Lucy & Damian: Following the less than ideal birth of my first child, I was feeling anxious about how my second birth would go. Josey's calm and reassuring course of hypnobirthing sessions enabled me and my husband to have the perfect birth experience second time round. We calmly went through what happened with the first birth and what we would like to happen differently the second time, as well as practising relaxation techniques in preparation for the birth. Josey's kind and expert guidance put my body, baby and mind in a place that allowed a calm, swift and dare I say, enjoyable birth. My husband and I cannot recommend Josey and her hypnobirthing course highly enough.
Celcily & Huw Josey was introduced to us by my sister and we are SO very grateful that she agreed to work with us. Hypno-birthing, in particular Josey’s calm, kind and reassuring approach played an essential part in both the lead up to and the labour itself. Every session with Josey was great - informative and professional whilst remaining relaxed and my husband and I felt really positive after each meeting. When it came to the labour, we practised the techniques Josey had taught us and I truly believe they helped beyond measure. I have and will continue to recommend hypno-birthing as a must to any expecting couple and cannot thank Josey enough for her expert advice and brilliant guidance – she is fantastic!
Natasha & Will: My partner and I were both overjoyed when I fell pregnant but whilst excited about the prospect of being a mum, after a previous traumatic experience in hospital and a low pain threshold, I was also extremely anxious about giving birth. So anxious in fact that I kept crying during midwife appointments and was referred for birthing counselling by the NHS. This counselling, whilst certainly helpful, did not really reduce my anxiety in any meaningful way and it was at this point that my partner and I decided that we would try hypnobirthing with Josey. What a good decision that was!
We had two sessions with Josey in which we were both able to explain and address our anxieties surrounding the pregnancy and labour. Josey was extremely informative about the process of labour and was able to talk us through different birthing scenarios which really helped me to feel more informed and in control of the process as well as helping me to write my birth plan. Crucially, she gave me the confidence to believe that I would be able to give birth naturally and calmly and that it could be a positive experience. During the sessions Josey led us through several guided mediations and visualisations which were incredibly relaxing. My partner and I practised these meditations in bed at night several times a week and not only did I start to feel a lot more relaxed and positive about giving birth but I also started sleeping much better… most nights I wouldn’t even reach the end of the meditation before I fell asleep!
My waters broke in the middle of the night exactly 2 weeks before our due date. After visiting the hospital for a quick check up I was able to return home to wait for my surges (contractions) to start. At this point I felt really excited to meet our baby and positive about the impending delivery. Using Josey’s meditations and breathing techniques, as well as a TENS machine, I was able to stay at home all day. I found the surges very manageable and actually didn’t realise I had progressed through the first stage of labour, had fully dilated, and that the baby had transitioned down, until we returned to the hospital in the evening and discovered that the reason I was finding it difficult to sit down was that our baby boy was patiently waiting to be born! It was a great surprise to everyone and several midwives commented that I was very calm.
Unfortunately, at this point my surges had disappeared and as I was unable to push the baby out without them, and also as we weren’t sure how long the baby had been waiting to be born, it was advised that I should be induced. Within minutes of being induced the baby’s heart rate dropped by half and the doctor had to use a Vetouse cup to pull him out quickly. Baby Leo arrived safe and well within 15 minutes of me being induced and only a couple of hours after we arrived at the hospital. He weighed 6lb 5oz and is perfect in every way!
We can’t thank Josey enough for giving us the tools to feel empowered, in control and positive throughout the pregnancy and labour and we have highly recommended her to several couples who are expecting their own babies.
Rose & Curt: We came to hypnobirthing quite late in my pregnancy but Josey assured us it was not too late and we were so happy we went ahead with the course. We covered so much ground and we were given so much information but such is Josey’s skill we managed to maintain it all between us- I thought it would be all ‘airy fairy stuff’ but it really wasn’t it was so logical and almost scientific. Very informative and quite fun! We came away from the session feeling empowered and ready for the birth.
Being a mum herself she was able to give us anecdotal experience too and equip us with the tools to get the most out of the birth from questions we might want to ask our midwife in our prenatal appointments to things we might want to discuss and plan for before going into labour.
The hypnotherapy had a profound effect on me right from the first session and would send me into a deeply relaxed state and often sent me to sleep- in fact for the first part of my labour I was asleep and unaware I was actually in labour! During the ride to the hospital and the first hours of my stay I was so in the zone and felt so relaxed.
As my labour progressed I was able to call upon the positive affirmations that Josey had provided, I didn’t once think ‘I can’t do this’. Yes, it was very painful, but I just knew I could do it! My mind never failed me, and my body followed suit, like id been telling it to during the hypnotherapy sessions.
Post birth I still use the breathing techniques Josey taught me to relax. And I wouldn’t hesitate to do another course with Josey if I had another baby. It was a very positive experience from beginning to end! Thank you