The antenatal course is our popular group course where you can make a fab group of friends but you also get so much more! We cover all types of birth experience to prepare you for any eventuality and we discuss all of your options and choices to prepare your birth preferences - important for both you and your birth partner to know! We have an active birth workshop as part of the course where we look at how to balance your pelvis and optimise baby's position for birth as well as make pregnancy and labour more comfortable! We also discuss the postnatal period; your body and how you recover from different types of birth experience but also how to care for yourselves during the fourth trimester. We also cover your options for feeding your baby as well as caring for them in the first few weeks! You get my suppport by whatsapp plus the support of your antenatal group who are all due at similar times to you!

The Village Midwife antenatal course has been written, developed and is taught by a practising midwife. This means you benefit from my experience at births but also my knowledge of how to navigate the maternity system you'll be giving birth in. You also get my support by whatsapp through the rest of your pregnancy and into the postnatal period with any questions that crop up! Plus, our antenatal course is very much based around your options and choices - with the aim of making sure that you're in the driving seat when it comes to giving birth! When you join a course with us you also get the benefit of the friendly, non-judgemental community of parents in the local area as well as your antenatal group of friends!

Yep absolutely, partners are encouraged to attend the whole antenatal course! Our courses aim to prepare birth partners for their role at every stage of the journey so that they feel able to advocate for you, support you and feel confident!

I was a single parent during pregnancy myself so I totally understand how you might be feeling about the thought of attending a course on your own! Please feel free to bring your birth partner (whether that's a friend or your mum or whoever!) however you are more than welcome to come by yourself as well. All of our courses are very relaxed and friendly, plus single parents get a 50% discount on all course bookings -because I've been there!

No, most people pay a £50 deposit when they secure their space on a course and then pay the rest by instalments. These instalments are up to you - you choose how much the instalments are and when. I'm very relaxed, it just needs to be paid by the start of the course!

Yes absolutely, the antenatal course is for any type of birth! Even if you're planning an elective caesarean, you make a supportive group of friends plus get my support - both are invaluable! Plus part of the antenatal course is discussing caesarean birth and what it involves, caesrean birth preferences and how to communicate these plus recovery from a caesarean birth! Alternatively if you just want to talk over a planned caesarean without the rest of the antenatal course I also offer a caesarean workshop in a 1-1 setting!

The antenatal course is 5 sessions - 4 on a weekend (3 hours each) and 1 session on a weekday evening which covers active birth!

I'm happy to organise a 1-1 catch up session with you guys if you have to miss a session for any reason! Alternatively sometimes the rest of the group are happy to move to another date - so just drop me a message and we can sort something out! If either you or your partner has to miss a session we can still arrange a mini catch up but I also send out packed emails of information after every session which helps and I'm available to answer any questions by whatsapp as always.

Our antenatal courses typically have 8-10 couples on each course as this creates an excellent sized group for ongoing friendships and support, however during Covid we are socially distancing and wearing masks when moving around venues to ensure this is safe for you all.

It's totally up to you - some people like to do it slightly earlier in their pregnancy and some slightly closer to their due date! If you're unsure however you can drop me an email and I can help!

Lots of antenatal clients all do the postnatal course together with the babies which is lovely! I don't generally need to organise an antenatal group meet up in the postnatal period however because the groups are so social that they're usually meeting up regularly themselves! Plus, we have The No Sleep Club (our pregnancy/new parent community) where antenatal groups can meet up over a cuppa and I can answer any questions that might have come up!

Our postnatal courses focus on how you're adapting as new parents! They take place on weekday mornings so are usually attended by mums and then partners come to the weekend first aid session! We focus on how you're doing rather than most other baby groups which are all about your baby! It's a supportive space to share and talk, plus we cover topics such as baby's sleep and how to help with gentle strategies, baby massage techniques and a session with a women's health physio about your body after having a baby. Plus, everyone usually goes for a pub lunch afterwards!

It's totally up to you! Some people start a week or so after having your baby and some people 6-8 weeks postnatal. I'm super flexible about the postnatal course though, so if you've booked on but don't feel ready - just email me and I can move you to the next course, and likewise if you want to come along earlier!

Hypnobirthing is for every type of birth. It is an opportunity to discuss any fears or worries you might have and cover any/all birth preparation you need. We discuss the physiology behind birth and why it's so important to feel relaxed and calm during labour and then we cover lots of techniques to make sure you're able to do that!

This is actually a really popular combination! I offer a 'top up' hypnobirthing course exclusively for antenatal clients. It's 4 hours (over 2 sessions) and compliments the antenatal course really well - there's more information here!