Another of our Instructors have shared their story on becoming a successful Hypnobirthing Instructor with TCBS – I think you’ll agree, it’s inspiring, thanks Charlotte!
I came to hypnobirthing late in my second pregnancy. My first labour and birth had been traumatic and I knew something I had to change. I read a book on hypnobirthing at 38 weeks and that gave me the power and strength of mind to refuse induction and have a dreamy vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). So, if a book could do that, what could a whole hypnobirthing course do? Well, fast forward to my third pregnancy and I found a local instructor and that was the first time I came across The Calm Birth School. I loved the course, it made so much sense and it helped me push back on some clinical pressure I had towards the end of my third pregnancy ( baby was breach at 38 weeks but she turned thanks to spinning babies!)
My third baby was born in the water – something I was told would never happen due to my caesarean scar tissue. Yet again, hypnobirthing to the rescue, strength of mind, belief in my body, an amazing labour midwife and my fantastic husband by my side, I was unstoppable!
This is the reason I trained to teach. I need other women to believe in themselves, to understand the absolute magic their body is capable of and stop feeling like giving birth is some sort of punishment we have to endure.
I trained as a hypnobirthing instructor in the Autumn of 2021. I still remember enquiring and then having a phone call with Liz and talking to her gave me such great clarity – this is for me.
The training course was great – it was online sessions which you could take at your own pace and then assessments on those particular topics. The training helped me to understand how to break down the content and more importantly how I could deliver it in my own unique style! Then we had a face to face weekend for the final assessment which was great to meet other trainees in person. We had a Facebook group where we could all get to know each other and its nice to be in touch with some of those girls now too and watching their businesses grow. They are always there as well if I have a question or I am generally having a wobble!
I have been teaching alongside my office job which I changed in 2021 so I could drop to 3 days a week in the office and build my teaching up for the rest of the week. It became really hard to split my brain in two, office brain and business/ teaching brain. So this year, after 20 years working in marketing I quit my office job to do hypnobirthing full time.
My office job had a three month notice period so there was plenty of time for me to panic, consider withdrawing my resignation and generally have a meltdown over the thought of not having a guaranteed income or salary for the first time in my life! But I believe in myself, I believe in hypnobirthing and I know that women need this in their lives.
I have had plenty of moments, don’t get me wrong. My first baby event, I got all set up with my stand and everything and then suddenly panicked. What am I going to say to these mums and dads to be? What if complete nonsense comes out of my mouth? But, do you know what, when I was asked questions, the answers were there because this is what I was meant to do.
I conquered all the scary stuff like registering for self-assessment tax, setting up a business account, getting insurance etc. I did a whole day at a co workery and just did everything that was keeping me up at night! That was something else I worried about, going from office chats and colleagues to just me! But I found a great co workery in my town and a few further afield. My colleagues and I still meet for lunch when I travel into Leeds which is great. I spent a bit of time working out what I would miss from my office job and then worked to fill those gaps while I was still in that job so I could try things out.
Liz has been an absolute inspiration – as cheesy at that may sound! Her advice and clarity, compassion, kindness and energy are exactly what I needed to get going, and more importantly, keep going. From the visibility challenges, monthly zoom calls and various WhatsApp conversations I always feel like she is there for me – which is a miracle considering how many other plates she is spinning plus a whole host of hypnobirthing instructors.
I have met some amazing people in the birth world. The kindness and genuine care I have felt for me and my business and hypnobirthing have honestly filled my heart. I have found where I am meant to be, watching people change over the 4 week course I deliver and hearing their feedback and birth stories is more than amazing, it’s just indescribable The feeling that I have somehow helped these women and birthing people have a better experience – there isn’t anything better than that.
Check out Charlotte’s website here or her Facebook page here
If you want to know more about training to teach hypnobirthing take a look here
