I'm a Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner, Childbirth Educator, Trauma Cognisant Therapist and Life Coach ~ in no particular order!  I share my north Essex home with a lively rescued greyhound, who is also a PAT dog (Pets As Therapy) and a full-of-attitude Tonkinese cat.

Both my children were planned, I loved being pregnant and found it very exciting!  I kept fit, active and healthy and had no problems.

The birth of my first child was an unexpectedly painful and frightening 2-day ordeal - lonely, full of fear and failure, part of a hospital 'conveyor belt' system, complete with chemical induction, pain-relieving drugs (what relief?), 'purple pushing' and forceps. I couldn't understand why it was so horrible, assumed I was rubbish at giving birth and struggled to enjoy being a mum.  I think I bonded with my son when he was about 12 - he says 28!

Four years later, dreading my next birth (or trying not to think about it), a library book called 'Yoga in Childbirth' introduced me to breathing, relaxation and visualisation.  I'd never practised yoga before, but I accepted the simple belief that pain can be controlled using breathing.  Naive maybe, but it worked!

My daughter was born after five hours of cheerful, comfortable labour with no pain relief and I was convinced of the value of a more natural approach. 

I now know that what I’d used was self-hypnosis and some years later, as a clinical hypnotherapist, I found HypnoBirthing®.  Part of that training involved Birthing Basics - taught by a midwife - and I finally understood why my birthing experiences were so negative.  It really helps knowing.  I realise that the 'failure' wasn't mine and it isn't inevitable for women to experience birth as a painful ordeal. 

In addition to my HypnoBirthing skills, I further trained in Fertility through Hypnosis with Sjanie Hugo - using techniques employed by her at the renowned Zita West Clinic in London.  I combine my knowledge of childbirth with my therapy skills.

Please contact me if you think I can help you in any way - even if you just want to chat about possibilites.