Akriti

25/12/2025

2025 - What a year you have been! I have so much gratitude for all the experiences, learning, growth and connections you gave me professionally & personally. I am stepping into 2026 with lots of curiosity, calmness and humility. To everyone following me here, Wish you lots of togetherness, reflection and a quiet downtime to rest, recharge and feeling loved. Happy holidays and here’s to everything that future has in store for us ✨🎉🎄❤️⭐️

09/12/2025

27/11/2025

One of the most effective ways of managing contractions during labour is by being in water.
Water promotes deep relaxation & lessens the production of stress hormones. Warm water eases contractions naturally and boosts comfort and mobility. Water also reduces the need for pharmacological pain medication. Mothers/Birthing people who have used water to ease pain and always talks about how calm and gentle their birthing environment was. Water significantly reduces stress hormones and helps baby with smooth transition from amniotic fluid to world.

Did you use water during labour? If yes, then share your experience(s) in the comment section.

If you have friends or family expecting soon and would benefit from know more about how to prepare for birth? Feel free to share or tag them here. If you would like to prepare for your upcoming birth with a Comprehensive Childbirth Preparation with experienced birth educators at , , then please do get
in touch with .NL or you can write to ceb@access-nl.org or visit website www.access-nl.org

18/11/2025

If you are an expectant parent in Amsterdam, join me parentally.nl's expert cafe on Thursday, 27th November 2025 between 18.30 - 20.30. I will be there to answer all your questions regarding how to prepare for labour & birth.

Reach out to parentally.nl to save your spot and see you there.

Warmly,
Chitra Natarajan

10/11/2025

When I asked the group, “What keeps fathers from being more involved during labour in the birthing room?”, the room fell silent for a moment. Then one nurse spoke up softly; “Sometimes, it’s not that they don’t want to be there. It’s that the system, or even culture, tells them they don’t have to be.”
That moment stayed with me.
During my recent trip to Bodrum, Turkey, I had the privilege of leading a training for a group of obstetric nurses and birth workers on how to better involve fathers in the labour and birth experience.
Together, we unpacked the barriers that often stand in the way; from religious and cultural norms, to hospital systems, to the deeply personal feelings mothers may have about being seen in pain, changes in intimacy after birth, and the expectations placed on motherhood.
What impressed me most was the openness and curiosity in the room. These professionals are challenging norms and reimagining birth spaces where every parent can feel seen and supported.
Grateful for the exchange, the learning, and the reminder that respectful, family-centered care looks different in every culture, but the heart of it is the same everywhere

16/10/2025

Are you a pregnant mother in Amsterdam? Join me for a conversation at parentally.nl on Birth Preparedness. All details are in the post below.

09/10/2025

Managing contractions during labor can be challenging but the following non-pharmacological comfort measures can greatly help

1. Breathing Techniques: Slow deep breaths to manage the peaking of the contractions
2. Movement and Position Changes: Walking, swaying your hips, rocking and stair climibing can help labor progress and ease pain.
3. Hydrotherapy: Warm showers and being in a bath can soothe and relax muscles.
4. Supportive Environment: Dim lighting, quiet surroundings, and a calm, reassuring birth partner or doula can greatly reduce stress and pain perception.
5. Massage and Counter-Pressure Massage the lower back, shoulders, or feet.
6. Heat or Cold Therapy Warm compresses on the lower back or abdomen can ease pain. Cold packs may also provide relief and reduce inflammation.
7. TENS Machine - Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation units can be used to disrupt pain signals. They are often helpful in early labor for back pain.
8. Visualization and Relaxation: Using guided imagery or calming visualisation (e.g., picturing a wave with each contraction). Listen to calming music or a hypnobirthing track can help manage the contractions.

If you would like to prepare for your upcoming birth with a Comprehensive Childbirth Preparation with experienced birth educators at , , then please do get
in touch with .NL or you can write to ceb@access-nl.org or chitra@akriti.nl or visit my website www.akriti.nl or access website www.access-nl.org

07/10/2025

What an incredible honour to be invited back as a speaker at the 3rd International Childbirth Conference in Turkey. This time, I’ll be speaking about preparing for labor and birth and shining a light on the often-overlooked topic of preparing fathers for the labor room experience. I’ll also be exploring this from a cultural perspective, recognising how different backgrounds shape the way fathers engage in the birth space and how we can better support them to feel confident, present, and empowered.
I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces, meeting new experts in the field and sharing, learning, and growing alongside some amazing contributors from around the world.
I'll be sharing more updates and photos from Turkey. Can’t wait to take you along on this journey

25/09/2025

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be co-facilitating a Motherhood Dialogue Series for new mothers at@parenting_across_borders

Starting this weekend in September, we’ll be creating a space for mothers to come together, share experiences, ask questions, and find support from one another. We are also bringing in subject matter expertise to have conversations around parenthood. We continue to create a space to connect, learn, and grow together in a safe and nurturing environment.

Our dialogues are honest in a small, safe, confidential space, where Mothers have a place to share their journey as a parent and gain valuable insights from experienced dialogue facilitators and one another. This dialogue series is FREE for International mothers at Utrecht.

This series is already fully booked out. If you are a new parent at Utrecht and are interested in our FREE dialogue series then please follow us and to know how and when to join the next one.

02/09/2025

Preparing yourself for Labour & Birth can sound like a huge task. It doesn't have to be if you have found the right course and a professional who can help ease your anxieties, fears, doubts, questions, challenges or just being there to listen to you.
This lovely couple joined the Birth Preparation course at with lots of questions & curiosity. They left the sessions feeling more empowered and informed about their rights & choices for their journey ahead and gave birth to their baby last week.

I'm Chitra Natarajan, a certified Birth Educator, Hypnotherapist, and HypnoBirthing Practitioner. I’ve spent 15 years working in the world of Pregnancy, Birth & Babies, supporting first-time mothers, VBACs, multiple births, and C-sections.

✨ I offer a variety of courses tailored to your unique needs and schedule:
🔹 -NL Childbirth Preparation Course
A 4-week course held in:
📍 Utrecht – Friday evenings
📍 Amsterdam – Sunday mornings
🔹 – Mongan Method
A 5-week course with hypnotherapy tools to prepare your mind and body for labour & birth:
📍 Utrecht – Saturday mornings
📍 Amsterdam – Sunday afternoons
🔹 One-Day Intensive Course
📍 Saturdays in Amsterdam & Amstelveen
🔹 Two-Part Evening Course
📍 In Hilversum
No matter where you plan to give birth — Hospital, Birthing Centre, or at Home — these courses will equip you for the journey ahead.
📩 Want to know more?
Email me at chitra@akriti.nl or call 0643061731
🌐 Visit: www.akriti.nl

26/08/2025

Parenting across Borders creates a supportive space for international parents to connect, to share their experiences and be part of a community. What an absolute honour to be part of the team and to be a guest speaker at their last Communitea dialogue for Expectant international families.

06/08/2025

Sometimes that's all it is! Birth Partner's readiness & involvement in the labouring room is what all you need. 🤍