Zen Active Birth

30/10/2024

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30/09/2024

Learning the art of relaxation from an early age, could set the stone for a happy mind in adult years to come.
Yoga started in the new magnificent branch of Dubai British school in Jumeirah and very proud to be part of the family.

30/06/2024

As the year comes to an end, those busy yogi bees been busy learning, playing and practicing yoga all year long. We thought their little feet could use some rest in our last yoga session for the term. Well done boys and girls 👏🏼 Happy Summer ☀️

04/10/2023

Thank you for spreading this lovely work and love that I found it along the way too

Saba Alzubaidi lives in Dubai, UAE. She is a yoga teacher and attended the Active Birth Teacher Training Course in 2019. After she learned about Active Birth principles with Janet Balaskas and colleagues, she started teaching pregnancy yoga and Active Birth Workshops in Dubai. 

Saba loves connecting with new parents, and enjoys supporting them during their pregnancy, labour and birth. Her clients always report a more peaceful experience and greater confidence during their birth. She enjoys offering pregnancy yoga to couples which includes education about Active Birth.

One mother shared:

‘I have recently had the pleasure of attending the Zen Active Birth Workshop with Ms. Saba Alzubaidi in Dubai. It was the best thing I have ever done. I am currently pregnant with my second child, and I want a more holistic approach to natural childbirth, and that is exactly what Saba is all about. The workshop is intended for couples. It encourages partners to be very much involved in supporting the mother throughout her labour and birth. 

Saba took us through the magical journey of the different stages of labour all the way up to the point of delivery and beyond. The carefully curated mix of theory and practise was impeccable, she didn’t leave a stone unturned and took her time. 

The practical portion of the workshop was my absolute favourite. Saba involved myself and my husband in different techniques/positions to ease labour and facilitate a safe natural delivery. We were able to practise these positions together under her guidance. Not only did she equip us with coping strategies, but she also encourages the couple to be totally present with one other to really connect during this very special time.

The fact that almost everything that was shown and explained during the workshop was new to us, despite this being my second pregnancy, just goes to show that women must empower themselves to believe in the beauty of being able to birth the exact the way they want. Attending Saba’s Active Birth workshops did just that. 

It was truly a pleasure and would highly recommend it to anyone who is expecting”.

16/05/2023

Naoli is a Mexican midwife, now living in Brazil who combines traditional Mexican and contemporary home birth practises, with a profound respect for the physiology of natural birth having attended over 1800 home births in both Mexico and Brazil.

You can visit Naoli here -

16/05/2023

Illustration of upright birth

When the mother hangs the baby drops

This drawing of an African birth custom reminds us that women the world over have found ways to engage the help of gravity to help the baby move down in labour. Most birth centres today have a bar or a sling you can hang onto in a standing squat like this from time to time in labour.

It is said that the buddha was born with his mother hanging from the bough of a tree in a forest and he was born onto a bed of leaves on the forest floor.

If you actually give birth standing, make sure your midwife is right behind you, ready to receive the baby.

Join one of my Active Birth workshops through the link in bio to find out more… 🤍

07/03/2023

The NHS is the UK releases@guidelines for co-sleeping. Normalizing and informing parents about the topic so essential if they choose to and it’s natural and amazing for both the baby and parents

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About bloody time!! Sleeping with our babies is a normal part of parenting that for to long has been maligned by the mainstream. If you are breastfeeding then it usually goes hand in hand. I’m not saying it’s for everyone far from it. But let’s inform new families properly so they can do so safely and confidently, letting go of fear that there doing wrong. To often women keep it a secret, secrecy leads to not being open and not getting the right advice that supports you and your baby’s wellbeing and safety.

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Wonderful from W&B collective has just informed us all that the NHS has finally updated their guidance on bed sharing. The guidance finally reflects the NICE guidelines, meaning the NHS now gives information on safe bedsharing… something that NICE recommended some 8 years ago!

It states : If you share a bed with your baby (co-sleeping), you should:

🍃make sure they sleep on a firm, flat mattress lying on their back
🍃not have any pillows or duvets near them
🍃not have other children or pets in the bed at the same time
🍃It's important not to share a bed with your baby if they had a low birthweight (less than 2.5kg or 5.5lb) or if you or your partner:
🍃smoke (no matter where or when you smoke and even if you never smoke in bed)
🍃have had 2 or more units of alcohol
🍃have taken recreational drugs
🍃have taken medicine that causes drowsiness

As a parent who had many difficulties breastfeeding in the early months, I personally found side lying feeding so restful and comfortable that we chose to co-sleep altogether from his early days and continue to do so 5 years on. 🌟

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07/03/2023

Amazing amazing! The NHS in the UK releases guidelines for co-sleeping informing and normalizing what once labeled as unsafe and inconvenient. If your instinct directs you to cuddle you newborn and keep them close, your instinct knows it all’ making safe and informing parents is so important! Read up for NHS guidelines 😊

06/03/2023

Love this caption appeared first thing in the morning to remind us we all are beautiful and have it all. Be content 😊

02/03/2023

So excited and can’t wait to read this memoir by about the history and movement of Active Birth

15/02/2023

From NOVA Birth Services : Did you know labor is less about your cervix opening and more about the thickness and contracting power of the uterus moving baby down and out?

"We think in pictures and we should be painting accurate pictures. The cervix nor the va**na bloom. The cervix is not a zip lock bag. The purpose of labor is NOT the creation of an opening or a hole... The purpose of labor contractions and retractions is to BUILD the fundus, which will, when it is ready, EJECT the baby, like a piston. Without a nice thick fundus there is no power to get baby out....the cervix does not dilate out....it dilates UP as a result of the effort to pull muscles up into the uterus to push muscles up to the fundus. The cervical dilation is secondary to that. The cervix is pulled up as a result of the building of the fundus. Assigning a number to cervical dilation is of little consequence and we make a huge mistake by interpreting progress or predicting time of birth to that number. Any experienced midwife or OB can tell you that the cervix can be manipulated and that a woman whose cervix is at 7 could have the baby in a few minutes or a few hours.

If more providers and educators knew the truth about birth physiology, we could make a huge difference for mothers. What is important is to keep her well supported for the purpose of the appropriate chemistry, to keep her well hydrated and nourished for muscle strength, and to believe in her. We should be supporting her so that her physiology and that of her baby are unhindered, so they can finish what they started.

We should not be measuring, poking, or interpreting her labor. THIS CHANGE in teaching about labor could make such a difference for women who are imagining what is happening in their bodies during labor. How much more strength might they have if they have an accurate picture?" -Carla Hartley

During pregnancy yoga&AB workshops, we explore the facts about Labour&the power of the womb during Labour and birth. Love the above explanation which will restructure the experience of birth for every mother if applied&allowed !