Birth Meditation by Sophie Fletcher at Mindful Mamma UK I wrote this birth meditation a few years ago after I attended a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh, a well known Buddhist monk. He’s written a very beautiful pebble meditation which I do sometimes with my children, but which I’ve adapted for pregnancy. I just thought…
How long should a hypnobirthing course be? By Sophie Fletcher, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Doula There has long been a debate on the web about hypnobirthing and how long a hypnobirthing course should be – how many classes and over what period of time you should attend. I’ve taught several different methods, including Mongan and Leclaire…
Can you really have a pain free labour? by Sophie Fletcher Many years ago I met a friend of my husband who was 24 and had a 10 year old daughter. The story goes that her mum phoned her dad in the pub and asked him to come home because Anna was having a baby.…
Understand how your body is designed to birth your baby. by Sophie Fletcher I never really thought much about how I’d get the baby out; to be frank I’m a genuinely in the moment person, I tackle things as they happen and I don’t get scared of much, expect for missing my train and being late.…
By Sophie Fletcher Yesterday my friend Katie rang to say her cat, Sox, had finally given birth to the kittens we knew she was expecting. Last week we were watching her intently over coffee, her belly swaying in time with her step, noticing that as she lay down in various places in the sun trying…
Seven months pregnant and counting By Sophie Fletcher Seven. This seems to be a significant number when it comes to birth and the feelings that arise at seven months pregnant. Phone calls from mums enquiring about our Mindful Mamma antenatal classes often come when they are seven months pregnant, a frantic “I’ve only got 12…
OMG OMG OMG. How excited can I get about ducklings? Two have hatched today in my garden. I saw their dark brown fluffy bodies and beautiful shiny eyes, and heard their cute cheep cheep. Seeing them peer out from their nest was almost as lovely as seeing a new baby born, looking up from her…
You’ve had so much advice, it’s left you reeling in confusion. Every-one else seems to know exactly what you should do, but this doesn’t really help you to feel in control of the tiredness and emotional changes taking place. Here are some psychological tips to help you through those turbulent early days. 1. Never say…
On Friday as I was leaving for work, I explained to my 5 year old that I was running a day teaching women how to give birth. His reply was “well that’s easy isn’t it, you just need to relax.” Pleasantly surprised that all my work on birth had begun to see the growth of…
I’ve been playing den’s with my children this week – a lot. They love den’s, but don’t all children and even adults? I have to admit I’m a bit claustrophobic but I do love curling up in a den every now and again. This week we had a new fluffy red blanket which we draped…
