The Positive Birth Chapter

02/01/2022

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29/12/2021

So many images of birth we see involve seeing the person lying on their back- and if this is comfy and works for you, then great, BUT there are so many fantastic birthing positions that can benefit you and the baby.

1. ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES: Helps open the pelvis and can easy pressure on the spine if you are experiencing back pains.

2. STANDING: Puts gravity on your side and can help baby move deeper into the birth canal!

3. SQUATTING: Opens the pelvis and gives baby plenty of room to get into the best position for birth

4. SITTING: Good for resting and can relieve pressure on the pelvis

5. LYING ON YOUR SIDE: can help get oxygen to baby, can help if you need to rest.

What was your most comfortable birthing position?

22/12/2021

The BTA are around to offer support to you throughout and after your pregnancy. 💙

They can be contacted on

22/12/2021

Welcome to The Positive Birth Chapter, it is so wonderful to have you here.

Whether you are trying for a baby, you are pregnant or you have had a baby or maybe you just have an interest in all things positive birth then you are in the right place x

My name is Jess and I am the founder and owner of The PBC, I'm exceptially passionate about supporting women, birthing people and their birth partners to have a positive pregnancy, birth and beyond.
My aim is to spread and share the word that birth can be a positive experience.

I have studied within the birth world for 13 years, as a trained Doula I have been recently studying Hypnobirthing, Birth Preparation and Aromatherapy
I have 6 little boy's (I say little, but my eldest is nearly 17 and youngest being 2!) so I know first hand the huge benefits of Hypnobirthing.

I totally believe that you should focus on the best birth you would like whilst maintaining an understanding that birth, like life, can sometimes be unpredictable. In preparing for a positive birth you are stacking your odds in favour of achieving one but most importantly you are preparing yourself to be able to navigate any changes in a positive and informed way.

I'm available for 1;1 support in preparation for birth, couples and have a specialist interest in Aromatherapy and its positiveness during labour. Relaxation is key!

My new Email address will be added over the next few days, so please keep a look out! Alternatively please contact me via this page or my WhatsApp if you'd like to be added to my diary for a coffee and a chat and to go through a birth plan!

I'm so excited to be welcoming new Clients, and those little bundles at TPBC! 🤍

All the love

Jess x x x

22/11/2019

“Kissing your baby changes your breast milk. Did you know that the undeniable urge to cover your baby in kisses serves a biological purpose? When a mother kisses her baby, she samples the pathogens on baby’s face, which then travel to mom’s lymphatic system. Mom’s body then creates antibodies to fight those pathogens, which baby receives through breast milk. Amazing? Right?

18/11/2019

I think we need to clear something up...

A positive “good” birth is NOT: A waterbirth, a pain free birth, a birth with no pain relief, a vaginal birth, a non- eventful birth, a homebirth, a free birth, a “just a couple of paracetamol” birth, a meadow birth, a dolphin birth, a doctor free zone birth.

A traumatic “bad” birth is NOT: One where there were emergencies, inductions, an emergency cesarean birth, a general anaesthetic emergency cesarean, a medicated birth, one where there were doctors, one where there was no one, where things went “wrong”, a forcep birth, a ventouse birth, a bad tear.

You know none of the above guarantee a positive birth and none of these mean that your birth is traumatic.

Why?

Because it matters more how you feel during your birth. I repeat.... 📣 IT MATTERS MORE HOW YOU FEEL 📣. It matters more that you are being heard and listened to by your team, that they believe in you and tell you your choices and accommodate them. It matters that you know what is happening around you. It matters that you feel in control of the things you can control and that you don’t feel scared. It matters that you have ways that you can feel calm (which could be on a scale of actual relaxed or just ways to stop panic mode). It matters that you feel safe and you know that your baby is safe.

You could have a waterbirth but if you feel like you don’t know what’s going on and you panic during pushing then that could effect you more than if you had a GA emergency cesarean but felt calm, listened to, spoken to and safe.

The what happens is a lot less important than HOW YOU FEEL in that situation. So let’s all stop focusing on how to get the waterbirth and avoid the cesarean and let’s start focusing on what we can do to help ourselves feel calm and in control SO WE CAN HELP HOW WE FEEL during birth.
This one thing will help our new mothers and mothers to be.

13/11/2019

Yesterday I was present at the most beautiful birth.

This particular birth was induced due to PPROM (Preterm Premature Rupture of Membrane) at 33 weeks.

premature labour with PPROM

If you are past 34 weeks (In this case,mum was exactly 34 weeks) the doctor will weigh up the benefits of inducing labour before the due date to avoid the risk of infection with the disadvantages of being born premature, and may make a recommendation for early delivery.

In this instance it was agreed baby was safer out than in and an induction of labour was necessary
(I'll add info on induction on another post)

Over 80% of women who have PPROM deliver their baby within seven days of their waters breaking.

Most babies born before 37 weeks due to PPROM will need to be admitted to the hospitals Neonatal Unit for monitoring and some for more intensive care

10/11/2019

How to reduce pain in labour?

You know your thoughts… they are kind of a big deal. The thoughts that you think tell your body whether you are in a safe place or not in a safe place. If you consistently think of things that can go wrong in birth, you are actually setting yourself up to have a negative birth. Here’s how…

Fear —-> Tension —->Pain —->Fear
—->Tension —->Pain

And the cycle goes around and around.

Let’s give you an example...

So you are having an induction and you are feeling rubbish about it, it wasn’t how you wanted your birth to go. You don’t know what to expect, you didn’t think this scenario would happen for you and you’ve heard that inductions are … well… brutal.

So the contractions start and even though you have nothing to compare it to you think, ah yes, everyone is right.

This really hurts, it’s awful, horrible… just like they said.

So you feel TENSE.

Your shoulders go up, your fists tense as you start to recoil about what this induction has in store for you.

You know what else tenses up… your cervix. A tense cervix isn’t going to let your baby out. So your tension is making you more likely to have more intervention.

You know what else happens when you feel tense… You feel more pain. When you have a stressful day at work and your shoulders ache, then your neck, then you get a TENSION headache.

Tension equals more PAIN.

Then you know what pain adds to… that feeling of fear.. They said inductions were brutal, this is so painful.

Athnd around the cycle goes….

You can break that cycle at each of those 3 points to feel less pain and reduce tension/intervention.

1. The first one is obvious. You can get pain relief on board… An epidural/gas and air/diamorphine . That will reduce the pain, then the fear, then the tension.

2. You can reduce the tension… Use your relaxation techniques that you practised at hypnobirthing, your breathing, your coping strategies. You can relax your shoulders, your palms, your jaw.

3. You can change up the fear… (This ones important to start in pregnancy.) Use your techniques you used at hypnobirthing to change up your thoughts to replace any of the negative ones with positive ones (your affirmations, your visualisations, your relaxation techniques.)

4. But arguably the most important, UNDERSTAND more about an induction (and all of the birth) from antenatal class as knowledge means that the unexpected is no longer the unexpected. Reduce the fear, reduce the tension… reducing the pain.

10/11/2019