

Just look at this AMAZING example from my lovely client Aimee 😍👏

Firstly, just the process of putting a vision board together is lovely. Building a picture of your ideal birth, and thinking about what makes you feel happy, calm and relaxed, can be a really useful first step to looking at birth in a much more positive way. And then every time you pass and look at it you'll feel inspired and excited!

So what could you include on your vision board? 🤔

✨ Affirmations that make you feel positive and excited

✨ A scan photo of your baby

✨ Tips for breathing techniques

✨ Photos of loved ones

✨ Birth photography that inspires you

✨ Images that help you visualise your birth - maybe a picture of a birth pool or an image of your birth space

✨ Images that make you feel calm - maybe you find the sea relaxing, or a warming cup of tea

Everyone’s vision board will look different, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. The main thing is that you feel positively about your birth when you look at it - which goes some way to changing your mindset and getting you excited to meet your baby!