01/09/2025
After 5 years, working with just shy of 800 families in East London and around the world I am closing Hackney Hypnobirthing.
I’ve met some wonderful people and made incredible friends but I’m a firm believer in accepting when something no longer serves you and it’s time to stop.
I am proud of what I built and I’m very much at peace with saying goodbye to working in the perinatal space.
Thank you to (almost) everyone I’ve worked with over the last few years. I have learnt so much and I am beyond grateful.
This account will be closed very shortly
and my website will be live until the end of the year.
My parting words for those navigating this dumpster fire of a maternity system…
* Refer yourself to your local homebirth team. Best hack for getting close to continuity of midwifery care.
* Hire a doula - especially if you want a chance of a physiological birth in a hospital will help you find one.
* Being your romantic partner is not a free pass to the birth. If you don’t think they can advocate for you and protect and respect your birth plans or think doctors know best then they shouldn’t be there OR see above point.
* If funds allow, book an independent midwife. Not a private one, that is NOT the same.
* Take an independent hypnobirthing course and preferably run by someone outside of the NHS.
* If you want to learn anything worth knowing then don’t do NCT, Bump & Baby or Happy Parent, Happy baby - you’ll probably make friends and you might get lucky with a decent teacher but the course content is by and large a steaming pile of 💩
* Read everything .rachel.reed and have ever written.
* Listen to the podcast. If you’re still going to “go with the flow” after that, then good luck to ya.
* Respect birth, trust your instincts.
Smell ya later! 👋🏻
