Hi! I’m Jo, the founder of Inner Calm Hypnobirthing, Mum to Zachary and married to my supportive husband Lee. We live in Cheshire, having recently moved back from Sydney, Australia after an adventurous 9 years Down Under. Why we chose to relocate during the middle of a global pandemic I’m still figuring out, but we are already settling in (if a little chilly!) and love being near family again.
I came across Hypnobirthing whilst on a tour of my local Birth Centre, in Sydney. A ripple of awkward laughter spread through the group when the midwife mentioned Hypnobirthing. No one really knew what it was, but it sounded funny and a bit ‘out there’. There was mention that mothers who had done hypnobirthing in general hadn’t required pain relief… Errrr, what?! I instantly dismissed this as impossible and concluded that anything ‘hypno’ was a nice idea, but not for me. I'll take the drugs thank you very much. I had been frequently informed over the years that giving birth was supposed to be painful - why would I make it more difficult for myself by not choosing pain relief?
How wrong I was! I decided to give hypnobirthing a go. My experience of pregnancy and birth was far better than anything I had imagined, due to hypnobirthing. Don’t be fooled though - it wasn’t all sunshine and skipping through fields of grass with daisies in my hair - but my overwhelming feeling throughout the pregnancy was one of positivity and excitement. My fears towards birthing melted away and I genuinely felt in control throughout. Even when curve balls were thrown my way.
This is far from how I had originally anticipated the birthing process to be! I feel privileged to have had a hugely successful hypnobirth with my son. My waters broke in the early hours of the morning at home, and I was able to go back to bed and rest more, whilst my early surges began. I contacted the Birth Centre to inform them of my developments and went in around 9.30am. On arrival, I was unable to be seen in the Birth Centre due to another birth currently taking place, so was visually assessed in the attached Labour Ward. As I presented so calmly, I was advised I was only in very early stages of birthing and I would need to go home until I was further progressed. I however, knew that my calmness was hiding how progressed I truly was, so I discussed this with them. They agreed to physically assess me after my insistence and confidence that my baby was ready to be born soon. Ten minutes later they assessed me and were amazed at me being 9cm dilated. I walked over to the Birthing Centre, had the birthing pool prepared. I birthed my son one and half hours later, without pain relief, gas and air. It was a genuinely amazing experience and I look back at my son's birth with such positivity.
Since that day, I have been committed to learning more about this fascinating process. I get a genuine buzz from talking about the immense benefits it can bring and I want to pass that feeling on to others. I want you to know that feeling in control and having a fearless birth is possible, no matter what your birthing preference or experiences are. I gained my hypnobirthing qualification via the KGHypnobirthing course, trained by the founder, Katherine Graves. It is an accredited course by the Royal College of Midwives, and is the highest rated and regarded hypnobirthing course in the UK.
Working as a physiotherapist for 16 years has given me great insight in to the healthcare system in the UK and in Australia, and as a practitioner I am constantly learning about and appreciating the extraordinary capabilities of the human body. I thoroughly understand the importance of how the mind impacts movement, and this is why hypnobirthing just makes so much sense.
I love meeting new people and aiding them in their journeys; I feel privileged to have shared so many life-changing experiences with my clients.
When I am not working, or running around pretending to be a dinosaur (my toddler's current favourite thing), I love the outdoors, travel, sports, music and cooking, and I am always looking for fun adventures for my family and I.
