The Creative Birth Journey Urban Day Retreat
My doula colleague, Nadia Raafat, and I have come together to offer you our combined wisdom and love of all things birth with our doula inspired 'Creative Birth Journey' Urban Day Retreat.
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We are mothers. We are passionate about birth, children, and womencraft. We are empathetic, compassionate women who believe in the strength women have. We trust that all women have the ability to birth well.
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We present a whole new approach to birth preparation; in our workshops we are not the “experts”, instead, you are. You know your body and our role is to help you remember the inner knowing you have, to help you conjure the strength deep within you as you prepare to birth your baby. In our workshops you will create, share, experiment and begin new friendships with other women who are on the same journey as you.
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Please contact me for details of our next retreat.
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Birth Art Sessions
I offer private and group Birth Art sessions, based on Pamela England’s birth art work. These sessions for pregnant women, either on their own, with their partners, or with friends, are for those looking for a creative and personal way to prepare for birth and motherhood. I will provide a warm, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment for making and exploring images about pregnancy, birth, and mothering.
NO artistic talent, skill or experience is needed; art will not be analyzed or displayed. My focus is on the learning process, self-discovery, and deepening a woman's connection to her baby and herself.
As Pam England says, "unlike the learning we get from reading books, the learning necessary for a woman to completely participate in her birth must come from her, and in making birth art, an image can be wonderfully revealing. It is raw, honest and spontaneous. In drawings, a woman can express her innermost beliefs, and recall her perceptions and memories without any limitations of the spoken word."
The birth art sessions can be helpful in allowing you to explore fears, concerns you might not have been able to talk about or verbalise and can lead you to have new insights into your pregnancy. Also, in the quiet, reflective process of making birth art, you have the chance to connect with your baby, and to reflect on your journey in pregnancy overall.
Private sessions are about an hour long; group circles up to 90 minutes.
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Bespoke Ante Natal Sessions
Bespoke Ante Natal Sessions
For those who do not need a birth doula, I can provide private one to one antenatal sessions for you and your partner in the comfort of your own home. I would recommend two (or three if you wished) meetings of 2-2.5 hours which would cover all the information and activities that I offer to those selecting the birth doula package. These sessions are tailored to your needs and we can review whatever you feel is necessary to help you and your partner feel relaxed, prepared, and confident.
If you are also attending a group birth preparation course (with, for example the NCT) we could use this time together to answer any residual questions, as well as focus on your own emotional needs and go deeper into reflections on fears or anxieties you have surrounding the labour or parenting. This would also be your opportunity to tap into the inner, intuitive wisdom you have within you, discuss how you can relax and cope with the sensations of labour, and how your partner can support you.
If you are not taking any additional courses, we could also discuss the “modern knowing” of preparing for birth covering topics such as the physiology of birth, your birth preferences, positions for labour and delivery, delivering the placenta, as well as newborn care.
If you are curious about this, please do get in touch, and we can go over in more depth about what we could do and discuss in these session.