We can’t think of a better person to give some expert advice on achieving a calm birth than our super-relaxed, ultra-experienced midwife and hypnobirthing pro, Laura Meredith-Hobbs.

Top Three Tips for a Calm Birth

1. Preparation

You can’t really do much preparation as you don’t know what to expect, however, by going to a really good antenatal classes local to you , which is going to give you good information that is well researched and up to date, will really really help.

2. Go to the environment you are going to have your baby in

So if you are planning to have a home birth and staying at home, make sure it nice and clear and calm and you know where everything is. Or if you are going to hospital or going to a birthing centre, go to the site.

Many maternity wards and birthing centres are now able to offer tours once again, further to having to pause these during the Coronavirus pandemic, so give your local maternity hospital or midwife led birthing unit a call and ask the question, “Can I come for a tour of the site to see where I will have my baby?”.

Get to know the place, go and find out where the toilet is, where you can make a cup of teas and coffees, have a look around the room so you know you are going feel comfortable and you know where you are going to be going.If you know your environment that is going to lesson the fear.

3. Breathe

Don’t forget to breath. By breathing it relaxes your muscles and having nice relaxed muscles is going to give you an easier labour.

Plenty more where this came from, for more top tips from our experts visit our YouTube Channel to learn more.

Laura, our expert midwife, leads week one of the Bump to Cradle antenatal course with an in depth session on ‘normal’ labour and birth from 37 weeks onwards. Throughout this balanced and comprehensive session, Laura will take you through what happens when you go in to hospital and what to expect, the various stages of labour coping strategies for pain and anxiety and how progress is assessed. She also covers water births, home births, non-pharmacological pain relief, management of the third stage of labour, cord clamping, the role of the partner and immediate postnatal care. After the first session you will go on to hear from our other experts and practitioners including our Obstetricians and Paediatricians, who will guide you through what may happen if you need more support and intervention, drugs and pain relief options, and what to expect if you and your baby need to stay in hospital for extra care in the early days and why that may be.

You can learn more about the Bump to Cradle expert-led antenatal course here and book a spot.