Your Journey from Pregnancy to Postpartum

The route from pregnancy to postpartum takes you on a truly undulating emotional journey. From the moment you get a positive pregnancy test, your brain floods with every emotion, attempting to sift through all the information you may or may not ever have known about pregnancy. You may not know where to even begin accessing care or you may be overwhelmed with symptoms of pregnancy, thinking to yourself ‘is this what everyone goes through?? HOW?’. Navigating the maternity system itself feels like a mystery but somehow it feels like you’re just expected to… know? And then the algorithm works out you’re pregnant and the cute baby pictures, information overload, gadgets and gizmos and emotional anecdotes are the icing on the cake. And this can just be the first trimester!

When the dust settles on your news, the important people have been told, the excitement has settled in and the nausea has (hopefully!) packed its bags, it might be possible to find your arse from your elbow. You have seen the midwife, had a scan and started to read a little more about pregnancy, maybe birth and are getting to grips with what to expect next. There’s a lot to consider. Far more than you initially expected. The questions are flooding and the answers are… conflicting? Comforting? Confusing? You may find yourself questioning what you thought you knew, realising you knew nothing at all or trying to push it to the back of your mind to deal with later.

The reality is is that very few people enter pregnancy knowing all there is to know. Even those who have had a baby before enter a new pregnancy in a new headspace, in a new family with new knowledge and experience and every pregnancy and birth is different. This all impacts our emotional wellbeing. Trying to navigate pregnancy in a system not designed for individuality sets our nervous system on high alert. Learning new information is stressful and trying to do all of this on top of day to day life feels intense and unfamiliar. But your emotional wellbeing matters and needs to be fiercely protected. And that’s why my work exists.

Your emotional wellbeing impacts your experience of pregnancy, birth, bonding, recovery and early parenting. Taking care of your physical and emotional wellbeing has direct benefits for your baby. Being able to calm our nervous system reduces cortisol levels, steadies our heartrate, relaxes our muscles and over time it teaches our bodies to feel safe. This can significantly benefit our overall physical and mental health and create the calm and confidence with which to enter birth calmly and confidently. Calm and confidence in ourselves and our bodies can pave the way for birth to unfold safely.

My aim within my work as a doula, hypnobirthing teacher and perinatal physical health and wellbeing practitioner is to support mums in Cheshire and Wirral to access tools for emotional wellbeing throughout their pregnancy and postnatal journey. The Mindful Hypnobirthing course I teach is grounded in the evidence linking mindfulness practice, nervous system regulation, hypnosis techniques and grounding work to birth physiology. The practice can support a healthy emotional journey through pregnancy and well into the postnatal period. Your partner is introduced to their roles through pregnancy and birth, understanding the importance of your emotional wellbeing and giving them a space to ask questions and continue to support you in the best way for you. Each of you can explore your journey without judgement through Hypnobirthing. To introduce you to the Mindful Hypnobirthing concept, I have created a Free 6 week Your Mindful Pregnancy journey to introduce those foundations at any stage of pregnancy. By signing up to recieve these emails, you're starting yourself and your baby on a path to a gentle and grounded birth.

My antenatal sessions can provide a continuous point of support through your pregnancy. Midwife appointments offer a clinical expertise for your maternity care and oversight of yours and your baby’s health through your pregnancy. Limitations on maternity services, however, mean that your midwife appointments are short and clinically led, reducing the depth and relationship you’re able to build together. Very frequently, the midwife or midwives caring for you through your pregnancy are not the ones caring for you during your labour and birth. So whilst midwives can offer outstanding clinical care, there is less opportunity to build relationships between you or for them to have the time and scope to understand you and your wishes for your pregnancy. Doula support bridges this gap, to understand you, your family, your needs and wishes on a deeper level, be able to signpost you for further support and advocate for you through your pregnancy and birth. This continuity, emotional support and understanding can help you feel safe and supported whilst navigating maternity care.

In person birth support is an extension of the antenatal sessions, upholding your wishes for your birth and being a steady anchor for you as you ride the waves of birth. Birth itself is an intense and emotional experience. Having a doula is also having the stability of a professional who understands you and has walked the journey alongside you can advocate for you when needed, be a reassuring presence for you and your partner and help ground you in the moment. The feelings you will have during your birth will be far more important than the outcome.

Many antenatal courses discuss infant feeding and the immediate postnatal period, but emotional wellbeing is what continues to shape your experience of the postnatal period, the maternal-infant bond and your baby’s wellbeing too. That’s worth planning for! Putting some thought into how you may protect yourself emotionally in the postnatal period can carry you through the sleep deprivation, the frequent feeds and the new routines of life. Feeling prepared is half the battle, which is why I host Postnatal Preparation Workshops in Chester and offer postnatal planning sessions for anyone opting for 1:1 postnatal doula support.

The birth of a baby is also the birth of you as a mother. The identity shift is a long process with an intense beginning, a profound middle and… well, I’ll let you know if the end ever comes! Having someone to support you physically and emotionally until you are ready can help you process your birth, prioritise your rest, ask questions to, find more support, take care of the day to day around you while you focus on your baby. Reducing the overwhelm, ensuring you are nourished and reminding you to take care of yourself rather than push through is important for aiding your recovery, enhancing your postnatal experience and allowing you space to explore the feelings postnatal recovery and early parenting can bring. I offer this support 1:1 for a truly individualised experience, but I also host Postnatal Wellbeing Groups in Chester for later down the line to build community and offer a space for honesty, mindfulness techniques and a space to relax with your baby.

My support is passionately designed to carry you through the perinatal journey with care, attention, dedication and trust. It’s made to be accessible, adaptable and bespoke for you. The consistency offered through this journey together supports emotional resilience, personalised care and connection to your community, teaching your body to feel safe.

Whether this is your first or fifth pregnancy, it’s always appropriate to show yourself a little extra care, particularly if you have difficult experiences behind you. I bring years of experience and study in Family and Child Psychology, mental health, working with families in and beyond the perinatal period to meet you where you are, keen to bring a respectful support to your individual choices for your family’s journey. If you’re ready to start yours, I’m ready to chat.

Book a free initial chat, start Your Mindful Pregnancy journey for free or look for Hypnobirthing dates.