How to choose an antenatal course that’s right for you. An important read for all parents to be…

Pregnancy, hypnobirthingSusan BradleyMarch 29, 2024antenatal class, antenatal course, birth preparation, hypnobirthing, maternity care, hypnobirthing york, matrescence, pregnancy class, NCT

What if we nurtured mothers?

How so many things could be different if we nurtured mothers…

Pregnancy, matrescenceSusan BradleyMarch 1, 2024antenatal class, antenatal course, birth preparation, hypnobirthing, maternity care, hypnobirthing york, matrescence, motherhood, pregnancy class, pregnancy yoga, real motherhood

Q is for Questioning

Why asking questions of your health care professionals could be the most important thing you do…

Birth, labour, hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyFebruary 9, 2024induction of labour, induction, antenatal class, antenatal course, birth preparation, hypnobirthing, maternity care, hypnobirthing york

5 tips for...Having a more relaxed pregnancy

Pregnancy can be a stressful time, especially with the ongoing uncertainty of covid. So here’s five simple ways to help you have a more relaxed pregnancy.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyMay 29, 2021pregnancy, pregnancy yoga, hypnobirthing, relaxed pregnancy

Comfort Measures For Labour - TENS

A TENS machine is a small handheld device that can help to alleviate the discomfort of labour. TENS stands for ‘Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation’ - so I’ll just call it TENS from now on, its frankly a bit of a mouthful! Some women swear by it, others find it annoying or too fiddly. But it’s something that you can use to ease discomfort that YOU have control over, it has no risks to baby, and if you don’t like it - then you can stop it effects immediately. Here’s an explanation of how it works, how to use it, and what it does.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyMarch 24, 2019comfort measures, labour pain relief, hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing york, antenatal york, labour comfort measures, TENS machine labour birth

Breaking the fear-Tension-Pain cycle of labour & birth with hypnobirthing

It’s completely normal and natural when you think about birth, to think of the word pain. It’s a product of our modern society and culture, the media, the dramatic stories we have been told. We sadly rarely hear birth stories that are uplifting, magical, empowering, positive and full of love and joy. But there are many.

But what if you could let go of the fear that you feel about giving birth to your baby? So that would make it less painful. And be genuinely excited about giving birth? Well that’s where hypnobirthing come in. Read on folks.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyFebruary 23, 2019release the fear, fear tension pain cycle], hypnobirthing course, hypnobirthing york, hypnobirthing class, for modern mothers hypnobirhting, pregnancy yoga, antenatal class, antenatal class york, hypnobirthing, nct york, pregnant york Comment

Reducing the chance of a tear during birth

I wanted to chat to you today about something that most women (if not ALL women) fear and worry about in pregnancy. And that is tearing in birth. So anything that you can do to reduce the risk of having a tear, is surely good to know yes? And there are things you CAN do in pregnancy and in labour too, to help to minimize this happening.

So read on to reduce this fear and feel more calm and confident through your pregnancy and in your labour and birth.

Pregnancy, BirthSusan BradleyOctober 1, 2018hypnobirthing york, hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing class, tearing in birth, pregnant york, calm birth, birth, down stage, perineum, antenatal class, york, pregnancy class york Comments

Part 4 - Comfort Measures For Labour

Welcome to the final part of my top tips and techniques to ease discomfort and manage the sensations of labour, however they may feel in your body (and remember everyone is different). So in this post you are getting the final 10, which makes a whopping 31 Comfort Measures in total!! Being informed and educated and knowing you have choices is hugely important in having a positive birth experience.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyAugust 31, 2018hypnobirthing, york, antenatal class, york pregnancy, comfort measures labour, pain relief tips labour, birth, positive birth, confident birth, aromatherapy, birth tips, positive affirmations, music for birth, self belief in labourComment

Part 3 - Comfort Measures For Labour

It’s week three of my Summer of tips and techniques to ease discomfort and manage the sensations of labour. Helping you be more knowledgeable, positive and confident about your upcoming labour and birth.

In this post you'll find a range of comfort measures for labour including - Massage, ReFraming, Clary Sage, Epidurals and Hypnobirthing. It's a balanced look at ALL your options.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyAugust 24, 2018hypnobirthing, york, antenatal class, york pregnancy, comfort measures labour, pain relief tips labour, birth, positive birth, confident birth, aromatherapy, birth tipsComment

Part 2 - Comfort Measures For Labour

Welcome to week two of my Summer of tips and techniques to ease discomfort and manage the sensations of labour. By the end the series you are going to feel so much more confident and relaxed I hope about your upcoming labour and birth.

I've been running these each day on my For Modern Mothers Facebook page. In this post you'll find a range of comfort measures for labour including - TENS Machines, Doula's, Heat, Aromatherapy and Opioids. It's a balanced look at ALL your options.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyAugust 17, 2018hypnobirthing, york, antenatal class, york pregnancy, comfort measures labour, pain relief tips labour, birth, positive birth, confident birth, aromatherapy, birth tipsComment

Part 1 - A Month Of Comfort Measures For Labour

Welcome to August, and my whole month of tips and techniques to ease discomfort and manage the sensations of labour. By the end of the month you are going to feel so much more confident and relaxed I hope about your upcoming labour and birth. I've been running these each day on my For Modern Mothers Facebook page, and thought I'd put them together here as a series of blog posts for easy reading.

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyAugust 7, 2018hypnobirthing, york, antenatal class, york pregnancy, comfort measures labour, pain relief tips labour, birth, positive birth, confident birth Comment

Positive Affirmation and Mindset In Pregnancy

So I wanted to write today about mindset and about positive affirmations for pregnancy, labour and birth. Positive affirmation are one of the many techniques and tools we use in hypnobirthing, and I often use positive affirmations in my pregnancy yoga classes too.

Positive affirmations are a great way to start thinking about mindset in pregnancy. This is so important, really actually more important than any physical work you may do to prepare. They are brilliant to build confidence and to release fear, and are simple yet effective and everyone can start using them straight away - wherever you are in your pregnancy. Here’s how to use them….

hypnobirthingSusan BradleyJune 6, 2018positive birth, positive pregnancy, positive pregnany, pregnancy mindset, pregnancy class, hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing york, hypnobirthing class, birth, york

Build the perfect birth space

To have the best possible birth for you, you need to give birth in an environment that makes you feel safe, comfortable and relaxed and allows you to produce oodles of the important birth hormone oxytocin - read more about oxytocin in birth here. This will not be the same place or environment for every woman – we are all different. And it can be harder in some places and easier in others, but it’s still possible and important whether you are planning a home, hospital or birth centre birth. Here are some great ideas for creating a brilliant birth space that works for you.

hypnobirthingSusan BradleyApril 29, 2018birth space, birth environment, hypnobirthing, positive birth Comment

Can I get everything I need from Hypnobirthing alone?

I wanted to share with you this blog post, which is a really interesting one for couples who are currently researching how to prepare for the birth of your baby. If you are considering your options for antenatal preparation you might be interested in what exactly Hypnobirthing is and whether you will get everything you need to know from attending my course.

Here are some of the questions that I have been asked many times by couples enquiring about my hypnobirthing classes in York, and I think these are the questions that everyone thinks about before about attending a hypnobirthing course:

hypnobirthingSusan BradleyApril 9, 2018hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing class, hypnobirthing york, hypnobirthing courseComment

Pregnancy What Ifs // What If My Baby Is Breech?

This week in my pregnancy yoga class here in York a women has found out that her baby, at 36 weeks pregnant, is in a breech position. This is not ideal for a vaginal birth but there is lots you CAN do and we spoke about some of the things she might do to encourage baby into the more favourable head-down position. So I thought I’d write a blog post to share with you about breech babies and what you might do and what your options are if you find yourself in this position later in your pregnancy.

Pregnant Body, Pregnancy What If?Susan BradleyMarch 9, 2018pregnancy yoga, pregnancy york, pregnant body, pregnancy class, hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing york, hypnobirthing class, KG Hypnobirthing, breech babyComment

5 Hypnobirthing Myths Busted - VIDEO

When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I run hypnobirthing and birth preparation courses, often I get a confused look which makes me smile. I then get asked many of the same questions, or misconceptions about hypnobirthing come up again and again - so it’s time to bust some of those hypnobirthing myths!

Take a look at my video, or you can read the transcript below if you prefer

hypnobirthingSusan BradleyFebruary 18, 2018hypnobirthing york, hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing class, KG Hypnobirthing, pregnancy, positive birth, positive pregnancy Comment

From a Skeptical Dad to Hypnobirthing Evangelist! One Dads Birth Story

Partners, especially men, can be quite skeptical about hypnobirthing classes at the start, but often turn into the biggest advocates. Why? Because the tools that are taught are common sense, practical and very tangible. The other great benefit for partners, is hypnobirthing gives them a very defined support role during both your pregnancy and labour and that’s incredibly helpful for both of you. You can really become a ‘birthing dream team’ (love that phrase!)

Here's Ricks amazing story

hypnobirthingSusan BradleyFebruary 10, 2018hypnobirthing class, hypnobirthing, hypnobirthing york, positive birth, antenatal class, birth, birth class, pregnancy class, pregnancy yorkComment

Ten Hypnobirthing Myths: BUSTED!

When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I run hypnobirthing and birth preparation courses, often I get a perplexed look - which makes me smile. Many of the same questions or misconceptions come up again and again, so it’s time to bust some myths!

hypnobirthingSusan BradleyFebruary 6, 2018For Modern Mothers - Hypnobirthing & Birth Preparationhypnobirthing, hypnobirthing class, hypnobirthing york, pregnant body, pregnancy, positive birth Comment

A wonderful VBAC Hypnobirthing Birth Story

Here is a wonderful positive hypnobirthing birth story from a mother having a vaginal birth after a caesarean birth (called a VBAC). So inspiring and lovely to hear a positive birth story. Do contact me if you'd like more - I have lots I'd be delighted to share with you from hypnobirthing mums. Hearing all about positive birth when we are pregnant is so important (and please stop people telling you their negative birth stories, it really doesn't help you prepare for your birth in a positive way).

hypnobirthing, PregnancySusan BradleyFebruary 5, 2018For Modern Mothers Hypnobirthing Yorkhypnobirthing, hypnobirthing class, hypnobirthing york, york, positive birth, birth story

What Is A Placenta? 10 Amazing Placenta Facts

Every mother is likely aware that a placenta goes hand in hand with pregnancy. Even if you don't know much about what a placenta does, you likely understand that a placenta plays a pretty important role for the baby, since it's right there in the womb with your developing baby.

But do you know what a placenta really is or how amazing they are? Well read on and find out more about the amazing placenta.

Here are 10 amazing facts about the placenta:

Pregnancy, Pregnant BodySusan BradleyJanuary 12, 2018pregnancy, pregnant body, placenta, hypnobirthing, pregnancy york, pregnancy nutrition, post natal Comments

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