Birthology

30/06/2024

Jess, the founder of GROVE Neurodivergent Mentoring & Education is an old client of mine and as a parent of an autistic teenager I have so much respect for the message that she is championing here ❤️

YOUR CHILD IS AUTISTIC... BUT WHERE IS THE HELP?!

Me: "Hey buddy, Chris found out something really awesome just then – you are Autistic! Just as we thought!"

Kiddo: Smiles. "Cool.”

Kiddo: A little later. “Mum – what exactly does that mean? And where can I meet some other Autistic kids?”

Something I found infuriating as a parent whose child had received an autism diagnosis was the lack of support and help available directly for them.

~ Who could help my child make sense of that?

~ Who could do that in a way that would be completely neuro-affirming? Not appearing to be neuro-affirming but still holding beliefs that my child needs to learn social skills or be 'fixed' somehow.

I searched... and searched... and searched but nothing worked in quite the way that my child needed.

What I did find was other parents/carers asking for the same things I was looking for...
... and that's why GROVE exists.

Our Individual Mentors (for which we currently have over 100 applications!) will be able to support your child to make sense of their autism identification in a way that:

~ Prioritises authentic connection

~ Is bespoke to your child/young person’s needs, preferences and developmental stage

~ Is truly neuro-affirming!

We will not try to fix them! Why? Because they are already perfect, just the way they are.

Join our no obligation waiting list now!

And please share so other parents/carers know there is help out there.

ALT: A black and white sketch of a stick person with a confused look on their face standing in the middle of a maze. There is a large speech bubble with the text 'Erm... help?' at the top.

21/04/2024

WARWICK BLUEBELL BIRTH STORY ❤️

I’m so happy to share this beautiful birth story from a couple who I recently worked with again to prepare for baby number two 😊

“Two weeks ago on the 5th of April 2024 our family was made complete, and I can safely say it has been the happiest week of my life.

Last Thursday I felt the beginnings of my labour, we have been working hard over the last 9 months with Leonie and our hypnobirthing to recognise and accept the signs of early labour in order to remain calm, relaxed and positive. When I knew it was starting, we made sure I had eaten, drank and slept. Jack was at nursery and my parents had arrived to stay with Willow (our whippet) and pick Jack up later, so all that was left to do was concentrate on myself. Side note:- my in-laws had been here for a week doing the same thing and had just left to go back to Cumbria, but unfortunately baby was too comfortable and waited for them to leave before making his appearance 😂 he apologies to his nanny and pops!

Throughout the Thursday we knew things were starting to ramp up, I was having three surges in 10 minutes by the afternoon and had already started my humming exercises to control and relax into each surge. By 6pm we arrived at the Bluebell maternity suite at Warwick as planned, and was offered a room, I instantly felt ready as I was exactly where I wanted to be... this had been a major anxiety for me previously as my son Jack was also born at the Bluebell, so I knew I wanted a water birth and the same experience again. This time I stayed out of the water for as long as possible to keep moving and working through each surge using gravity and Jordan to lean on, this helped so much during my transition into second stage labour. Around 9pm we knew it was time to get into the water, I gave my birth plan to the midwives and we discussed what was important to us; this included no internal examinations, no noise, no offers of pain relief or gas and air, no one using the word push, and basically no interference unless requested. All the staff were amazing and my wishes were respected.

At 12:18am on the Friday our baby boy was born, exactly how I imagined and with no interference, Just me and Jordan working through each stage. I placed Tarn on my chest instantly, the placenta was left to drain for up to an hour before Jordan cut the cord and I began my breast feeding journey. I was given an internal examination once the placenta was delivered and was relieved to have no skin damage or blood loss, so we were left to be alone with our new baby boy and I went home later that day.

My birth story was exactly the same with Jack, but one hour shorter this time, the time I arrived on the Bluebell was even the same and I'm so proud to have had this experience twice. Leonie at Birthology and The Wise Hippo hypnobirthing programme have helped make all this possible twice over and I could not be more grateful for her support and knowledge. I also could not have done this without my birthing partner and best friend Jordan, who is always there to keep me calm and relaxed, our boys (and me) are so lucky to have you!”

The Wise Hippo by your side for Bump, Birth and Baby

12/01/2024

It was great to see pelvic organ prolapse being openly discussed on BBC breakfast this morning. If you are at all worried this programme might just help you make sense of what you are feeling and seek support.

The stories of women hoping to lift the stigma around pelvic organ prolapse.

23/12/2023

I will forever be amazed by what the female body can do - a one in a million pregnancy 🩷

An Alabama woman gives birth to a pair of girls after a "one-in-a-million" dicavitary pregnancy.

06/09/2023

If you are struggling with this heat there are some great tips here from Emma's Diary 🥵

Do you have a summer pregnancy and looking for ways to beat the heat? We provide tips and advice on keeping cool when pregnant.

26/08/2023

A huge congradualtions to Emily and Ant on the birth of their baby girl earlier this month 🥰

Emily contacted me to help her with her second birth and to really focus on some key areas that they wanted to do differently to feel more in control. I love that I can tailor sessions to exactly what you need to help 😊. Thankyou to the amazing midwives at Warwick in this story 🙏 The Wise Hippo by your side for Bump, Birth and Baby

“Thanks to your support and guidance we had a very different experience. We were clearer in our plan and examinations were better as we communicated when I was ready. We hopped into the water when I was pretty ready to go! I can’t thank you enough for giving me the confidence in humming as it was a completely different experience! I hummed Orla out in the water and was completely just Ant and I in the room (for us anyway our midwife was really hands off).
Then, never had the cloak of protection been more useful when my umbilical chord came away from the placenta (again) but respecting our wishes for an active labour they helped me with different positions to try and a head midwife was able to reach it while I carried on. They kept telling me to push and Ant was whispering in my ear to hum instead and we were able to get the placenta out in tact together meaning I was heading home 6 hours later 🥰

I can’t thank you enough for empowering us with the tools from wise hippo. You really have helped us achieve our beautiful birthing storing and it was a very healing experience!

21/05/2023

This is so useful for the local hospitals to understand your experiences, please feedback if you can.

Please fill in as many questions as you can, as your experience and thoughts are important and help make a difference to local care. This survey is to gather feedback on the care received when having a baby under George Eliot Hospital, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire and Warwick Hospit...

17/05/2023

Huge congratulations to Aly and Matt on the birth of their gorgeous baby girl! 😊
Aly was booked in for an induction at 38 weeks after keeping a close eye on their baby's weight during pregnancy.
I'm so happy to share their story to show how induction can be a healthy, positive birth experience for all 🥰

"I wanted to let you know our little baby girl was born on Saturday 6th May at 9.19pm. Weighing 5lbs 11oz - so just on the 11th percentile 🙌🏼 we are so besotted with our little coronation baby 👑🇬🇧

I went in for an induction on Friday 5th May at Warwick. The consultant advised me it would be a lengthy process and it could take up to a week as I was a first time mum and was only 38 weeks, so still classed as early. Straight away this filled me with a negative feeling but I used my Wise Hippo MP3s (cloak of protection and relax With nature) to be positive about the journey coming to meet our little girl.
I had an induction pessary on Friday at 2pm, which I was told would need to be in place for 24 hours. For the next 24 hours, I had lots of pressure and strong cramps.
24 hours passed and when they did internal exam on Saturday at 2pm, they confirmed that my cervix had become paper thin which was a positive sign. However, I was only dilated 0.5cm…which as you can imagine after 24 hours, I was super disappointed and was advised I needed another 8 hours and possibly a further 24 hours. But they said even if I could get to 1-2cm dilated, they could break my waters and get things moving. But waiting over another day was just not an option for me in my opinion. So I remembered your advice to keep active, so we went for a ridiculous amount of walks, I bounced on a birthing ball, I walked sideways up and down the stairs multiple times…I did anything I could do, to get things kick started. But I definitely wasn’t expecting what came next…
At 5pm my cramps were getting stronger and I was getting super uncomfortable. Then at 7.30pm I thought my waters might have broke? I stood up and very clearly they had gone! (Hurrah!!! Things were starting to happen naturally!) Then everything happened at 100mph.
My contractions were instantly intense and I was having them every 3mins. I quickly put on my Wise Hippo sea of serenity relaxation and Matt was helping me with breathing and to keep relaxed.
Once the midwife realised I was in active labour, they walked me round to labour ward to help keep things moving.
They gave me the new birthing pool room as it was the only one available. However it was a terrible tease as the pool didn’t work yet 😩
There was no equipment in the room as the other functioning rooms were taken, so it was just a bed, towels and a pool that didn’t work 😂
I managed my labour on only gas and air, I was super reluctant to use it but with how quickly things were progressing, I felt I needed something and it definitely did the trick. My midwife was amazing, she helped me with my breathing and helped me to stay on all fours so I wasn’t on my back. Matt was my constant cheerleader, keeping me calm and being that constant all the way through.
The total length of my labour from waters breaking to delivery was a total of 1hr 45minutes and even the midwives couldn’t quite believe the speed at which it was all happening.
But it was the natural birth I had wanted despite being induced and honestly Leonie, I couldn’t have done it without all your advice, support and help. You helped me to appreciate and have one of the best experiences of my life.

Thank you so much from us all."

04/05/2023

A fabulous homebirth story, thanks so much for sharing Lister Stevenage Maternity Voices Partnership!

08/03/2023

Celebrating women across the globe today and sending a massive virtual hug to the women in the birthing community 🤗🤗

06/03/2023

I’ve been pretty quiet on here recently so I thought I would just explain where I have been hiding……
It is marathon training season again! 🏃‍♀️🎽👟
I’m pretty sure after my last one I swore never again but here I am living and breathing training plans and nursing sore bits 😆
I am running the Manchester Marathon on April 16th in aid of Bowel Cancer UK a charity close to my heart.

My story ➡️ https://www.just giving.com/fundraising/leonie-darch1

Leonie x

15/12/2022

Some very wise words from The Psychology Mum

An advent for your mind: your daily no pressure Christmas toolkit.

Day 15: hold on to the balloons you can control

(This image is adapted from my first book ‘A Toolkit for Modern Life’)

Our brains like certainty and they naturally plan and prepare to create more certainty.
However somewhat ironically our Brain can be drawn to the things it can’t control as it attempts to create more certainty. Our brain may be naturally drawn to these things as they create anxiety or worry, and It feels like focusing on these things is helpful as it’s following it’s age old pattern of planning for uncertainty. Don’t blame your brain- it’s trying to help. But actually when things are uncertain or out of our control, spending time in the futile search for certainty or an answer just gets us into more of a pickle and creates greater anxiety.

We only have limited brain space and our limited resources are best directed at what we can control. By identifying what is and what isn’t in your control, You can recognise where your brain is directing your thoughts and help it by shifting it’s focus to what you can do, those things in your control.

So what balloons can you control that are worth keeping hold of and you can focus your brain space and energy on? And what balloons can you acknowledge and let go of?

These might be Christmas balloons but you can of course do this exercise at any time of year. It can be particularly helpful when your brain feels muddles to capture your thoughts to help you determine where you can focus and what you can do.