Feedback from some of the Cbaby families
“As a first time Mum I felt nervous about labour, unsure about my options and confused by the variety of information I had gathered from books, the internet and various other materials. The sessions with Joanne helped me to understand the process my body was going through in preparation for giving birth, providing me with clear information about labour itself and opening my eyes to the many options available to me. The fact that they took place in my own home was comforting and the sessions were relaxed and informal putting both myself and my husband at ease. I am now 38 weeks pregnant and feel more calm, confident and prepared than I ever thought I would be. I cannot thank Joanne enough for helping my husband and I prepare for the birth of our first child.”
Lyndsey xx Baby Megan
"We found the session we did really beneficial. Joanne was relaxed yet professional, covering the material in a clear and paced manner. We had the opportunity to ask questions specific to our situation and left with much to reflect on and consider. Handouts were excellent. We also greatly appreciated the genuine aftercare service Joanne provided. We recommend Cbaby highly!"
Siana & Rick x Baby Leilana
"As a mum of 2 children I entered into the HypnoBirthing classes not sure of what to expect and found myself learning things about my body and my unborn baby that I had never even dreamed of, I learned that I need not relinquish control of childbirth to medicine and perhaps most important of all, I learned how to trust my own instincts and my own body. The sessions are both relaxing and informal and I found my time slot ran over on more than one occasion. Joanne is very understanding and helpful and was quick to conquer my fears (especially of hospital)!! I am now 35 weeks pregnant and am totally, unreservedly looking forward to the labour and birth of my 3rd child. (I only wish I knew of this years ago)!!"
Sharon xx Baby Jenny
“I contacted Joanne shortly after I found out I was pregnant because like many first time mums, I was anxious as to what was ahead and had been left with a frightening picture of birth from the many tv representations I had seen. I had done a small amount of research on the available pain relief and alternatives, and had read a small article on HypnoBirthing, but this seemed to be something that was widely available in America but relatively unheard of in Northern Ireland.
From the very first session I loved HypnoBirthing, the case studies that you see are amazing, the book is fascinating, whilst being very educational, and the CD was relaxing, so relaxing that my husband was usually snoring 5 minutes in! Riley has slept right through the night since he was born and I do believe that listening to the CD every night and going to sleep extremely relaxed meant that he ended up in the same routine.
Whilst completing the HypnoBirthing I had heard numerous stories from friends who had recently completed the parentcraft classes, some even attending by themselves because the classes were so oversubscribed that there wasn’t enough room to include partners! Thankfully I had signed up for the ‘Preparation for Birth and Beyond’ sessions with Joanne. These were just as enjoyable as HypnoBirthing and allowed my husband to be very much included and ask any questions that he wanted – something that proved to be significant when complications arose with Riley’s birth, Andrew feeling confident enough to seek a second opinion, which led to an emergency c-section (prior to this they were going to continue as was for another two and a half hours!).
I had an amazing pregnancy, and although my birth didn’t go as planned, I was well prepared and still able to enjoy the amazing moment I met my beautiful boy, all 10lb 4oz of him J Joanne manages to mix her friendliness and professionalism perfectly and even 7 months on from Riley’s birth we are still in contact and I know she is still there for me if I need her, which is something the NHS can’t offer!”
Natasha & Andrew Baby Riley
“Doing the HypnoBirthing course with Joanne has been a relaxing and fun way to learn about pregnancy, labour and birth. Joanne is a wonderful teacher who has given us effective, simple strategies for dealing with the stresses and worries of pregnancy, as well as relaxation techniques and ways to think positively about the experience of pregnancy and birth. The HypnoBirthing course is full of interesting and useful information and activities and has helped me to feel confident, relaxed, happy and at ease during my pregnancy. I enjoyed every moment of the course as it gave me an opportunity to relax and focus exclusively on myself and my pregnancy during a very busy and hectic time. I am really excited about the rest of my pregnancy, as well as labour and birth, I can't wait to try the HypnoBirthing techniques.”
Judith xxx Baby Anwer
“Having attended parentcraft classes at the hospital where we will be having our first baby, we still felt unprepared and confused about the whole birthing process. We had heard about HypnoBirthing through a friend and were lucky enough to get in contact with Joanne and receive training from her. The private sessions were informative & enjoyable and we felt comfortable enough to ask Joanne about any areas of concern we had. She has a warm & personable teaching style and her knowledge and experience are evident. We came away from the course feeling more positive, more informed & more ready for the birth of our baby. Not only that, but we are now armed with a variety of practical techniques & methods of relaxation & visualisation which we can use in preparation for and during the birth itself. Put simply, we now feel we have something to DO when labour begins other than panic or worry, and we believe that these methods will help us achieve the kind of calm, natural, easy birthing experience we are aiming for.
Hypnobirthing is overwhelmingly positive in its approach to childbirth and reinforces the message that you as an expectant mother & father have everything you need to give birth to your baby safely & comfortably. Its teachings have given us confidence & courage and we are looking forward to putting all we have learned into practise when the time is right for us to bring our new baby into the world.
Thanks Joanne for all your help & support during the course and since.”
Ruth & Austin Baby Noah
"Being pregnant for the first time I was excited, but also anxious and worried. I contacted Joanne for HypnoBirthing sessions which my husband and I attended. Joanne was very flexible in fitting us in around my shift-work. She has a wealth of knowledge from her background in midwifery which she brought to the sessions. She is friendly, caring and very professional. My husband and I learned so much about pregnancy and preparing for birth. Just after the first session my fears began to subside and over the following weeks I became very positive and relaxed. I gained a lot of confidence and felt informed and empowered.
I also had weekly pregnancy massages by Joanne in the weeks coming up to my birth date. These helped me to relax and made me feel great!
In labour I put into practice the techniques I learned in my sessions with Joanne and I had a wonderful relaxed water birth. I cannot recommend Joanne highly enough and thanks to her and HypnoBirthing we had a wonderful experience! "
Paul, Julia & baby Oscar xxx
"The course and your honest well researched kind approach helped us sail through the birth of our darling Henry Albert Victor Croft. I felt calm, serene, confident and all fears were well and truly set aside as we ventured into the unknown territory of a c-section.
I look back at the photos and see myself and Henry deeply connected, satisfied and contented. I used all the techniques, much to the interest of the attending staff. Henry's birth, although it didn't go as we had originally planned was sensational. We bonded quickly and recovered at a pace I felt happy with.
I am quick to recommend HypnoBirthing to all expectant families, particularly to the partners who can provide practical and emotional support. I still use the techniques to bring a sense of calm to our fun filled days. Aside from the joy of birthing Henry. You helped me lay to rest my fears/traumas from the birth of the gorgeous Toby (now 3). I felt utterly confident to share what was in my heart and my head with you and thank you for that.
We are rolling along nicely here, tandem feeding the beautiful boys and generally having a jolly nice time. I wish you every success for this unique and much needed service.
lots of love
Victoria & Richard mother to Toby 3 and Henry 3 months. Xxxx"
After a traumatic first birth my husband Andy and I were determined to have a different experience with the birth of our second child.
I had heard of HypnoBirthing but initially was worried that it would be too far outside our comfort zone, too "hippy dippy" for us. The more research I did into it and the sound scientific principles behind the techniques, the more it seemed like it might be just what we were looking for. We were further convinced and reassured when we met Joanne, whose guidance and support gave us the tools we needed to feel empowered, positive and excited about the approaching birth of our baby.
The practice sessions we did at home really made us feel connected, and Andy said that he felt so much more useful having a defined "job" throughout this pregnancy and for the birth. On 19th January 2010 our beautiful daughter Martha was born (made even more special as it was my 30th birthday!). The labour was everything that we had hoped for: a quiet, calm and gentle entry to the world without drugs or interventions. We cannot thank Joanne enough.
Becky & Andy Baby Martha
I first heard about HypnoBirthing when I was 4 months pregnant. Nadia Sawahla the actress was on a television program talking about the ‘horrors’ of her first birth and her subsequent calm, peaceful natural birth with her second child having practised HypnoBirthing. I was instantly attracted to the concept and contacted Joanne at Cbaby as I also liked the fact she had a midwifery background. I found the classes really, interesting, informative and relaxing and was on course for the natural birth experience I wanted.
Unfortunately in my 3rd trimester I developed gestational diabetes and suddenly my natural birth was in jeopardy as all discussions with my antenatal team revolved around drips, induction, pain relief etc. Joanne helped me greatly when I was told I needed induced at 39 weeks for the baby’s safety. We discussed in great length my options even if I was induced and how I could still use my HypnoBirthing training. I felt much happier after this and continued practising my breathing and visualisation exercises
My induction date was set for 12th August at 4pm and I attended my final consultant appointment on Wednesday 11th. When she examined me she found I was already 2cm dilated and she performed a sweep in the hope that my labour would kick off naturally. That evening I started to feel tightenings which continued throughout the night and into the next morning. They were also becoming more regular and stronger and I thought I might actually be in labour but I wasn’t sure! As they intensified I used my TENS machine and birthing ball and breathed my way through them. I called the labour ward around 1pm and told them I might be in labour and wasn’t sure what to do about my induction appointment but they told me to come on in at 4pm as arranged.
When I arrived at hospital at 4pm I was experiencing stronger, regular surges however I was breathing through them and the midwife who was booking me in did not believe I was in active labour. Upon examination however I was already 5 cm dilated and my waters broke. No need for any induction medication now which I was absolutely thrilled about. I stayed in the labour ward with my husband and mum and continued using the TENS and surge breathing. I was left alone by the staff to get on with it.
As my labour advanced I asked for some gas and air and kept on with the breathing. I remember at one stage when my labour was well advanced I suddenly had feelings of self doubt and was physically sick. Up until then I was breezing through each surge despite them being only 1-2 minutes apart. Joanne had discussed this with me though and I knew I was in transition and actually told myself “You’re in transition, baby is on her way”. This helped me deal with it and the feeling passed after a few surges.
Shortly after I felt the urge to push and asked my mum to get the midwife. She came quickly and after a brief examination told my husband to push the red button behind him to inform delivery we were en route. She could not believe that I had laboured to that point so calmly and quietly with only breathing and Entonox particularly as this was my first baby.
In delivery suite I made sure I was in a good position to let gravity help things along and I worked through each surge. There was a tremendous feeling of pressure and while I tried to use the birth breathing techniques I found my body wanted to push so I went along with it. I can’t remember how long I was in this stage for as I had not seen a clock since I left home that afternoon but it felt like a very short time. Baby Sara was born at 10.14pm weighing a healthy 7lbs 5.5oz. Her APGAR scores were 9 at 1minute and 10 after 5 minutes which is apparently a rare occurrence.
I only needed a couple of stitches for some lacerations (used breathing for these too) and baby took to breastfeeding immediately. I had taken a breastfeeding class with Joanne and this really gave me much more confidence and I am still exclusively breastfeeding her.
I am now a proud mummy and she is the best little baby – so calm and contented and rarely cries which I believe developed while she was still in the womb receiving all the endorphins from my relaxation sessions! I had the wonderful natural birth that I had wanted. It was the most incredible, powerful experience and my daughter is the greatest achievement of my life.
Joanne was a mine of information and I found her medical background together with the HypnoBirthing training to be a perfect mix. She was there for me throughout the pregnancy and 2 months on she is still on hand to answer any queries. I am deeply grateful to her for everything
I would thoroughly recommend HypnoBirthing to any woman who wishes to remove the modern day ‘fear factor’ from labour and reclaim their right to have a natural birth experience.
Emma & Abdalla Osman Baby Sara
Hi my name is Sharon I attended the HypnoBirthing programme and breastfeeding information session. I was skeptical about how HypnoBirthing would affect my birth experience as a first time mum I'd never experienced any real pain so I was very nervous.
Attending the sessions enabled me to trust and follow my body. Only one word can describe the birth of my daughter. Wonderful. whilst it was hard work. having the knowledge that Joanne equipped me with and practice I had done with the visualisations and breathing allowed my body to do it's thing. I had virtually no pain relief and felt nothing more than what I can describe as a period pain. What a joy it Is to be able to remember clearly my birth and not off my head on drugs. My daughter is now six months and we are also still breastfeeding which I hope to continue for many months and whilst it was hard work in the early weeks I have no doubt that the session I attended with Joanne before my daughter was born helped me gain a better understanding of breastfeeding and ways to overcome difficulties. Joanne was a fantastic support even through my labour. Every mum and dad to be should check out Cbaby!
Sharon & Darren Baby Katie-Beth
I want to give a belated thanks to CBaby for all the help while pregnant-- lovely relaxing massages, very helpful prenatal/parenting classes, and answering my random questions on the text! We have no family here and are first time parents,so it was so nice to have the extra support and lessons. The classes were instrumental in us having the confidence to demand what we wanted from the hospital-- and we had the unmedicated water birth we dreamed of. THANK YOU!
Carey & Josh Baby Hugh
Even though I had hoped for a very natural water birth things didn’t go as planned. Our son Pádraig was born by emergency caesarean section 12 days after his due date. I had 2 days of induction followed by my waters being artificially ruptured and being put on a drip – the total opposite to a natural birth!
However, despite all the interventions having done the hypnobirthing training with Joanne really stood by us. Firstly, we were prepared for and accepting of any eventuality as a major part of the course involves preparation for labour. Secondly, I used the breathing and relaxation techniques while having induction pains, during labour and even in the operating theatre. My husband also felt very confident following the training and consequently was able to support me throughout.
We thoroughly recommend HypnoBirthing – The Mongan Method, and will always be grateful for Joanne’s help and guidance.
Helen, Séamus & baby Pádraig