Mind and Body Birthing with Gemma Struzena

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Mind and Body Birthing with Gemma Struzena

Preparing pregnant women and birth partners for a calm, positive birth with hypnobirthing. www.mindandbodybirthing.com

I offer hypnobirthing classes to pregnant women and birth partners looking for ways to have a calm, positive birth. Unsure whether hypnobirthing is for you - watch my FREE online, 30 minute video series: https://www.mindandbodybirthing.com/free-mini-birth-class

26/11/2025

I’m just going to go ahead and say it… Not planning for birth is terrible advice.

Let’s think about this. Giving birth is literally life changing. The memory of your birth experience will impact you not only on the day you give birth itself but in the days, weeks, months even years to come.

Would you ever consider planning for a wedding? Or for a life changing job interview? Yes?

Me too!

Whilst planning for birth does NOT mean creating a wish list of your perfect birth, expecting to get everything on your list and doing no preparation or research (not a good idea)…

… it DOES mean:

✔️understanding your choices
✔️Knowing how to advocate for yourself
✔️Truly understanding the birth process.
✔️Planning which comfort measures you’d prefer to use and how you’ll manage labour pain
✔️Planning how you’d like to be supported.
✔️Planning how you’ll navigate any unexpected challenges or changes
✔️Planning for different types of births including a Caesarean birth

If this all sounds like a lot and you don’t know where or how to start, I can help.

I teach how to make the right birth plans for YOU (that actually work!) inside Mind and Body Birthing.

You can absolutely plan for birth. And you should. It will help you feel calmer, more confident and positive, no matter how your birth unfolds.

If you want help planning for the right birth for you, I’m here and happy to help. Head to my website to find out more about the different ways I can support you. Link in bio 🥰

25/11/2025

1. Get prepared for birth. Don’t think winging it is going to be a good idea. Educate yourself. A great birth is more likely when you’re informed and prepared.

2. Stop listening to birth horror stories. They are only going to make you feel more anxious and afraid of birth.

3. Start seeking out positive birth stories. Giving birth can be a really incredible and positive experience. It really is possible to love giving birth and to feel in awe of your body. Search online, chat to me or ask around.

4. Do what feels right for you. This is not the time to be a people pleaser. This is YOUR body that’s going to be giving birth so YOU get to choose how you prepare and what kind of birth you’d ideally like to have.

5. Choose your care provider wisely. Make sure you understand the difference between midwives and OBs and know that you can always change medical professionals.

6. Choose your birth place based on information, not fear or assumptions. Decide whether to birth at home, in a birth centre or hospital based on your individual birth wishes, health or needs.

7. Use the BRAIN tool to help you make informed decisions.
Ask what the benefits, risks and alternatives are of any intervention or procedure.

8. Listen to your instincts. Trust your gut.

9. Make sure your birth partner is prepared for birth. A fearful or clueless partner is not going to be very useful!

If you’re pregnant and looking for more information about birth, then hi! I’m Gemma! I’m a certified hypnobirthing teacher and founder of Mind and Body Birthing. Come follow if you’re new here! 🥰

What advice would you give?

21/11/2025

Something that’s unique about my hypnobirthing classes is I teach via Zoom. 👩‍💻

The main reason I choose Zoom to teach is that it means I get to support incredible couples from all over the world with their birth prep.

Whether you live near me or far away, in a different city, country or even continent, my classes will help prepare you for an empowering and positive birth. 😎✨

Does Zoom affect the quality or enjoyment of your course? In my experience, no! There are so many pros to the ease and convenience of Zoom classes and my courses get consistent 5 star ratings and positive feedback from clients:

⭐️”I really enjoyed the variety of exercises that kept everything engaging and interactive.” Paul, birth partner
🙌”I felt at ease asking any questions and looked forward to the sessions each week.” H - first time mum
⭐️”Everything we learned helped us to have a very positive birth experience.” Kim, first time mum
🙌”We loved the sessions and absolutely recommend hypnobirthing with Gemma specifically.” Delia & Markus

Curious? The best way to see what hypnobirthing via Zoom is like is to give it a go!

If you’re 12 weeks+ in your pregnancy or know someone who is, come and join my free Zoom hypnobirthing session.

👉Wednesday 3rd December 2025, 7-8pm (Perth, WA time)

Comment YES and I’ll send you the link to sign-up 🙋‍♀️

19/11/2025

The biggest problem with hypnobirthing is its name!

So many women and birth partners dismiss hypnobirthing based on its name. In fact, people who try it usually find it to be very logical, powerful and it can really transform your birth.

No, you won’t be hypnotised.
No, it’s not alternative, weird or wacky
Yes, you can have drugs
No, it’s not only for natural births
Yes, you can use it to benefit any type of birth

Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

It could definitely transform your birth experience and give you the knowledge, tools and confidence to stay calm, in control and feel really positive about birth.

What are your thoughts? Would you consider hypnobirthing?

Ps - Hi! I’m Gemma! If you’ve ever been curious about trying hypnobirthing I’ll soon be hosting a live, one hour Zoom taster session. Follow along to stay updated - details coming soon!

28/10/2025

Early labour is the very beginning of your labour when your contractions have started but they might be a bit start/stop.

The most important thing you can do when your labour begins is to REST.

Eat. Drink. Go about your day doing relaxing, calming things that make you feel good and get your Oxytocin levels booming!

At some point as your labour starts to progress, your body will want to move around more. Go with what feels good for you. Tune into your body. Breathe slowly and deeply.

But ultimately, when your labour first starts the best thing you can do is save your energy and REST 🥰

17/10/2025

Repeat after me: The only person birthing this baby is ME.

When standing up for what I want feels hard I will remind myself…

This is MY body that this baby is going to come out of. Not my partner. Not my family. Not my midwife or OB. MINE.

Which means I get to lead with MY wishes for birth.

- I choose to inform and educate myself in pregnancy so that I am clear and feel more confident expressing what I want.

- I choose to surround myself with people who are genuinely supportive and get the help/support I need.

- I choose the right midwife / OB for ME who has the expertise and willingness to support me best. I know I can change my care provider if they are unable or unwilling to offer me the support I need.

- I choose to take action to prepare for the birth I want. I know if I do nothing, nothing will change.

- I remind myself that it is healthy and safe for me to set boundaries. I am not being difficult for standing up for what I want or advocating my wishes for birth.

It’s MY body that will be giving birth. So it’s MY choice how I would like to prepare for it.

Everyone else’s job is to support, guide and help me to have the best possible birth I can.

15/10/2025

Being mentally prepared for birth is hands down the best investment you’ll make in pregnancy.

What is mental preparation for birth? It’s empowering yourself with knowledge so that you feel more informed and less afraid. It’s learning practical tools and strategies to help you to stay calm. It’s understanding how your mind is going to influence your body when you give birth and then training your mind to work WITH your body for an easier more manageable and ultimately more positive experience.

Being mentally prepared means becoming confident about birth. Learning to trust in your body and listen to your instincts. It’s also about having the tools to navigate any unexpected challenges or changes to your birth plans so that even if things go in a different direction to the birth you were hoping for, you know how to stay calm and in control of the decision making.

Your mental preparation for birth is everything!

Want to be more mentally prepared for birth? Comment FREE BIRTH CLASS and I’ll send you a link to get started ☺️

11/10/2025

Adrenaline early in labour is not something we want. But if you’ve been calm, coping and feeling confident for most of labour and THEN you suddenly start feeling anxious - that’s a sure sign that baby is almost ready to come out and meet you 🥰🥰👇👇

There will come a point late in labour where the woman you are supporting gets a natural boost of adrenaline. This is a normal part of the birth process. It’s giving her that final surge of power and getting her body ready for the most intense part of labour - pushing out your baby!!

The adrenaline means she is in transition. Her body is changing from dilating and getting ready to push her baby down and out of her body.

Reassure and remind mum to focus back on her breathing. The calmer she is, the smoother she will move through transition and into the second stage of labour - the birth of your baby.

Already given birth? Did transition hit you?? Let us know in the comments 👇👇

06/10/2025

Cervical checks in natural labour are rarely necessary especially if you and your baby are healthy and coping fine. You do not “have to have” a cervical check to confirm that you’re either…

1. In labour
2. Progressing in labour

… if you don’t want to.

There are other safe, effective and less invasive ways medical care providers can check labour progress such as observing your breathing, movements and positioning.

In clinical settings like hospitals and in many birth centres too, this kind of observational monitoring is more time consuming for midwives and doctors so they prefer to do a cervical check and get a number for their records instead. This helps with the smooth running of the setting but this is not YOUR concern.

If you want to have a check, go for it. Just make sure you’re informed about the pros and cons of cervical checks before going into labour so you can decide whether or not this really is something for you.

Remember - cm dilated does NOT indicate labour progress. You could be 3cm and progress really quickly, or you might not! 🤷‍♀️It’s very unpredictable!

Did you have a cervical check? Tell us about it in the comments 👇👇

05/10/2025

Your flow helps your labour flow! Be sure to take regular sips of water in labour and p*e every hour or so!

Save this post for later (you know you’ve got and you’ll only forget about it otherwise!).

💕Share with your birth partner - this is an easy one for them to do to help your labour progress.

Already given birth? Did p*eing help you?
Comment below 👇👇

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Perth, WA

Website

http://www.mindandbodybirthing.com/

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