Thanks for having us back at your Active Birth Workshop for baby #2. It was so wonderful to just breathe, surrender, and embrace the moment without panic or fear. Two hours of spontaneous drug-free labour, and just 9 minutes of pushing. We were in hospital all of 8 hours in total (the birth centre have such a wonderful discharge policy).
Read MoreThe benefits of being upright include a reduction in the length of pushing time as gravity can help bring the baby, there is better supply of oxygen to the baby, the baby can get in a better position and less pressure on the pelvic floor. In the active birth classes we practice the positions that widen your pelvis.
Read MoreWe all have the capacity to visualise. Did you know that conjuring up an image of your baby during labour can help you remember what the powerful sensations your experiencing are all about. Try this visualisation practice during your pregnancy to help create a deeper bond with your baby.
Read MoreMidwives know that when a labouring woman feels safe, private and unobserved she will move unrestrictedly, make sounds uninhibitedly and will more closely follow her instincts. Making sounds during labour helps you to shift your consciousness into a deeper, calmer state of mind thus optimising your birthing hormones helping you labour more efficiently. There is also a physiological connection between the vocal cords and cervix.
Read MoreI would like to thank you for running the yogababy classes and for keeping on doing so during these strange times of self-isolation. It was very important for me to still be able to do it from home. I am sure the only reason why my pregnancy was so easy and delivery was fast (according to the midwife, my impression: it was way too long:) is due to yoga classes. I tried my best to use some of the yoga practices during labour and it helped to progress it. Our baby girl Emily arrived on term without any artificial stimulants.
Read MoreAs things were moving along, my partner and I used postures and acupressure points we learned at the Active Birthing workshop. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to really appreciate our birth plan because it all happened so fast, but I am so thankful that we used what we learned. My partner swayed my hips and it was the most grounding thing anyone could have done for me and it really alleviated the pain.
We arrived at the hospital at maybe 9:50am, I was wheeled through the corridors on a bed up to the maternity suite. Our private midwife had organised for the bath to be run in advance and I immersed myself immediately. Within just a few minutes, my son was born!!
Read MoreI had my baby Eva on her due date! and the labour went great! I had a natural birth and used the vocalisation and breathing from your Active Birth yoga classes. I had no stitches and she was 3.5kgs (and she’s perfect!).
My water broke and my contractions started soon after, my partner came and picked me up and we went to the hospital (I expected to be sent back home). When we got there and I was checked out the midwife told me I was in active labour! As the contractions got stronger my partner would breathe with me through the pain and when the pain grew stronger I started to make low pitched sounds (like from class) which really helped me with the pain!
Read MoreWhile the delivery didn’t quite go as planned (the active birthing spontaneous vaginal delivery I had pictured in my mind) we did end up having the most perfect birth in the end. We ended up having a c-section and were 41+1 but it was so calm and enjoyable. My obstetrician, midwife, anesthetist, and pediatrician all supported our wishes for an active birth and worked together seamlessly. From a completely pain-free epidural, photos capturing the entire procedure/birth, delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin and a pain-free recovery post-c-section, it all went better than I could have ever imagined. I put a lot of it down to the physical and mental preparation that you supported us to develop.
Read MoreThank you for helping us achieve a positive & empowering birth. Without attending the Calm birth course & going to your Active Birth yoga classes, our experience may not have been the same. My husband & I can honestly say we felt so prepared & ready, which gave us the beautiful & calm birth that we’d hoped for.
Read MoreThe Calm Birth course my partner Brandon and I did in August with Suzanne Swan was such an amazing course, it gave us all the tools we needed and was quite honestly the best thing we did to prepare for the birth of our little boy! As luck would have it, on the day my midwife couldn't make it so we were able to use the birth plan we'd written up for our stand-in midwife. I ended up having a beautiful, empowering waterbirth
Read MoreOne of the things I loved most about my classes at yoga baby is it taught me how to connect with my baby. I am a very visual person, so the fact I couldn't SEE my baby, it was hard for me to feel she's real. In my classes, we do baby body scans and actively connect with baby during sessions. I don't think I would have known how to create that connection on my own. It felt like my baby and I was a team and we were exercising together.
Read MoreYour partner can play a vital role in helping you to focus on your breathing during labour & birth. Your breath is your focus for assisting you to adapt to the sensations of labour. Here are three exercises can practice in the lead up to your birth experience.
1. Yogic breath: When you practice the yogic breath during contractions you will be signalling to your body that you accept the bodily sensations as healthy & safe! This will make all the difference between tension and relaxation.
Read MoreIf you are already in a routine with your yoga class before you become pregnant, it is not uncommon to want to stay in that class for as long as possible. At Yogababy, our instructors are trained specifically to teach yoga to pregnant women so our classes are quite specialised in that way to cater for your changing body and the needs.
However, if you are still attending your general yoga class, here are five things to consider during pregnancy:
Read MoreJake was an amazing birth partner as always and he remembered all his active birth yoga sessions from our previous pregnancy. I asked to birth in a more upright position and the midwife and obstetrician both respected my request for no coached pushing. I was anxious about having another private birthing experience and being at the mercy of the doctor but I felt more empowered this time in sticking to my birth plan. Thank you Suzanne for your support and wisdom.
Read MoreTasting embodiment through a contraction was such a gift. I would be embodied one contraction but then not the next; it ebbed and flowed seemingly out of my control. And so a deeper layer of surrender was able to happen, as I realised that birth would happen regardless. My experience was somehow out of my hands so to ride with the 'what is'. But no romanticism-- there were definitely times I wanted OUT or didn’t’ think I could be with it much longer. But knowing that the struggle and fight with what is happening is part of the birth spectrum- helped to get me thru. This is one part of the intense yin/yang that happens. Ultimately I found surrendering to the lack of control of my own experience intensely healing for my previous birth too- as I had been holding on to self-judgment for not having 'done it better'. Somehow, I found the willingness to drop my expectation that it would be a certain way and felt resourced with tools. Birth is HUGE!
I completely recommend Suzanne’s private session wholeheartedly. It honestly is a must for anyone going into the birth experience. It is the biggest gift I could have given to myself for such a huge rite of passage.
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I couldn't believe it in three contractions - my daughter was born with a pain relief free natural labour. It wasn't a walk in the park and possibly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but she was safe, healthy and perfect. In my eyes, everything happened exactly how it was meant too. I truly believe this was made possible by the practice and knowledge learned in the active birth yoga classes - as I used many of the mantas, breathing techniques, positioning and pain relief methods from the classes. Thank you so much Suzanne for making this possibe
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Got through labour with the use of a TENS machine, shower, movement and the pressure points you taught us in the active birth workshop . And no pharmaceutical pain relief! I could not have done it without my husband Bruce being as active as I was. We managed to have a successful vaginal birth and a very healthy baby at over 3.8kg. The active birth workshop and active birth yoga classes were excellent preparation for us for labour and birth. Thank you!
Read MoreThank you so much for all your knowledge and guidance through your active birth classes. Once again, I was able to use the skills that you taught me and take on the positive mindset which enabled me to have a calm, natural and intervention-free birth.
Read MoreAfter 60 hours of labour, Ezrael has finally arrived! We went into labour on the 22nd but didn't get to meet him until Christmas day. During the (long!) early phase, my husband and I used a lot of the things we learned in Private Session with Suzanne Swan, and also all the pregnancy & active birth yoga classes I had been to. Lots of breathing, vocalising, different positions and movements; it was surprising how things worked at some points and then we needed to change, so it was great to have so many ideas in our toolbox.
Read MoreWe cannot control how birth unfolds and it can be overwhelming when trying to make sense of it, right in the middle of the unknown. How do you know what to do when unplanned things happen? The best thing you can do is educate yourself so you are aware of as many options as possible and then, trust your intuition. Ask yourself “How am I feeling?”, “do I need to do more?” or “do I need to rest?”. Listen, your own heart can never lead you astray. Your satisfaction with your birth has been demonstrated to be related to whether or not you listened to yourself, and importantly whither you were listened to and supported by those caring for you.
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