Calmbirth

31/12/2025

Happy New Year - May it be prosperous for ALL of us !

We are looking forward to supporting and educating new expectant parents in 2026.

With much love Calmbirth ###

30/12/2025

Membrane sweeps are often presented as a “gentle nudge,” but timing matters more than people want to admit.

If your body isn’t ready, your cervix isn’t favorable, baby isn’t well-positioned, hormones aren’t aligned, a sweep doesn’t magically prepare you. It can force your body into labor before it’s truly ready to do the work.

That can mean long, exhausting labors, stalled progress, increased interventions, and a birth that feels harder than it needed to be.

Labor is a hormonal process. Oxytocin, prostaglandins, and relaxation all have to be in sync. When we intervene too early, we can disrupt that balance instead of supporting it.

Informed consent matters. A membrane sweep isn’t “nothing.” It’s a cervical intervention that can trigger contractions, rupture membranes, or start labor, sometimes before both baby and body are prepared.

There is no prize for going into labor early.
Sometimes the safest, healthiest option is patience and letting your body lead.

Your body is not broken.
Your baby isn’t late.
And birth doesn’t need to be rushed.

24/12/2025

To ALL our Calmbirth families: past, present and to be - wishing you have a very Merry Christmas filled with love and happiness. May the festive season be safe and restful and may you have a wonderful New Year in 2026!

Thank you for ALL your support and 'trusting' Calmbirth with your childbirth preparation, pregnancy, labour and birth journey.

With much love
Calmbirth xx

23/12/2025

Did you know...

A new study shows early pregnancy depends on a two-way conversation between the embryo and the mom’s uterus.

Both send messages to each other through tiny packages called extracellular vesicles that carry genetic material and signaling molecules.

These tiny packages enter cells within an hour, helping the baby attach properly. Scientists also found that fat droplets in cells, once thought to just store fat, actually help carry messages between the embryo and uterus.

Environmental factors can influence this process through a special pathway that controls how ready the uterus is to accept the embryo. Hebrew University researchers led the study.

23/12/2025

23/12/2025

Did you know that Calmbirth® is partially funded by Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai for pregnant couples who meet the following criteria:
· Live within the Te Toka Tumai catchment area
· Plan to birth at Auckland Hospital
· Plan to have a normal birth (ie a vaginal birth, not an elective Caesarean-Section)

Here is what Calmbirth a Calmbirth couple that attended a Calmbirgh course at the Auckland DHB had to say. To book a Calmbirth course at the Te Toka Tumai Te Whatu Ora go to our link in the bio.

“I loved the Calmbirth course!! I now feel relaxed, positive, calm and looking forward to the birth. I feel well informed and empowered. I love the connection I felt with my partner during the course, and all the learnings of things he can be doing during labour to support me. The course was really inclusive for both the hapu mama and the partner. I loved the mindful relaxations, they were such a treat, and made the whole weekend enjoyable and calm. I would highly recommend this course. We both learnt so much. Knowledge is power and knowledge has reduced my anxiety around birth. We have a great toolkit now for each stage. A beautiful experience overall, thank you so much to our warm and welcoming educator Talia.”

“I feel empowered as I prepare for my unmedicated birth. A lot of the anxiety and fear I had had eased due to the knowledge and practical information we learned at this Calmbirth class. I highly recommend this class to all couples especially ones preparing for the birth of their first child.”

2026 Dates:

17 & 18 JAN26: WEEKEND (In person
31 JAN26 & 1 FEB26: WEEKEND (In person
14 & 15 FEB26: WEEKEND (In person
28 FEB & 1 MAR26: WEEKEND (In person
(2MAR, 9MAR, 16MAR, 31MAR) ZOOM 6-9pm
14 & 15 MAR26: WEEKEND (In person
18 & 19 APR26: WEEKEND (In person

*Class times: Weekend (9am-4:30pm), ZOOM (6-9pm)
SPACE IS LIMITED – To register for a class go to www.pepi.adhb.govt.nz.

.nz

23/12/2025

Did you know that Calmbirth® is partially funded by Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai for pregnant couples who meet the following criteria:
· Live within the Te Toka Tumai catchment area
· Plan to birth at Auckland Hospital
· Plan to have a normal birth (ie a vaginal birth, not an elective Caesarean-Section)

Here is what Calmbirth a Calmbirth couple that attended a Calmbirgh course at the Auckland DHB had to say. To book a Calmbirth course at the Te Toka Tumai Te Whatu Ora go to our link in the bio.

“I loved the Calmbirth course!! I now feel relaxed, positive, calm and looking forward to the birth. I feel well informed and empowered. I love the connection I felt with my partner during the course, and all the learnings of things he can be doing during labour to support me. The course was really inclusive for both the hapu mama and the partner. I loved the mindful relaxations, they were such a treat, and made the whole weekend enjoyable and calm. I would highly recommend this course. We both learnt so much. Knowledge is power and knowledge has reduced my anxiety around birth. We have a great toolkit now for each stage. A beautiful experience overall, thank you so much to our warm and welcoming educator Talia.”

"I feel empowered as I prepare for my unmedicated birth. A lot of the anxiety and fear I had had eased due to the knowledge and practical information we learned at this Calmbirth class. I highly recommend this class to all couples especially ones preparing for the birth of their first child."

2026 Dates:

17 & 18 JAN26: WEEKEND (In person
31 JAN26 & 1 FEB26: WEEKEND (In person
14 & 15 FEB26: WEEKEND (In person
28 FEB & 1 MAR26: WEEKEND (In person
(2MAR, 9MAR, 16MAR, 31MAR) ZOOM 6-9pm
14 & 15 MAR26: WEEKEND (In person
18 & 19 APR26: WEEKEND (In person

*Class times: Weekend (9am-4:30pm), ZOOM (6-9pm)
SPACE IS LIMITED – To register for a class go to www.pepi.adhb.govt.nz.

.nz

23/12/2025

I thought today we could discuss the spirituality of birth. This is a well covered topic online, but here’s my point of view. I’ve had over 12 years experience around birth in the hospital setting, and just a few life-changing experiences with home birth (including my own). There are some really important differences. I would also like to acknowledge that these writings are my own opinion, and not everything is true for everyone.
I read something online recently to the effect of ‘the discomfort of pregnancy prepares you for the discomfort of labour and birth, which prepares you for the discomfort of parenting’. This resonates HARD with me! Making a human is uncomfortable. In our modern age, we are very acclimatised to comfort. In fact, we work hard to rid our lives of any discomfort and inconvenience. We like to control. We like convenience. We control our immediate climate with the use of heaters and air conditioning. We use more and more technology every year to make our lives easier. Some of us control our hormones every month to avoid our bleed. In my humble experience,
I would say that pregnancy, labour and birth is often the first time we are truly faced with unavoidable discomfort- however you choose to birth. Elder midwife Jane Hardwicke Collings teaches us that we ought to be more in tune with our menstrual cycles as the start of this journey into empowered women. She quotes an Indigenous American saying “At menarche, a girl meets her power. Through menstruation, she practices her power. At menopause, she becomes her power.” Menstruation is the start of our ‘controlling’ our womanhood. We disconnect and tell our bodies to carry on as if nothing is happening. But we are in an altered state- hormonally, physically and spiritually. You may experience this as fatigue, bloating, pain, ‘irrationality’. To read the entire blog go to our link in the bio. photo by

22/12/2025

Are you pregnant over the holidays this year?
It’s such a magical time to be carrying the most wonderful gift inside you.

But it can also add to the exhaustion you no doubt already feel after a big year!

So consider this your permission slip (not that you need one) to slow down!

It’s OK to say no, leave early and do whatever you need to do to protect your body, your energy and your peace.

You and your baby come first .

Tag a pregnant Mama who needs to read this!

22/12/2025

I thought today we could discuss the spirituality of birth. This is a well covered topic online, but here's my point of view. I've had over 12 years experience around birth in the hospital setting, and just a few life-changing experiences with home birth (including my own). There are some really important differences. I would also like to acknowledge that these writings are my own opinion, and not everything is true for everyone.

I thought today we could discuss the spirituality of birth. This is a well covered topic online, but here's my point of view. I've had over 12 years experience around birth in the hospital setting, and just a few life-changing experiences with home birth (including my own). There are some really imp...

22/12/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DScKtQpk90S/?igsh=MWJoem9kYXk4NXQyOA%3D%3D

22/12/2025

2026 CALMBIRTH COURSES NOW AVAILABLE TO BOOK AT THE FOLLOWING MATERNITY HOSPITALS

If you are expecting a baby next year make sure you get in early and start your new yearn by making the best investment and BOOK a Calmbirth course at any of the following maternity hospitals. You don’t have to be birthing at any of these hospitals to access the highly acclaimed, holistic and evidence based Calmbirth course there, you just must be pregnant and be between 24 & 34 weeks’. To BOOK these hospital Calmbirth antenatal classes go to: https://calmbirth.com.au/calmbirth-classes/

The Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick
Calmbirth courses for the RHW:
2025 Courses at the RHW:
17th & 18th January 2026
24th & 25th January
7th & 8th February
21st & 22nd February
14th & 15th March 2
28th & 29th March

Campbelltown Hospital
January 25th & 1st Feb 2026
8th & 15th March 2026
17th & 14th May

Northern Beaches Hospital:
2025 Course dates for NBH:
14th & 21st December
2026
4th & 11th January
15th & 22nd February
15th & 22nd March

The Sydney Adventist Hospital, Wahroonga
Class dates for the SAN:
2026
25th Jan & 1st February
19th April & 26th April
24th May & 31st May

The North Shore Private Hospital,
Class Dates for the NSPH:
2026
18th & 25th January
22nd Feb & 1st March
19th & 26th April

The John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle
Calmbirth courses for the JHH:
2026
13th January- 3rd Feb
10th February - 3rd March

The Nepean Blue Mountains Healthn Hospital
Dates for the Nepean:
2026
17th & 18th January
7th & 8th Feb
7th & 8th March

Find out why there’s no birth like a Calmbirth and experience it for yourselves. To BOOK go to our link in the bio.