Keep calm and relaxed for a positive birth experience

Keeping calm and relaxed during pregnancy makes for a more positive birth experience for women.AASMA DAY finds out about Lancashire business Beau Baby which delivers pregnancy relaxation classes and hypnobirthing to support women and their birthing partners through pregnancy, birth and beyond
Baby Morgan and parents Mark and Rachel Rich.
Rachel says relaxation techniques helped her with her Caesarean SectionBaby Morgan and parents Mark and Rachel Rich.
Rachel says relaxation techniques helped her with her Caesarean Section
Baby Morgan and parents Mark and Rachel Rich. Rachel says relaxation techniques helped her with her Caesarean Section

New mum Rachel Rich is thrilled with her baby daughter Morgan Alice and had a positive pregnancy experience.

She puts this down to the relaxation, breathing and visualisation sessions she attended with Beau Baby, a Lancashire business offering pregnancy relaxation and hypnobirthing sessions.

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Beau Baby was set up in Lytham to offer antenatal care, pregnancy relaxation classes and hypnobirthing services to parents-to-be to help them to have a calm, positive pregnancy, labour and birth experience. The business has proved very popular and has recently expanded into the Preston area.

Rebecca Rowley and Sarah Oliver of Beau BabyRebecca Rowley and Sarah Oliver of Beau Baby
Rebecca Rowley and Sarah Oliver of Beau Baby

Rachel, 37, who lives in Fulwood, Preston, and is married to Mark, attended the Beau Baby pregnancy relaxation sessions.

She says: “When I heard about the pregnancy relaxation sessions, they sounded ideal as it allows you to have that time out for yourself that you rarely have the chance to get.

“We did guided relaxation and it was like meditation and took us on a journey.

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“It was so calming that, on occasion, I totally drifted off in a deep state of relaxation.

Rebecca Rowley and Sarah Oliver of Beau BabyRebecca Rowley and Sarah Oliver of Beau Baby
Rebecca Rowley and Sarah Oliver of Beau Baby

“The sessions I attended were run by Sarah Oliver and her voice was calm and a lot of the messages were about bonding with the baby and how your body is designed to grow and nourish this baby.

“It helped relieve anxieties and gave me confidence.

“The sessions also gave me the chance to meet other mums-to-be and I looked forward to every session.”

Rachel gave birth to Morgan on July 13 by Caesarean Section as she was in the breech position.

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Rachel says the relaxation techniques she learned were a real help to her. She explains: “It was very nerve-wracking going into theatre, but I was able to use the breathing and relaxation techniques to switch off my mind and calm myself down. It allows you to alleviate bad thoughts and concentrate on the positives.

“I am still using the skills I picked up and am sure they will carry on being useful to me. Being a mum is wonderful and Morgan is amazing and we are bursting with pride. Her personality is starting to come through now she is a month old and it is delightful.

“I can’t recommend the Beau Baby relaxation sessions enough as they were so positive for me and gave me a wonderful pregnancy experience.”

Beau Baby was set up in Lytham two-and-a-half years ago and now delivers classes at Cottam Community Centre and the Marriott Hotel.

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Rebecca Rowley, who set up Beau Baby, says: “With ongoing changes and challenges in the NHS, including midwifery, it is vitally important there are services in the community to support women during this exciting and vulnerable time of their lives.

“Beau Baby is an ever growing place for women to come to for support and care through the wide number of bespoke services on offer – from fertility, through to pregnancy, birth and postnatally.

“For a woman to be able to take time out each week to relax, switch off and bond with baby is one of the most worthwhile experiences a mother-to-be can embark on –not just for her but for her baby, too.

“No two births are the same and empowering mothers-to-be and their birthing partner with various tools and techniques to support them with hypnobirthing is one of the most worthwhile investments they will make.”

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Rebecca is an experienced and qualified paediatric nurse who has a passion for caring for babies and children.

Sarah Oliver, who works for Beau Baby and was previously a health visitor working in Ribbleton and Longridge, says: “The main aim of Beau Baby is to empower women to have a positive birth experience. Working as a health visitor, you are dealing more with postnatal women and I saw a lot of the after-effects where birth did not turn out as planned and women had a negative birth experience which can have long-term effects for them and their relationship with their baby.

“With all the cuts in the NHS in both antenatal and postnatal care, we feel there is a gap which Beau Baby can fill.”

l For more details about Beau Baby, visit: www.beaubaby.co.uk or Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeauBabyUK/ or Twitter: @beaubaby_uk

The Preston pregnancy relaxation sessions are held on Monday evenings from 7:30pm to 8:30pm at Cottam Community Centre. Hypnobirthing courses are held at the Marriott Hotel.