Hippo Hypnobirthing with Hannah

22/03/2022

For me, antenatal education is vital in every families journey to parenthood. Hypnobirthing education takes that one step further. It combines an understanding of the physiology of birth and the relaxation and breathing techniques to use. This education is key to reducing fear and increasing confidence. A comprehensive hypnobirthing course leaves mothers, birthing people and their birth partners with a ‘tool box’ full of knowledge and techniques, irrespective of the type of birth they have and of where and when the birth takes place.

Where will your teaching take you? 🧠

22/03/2022

World Hypnobirthing Day always falls on 21st March because it represents the beginning of Spring, symbolising fertility, birth and new beginnings. It is a day for all parents, teachers and programmes to come together and celebrate this life changing education. When the entire community come together, we can and we will create more awareness for all.

Are you excited for longer daylight days? ☀️

22/03/2022

Many of you may know that I completed my hypnobirthing instructor training with The Wise Hippo during the first lockdown. It taught me a lot about not only teaching others, but also myself. Well, yesterday was World Hypnobirthing Day and I thought it about time I get back to sharing and posting on this page!

What do you want to see over the next few months?

12/06/2021

How are you enjoying your weekend?

I’ve worked 10 days in a row and I’m so ready for a break. I now have a week of annual leave and some days off so I’m visiting family for 10 days and can’t wait!

It’s also my birthday week and for once, the heatwave lines up with it all. We will definitely be spending some time outside enjoying the sun like most people. Make sure you put sunscreen on if you do anything outdoors.

- Hannah 💚💜

11/06/2021

Are you ready to see the new branding?

Drum role please… 🥁

has had a well deserved makeover and is feeling transformed…much like our family pregnant couples feel after completing their hypnobirthing course.

After a long process and lots of market research, we’ve kept the essence of our traditional branding that everyone has come to know and love. We’ve brightened the colours and modernised the font, for a clearer, more exciting and engaging look. But we’ve kept the same logo of the mother and baby hippo. The addition of the stars was a concept stolen from our designers other idea, signifying the knowledge, understanding and empowering aspects that come from the course.

I hope you love it as much as we do!

- Hannah 💚💜

03/06/2021

Why is water vital in pregnancy?

With the current heatwave, now more than ever, it’s important to stress the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated in pregnancy.

We recommend drinking 2L of water a day with this heat. The best way is to buy a 1L bottle with a straw, drink before 12pm, refill and then drink again before bedtime! Bare in mind, all drinks add up to this total, but too much caffeine should be avoided.

Drinking enough can help you feel well during pregnancy. It will also help with some common pregnancy problems, such as constipation, tiredness and urinary tract infections, as well as dizziness, raised blood pressure and tachycardia.

You should drink enough during the day so your p*e is a pale, clear colour. This image from the NHS shows the colour scale for your wee, from healthy to dehydrated.

- Hannah 💚💜

02/06/2021

Fancy a little life update?

This week has been a big change for me in my work life, because I started my new job! As part of my Preceptoship programme as a band 5 midwife, I rotate between areas to gain experience of them all.

I have just finished my labour suite rotation and I can honestly say I’ll really miss it. My first 5 months as a newly qualified midwife have been an adventure to say the least. It started off rough but I’ve absolutely loved the latter half. The entire time has just flown by! If you want to read more about my experience, I’m sharing all about my thoughts on the now.

I’m now a community midwife for the next 6 months, although it’s actually longer because I’m there until the run up to Christmas! I’ve been there 2 days and so far so good, but I’m hating driving. Hopefully, I begin to get more confident soon, and I’ll keep you updated in the interim.

- Hannah 💚💜

01/05/2021

Happy 8th birthday to The Wise Hippo Birthing Programme. Here’s some news... 🦛

Today is our birthday and we are 8 years old so to celebrate this momentous occasion we have adopted a real life hippo and her name is 'RELIEF'. How could we not choose her when her name represents 'a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress.'
This has come at the perfect time for The Wise Hippo as we get ready to reveal our fresh, new look to the world. Relief is our Wise Hippo mascot and she is a wise mother, knowledgeable and calm in nature. ( More details on the launch of our rebrand is coming soon so watch this space.....exciting!)

More about our hippo 'Relief 'and her life:

'Relief and her son Max are at this moment with Kuchek the bull and the other 3 hippos but sometimes she leaves them and lives in another pool just with her son. She has always been a loner as when she was a very small calf she had quite a traumatic experience alongside her mother Cheeky. The story is mentioned in a book ( a Hippo's love story) and involved a poacher who Cheeky
probably killed. Relief was only 6 weeks of age at that time and it must have proved very upsetting for such a little calf to witness.

When she was older she actually left the family and moved away from here with a young male called Bobin. We did not see her for nearly 3 years and then she reappeared at the pool with the others but not with Bobin. She was extremely aggressive when she came back here and acted more like a male hippo than a female. Gaping angrily when I appeared at the river and often attempting small mock charges. I then realized why, as she was pregnant but also I think she had had a terrible experience as a calf and possibly when she left this area as well. As soon as she gave birth to her first calf Darrow, a young male, in 2014 she totally calmed down. Now she is a very gentle hippo having had two more sons. Steve (who is famous as he now comes along to our home every night) born in September 2017 and Max her latest son born in March 2020. She still likes to gape (open her mouth) for my camera but she is in no way aggressive and having had three sons her temperament now is gentle and if anything subservient to the other hippos. A young mother like Relief tends to give birth every three years so perhaps by 2023 she will be pregnant again and then young Max will also have to leave home as males cannot stay with the family group. They live alone or if they are lucky they meet another young male and when they reach about 9 to 10 years of age they establish their own area to live in and usually female hippos find them and stay with them.

Relief should hopefully remain in our area in the Turgwe River now for the rest of her life so I will be able to follow her forever I hope. I really miss the males when they leave here so it is so lovely to have her older son Steve coming to our house every night to be fed and be part of our wild animal family at home.

Relief’s mother Cheeky lives upstream with the other bull Tembia and the larger family of hippos which totals 16 animals. They are about 6 kilometers away from us and so far this year I have not managed to see them all, as the rains have been so good the river has not been crossable to drive up to them.

Relief thanks you so much for your support and for caring about her life.'

Huge thanks to all that support the Wise Hippo so please raise a glass for us today as we celebrate 8 years of making a huge difference in the birthing world.

Click here to find out more about our Wise Hippo 'Relief' - https://www.savethehippos.info/product/relief/

10/04/2021

How to cut a cord?

Usually the cord is clamped and cut after delayed cord clamping as discussed yesterday, however despite there being a “normal” way to do this, you do have options. Today I’m going to discuss the three methods that I’ve been introduced to, but that’s not to say that there aren’t more!

In a hospital birth, the healthcare professional tends to use a plastic cord clamp and
a metal clamp. The birthing partner (or birthing person!) then has the option to cut the cord themselves, with cord scissors, between the two clamps. The plastic cord clamp stays attached to the baby’s side of the cord and is usually white. For a home birth, two plastic cord clamps tend to be used instead, with sterile scissors to cut.

The next image shows a different way to separate the baby from the placenta. Instead of using clamps and scissors, they are simply burning the cord to separate. By burning, the blood vessels are cauterised and hence stop bleeding. This tends to be done for spiritual purposes. I would recommend speaking to your midwife in advance if you wish to do this method, as I would assume most hospitals would require approval due to fire procedures...and to prevent midwives clamping and cutting before realising!

The final two images show cord ties. I have seen these becoming more and more popular recently and I absolutely love them. Instead of using the plastic cord clamp, it’s a small string thread that you tie around the baby’s side of the cord. It can be a little fiddly so I would recommend you being aware of how to do it, so you can show staff if they don’t know. have some truly gorgeous designs, and a lot more examples.

Evidence shows that the cord dries and falls off faster when using cord ties, however some do not recommend and it’s important to research prior to deciding. Unlike cord clamps, they are not sterile and therefore can increase the risk of infection. Also, wool is not easy to clean, so can get very dirty after a few nappy changes. Plus, it needs to be tied really tight to prevent blood loss.

Have you heard of any other methods? Would you consider the alternatives?

- Hannah 💜💚

09/04/2021

What is delayed cord clamping?

Delayed cord clamping is now routine practice in the U.K. This is when your healthcare professional waits until the cord stops pulsating, a few minutes after your baby is born usually, to cut the umbilical cord. It allows your baby to receive extra oxygenated blood from your placenta, which has important health benefits.

When compared with babies who have immediate cord clamping, delayed clamping may allow your baby to benefit from an increase in blood volume of about 30%. A higher level of red blood cells for the first day to two day and improved iron levels for up to six months. These all boost physical and mental development of your baby.

There are some occasions where this may not be possible, for example if there is excessive bleeding from the mother or if the baby requires significant resuscitation. New approaches are supporting resuscitation from the bedside however so this may change going forward, even more.

Even when you don’t think it is possible, it usually is. We can still do delayed cord clamping in a caesarean section and with premature births. In fact, it is recommended for the latter to reduce the need for blood transfusions and prevent infections.

Research suggests that delayed cord clamping may increase the risk of your baby getting jaundice that needs light treatment (phototherapy). However, most experts agree that the benefits of delayed cord clamping outweigh the risks for healthy babies who have had a normal birth.

- Hannah 💚💜

05/04/2021

Do you want a visual representation of dilation?

I’m sure lots of you got some chocolate yesterday, I certainly did and will be eating it today! Here’s a chocolate vs dilated cervix pictorial. Enjoy 🍫

- Hannah 💚💜

04/04/2021

Happy Easter! How are you celebrating?

I’m mixing up the content a little bit today because I thought it would be nice to share a more personal side and see how everyone is celebrating.

My partner and I had yummy bacon sandwiches for breakfast (plus some chocolate), then made a chocolate Easter cake and went on a Sunday stroll to a nearby pond. When we got back, we made our third Hello Fresh meal of the week. It was another delicious and easy one. If you want £20 off your first box, let me know!

Easter is now celebrated by many around the world, but some still associate the occasion with religious connotations. Whilst a lot of people relate this to Jesus’ resurrection, I’ve recently read some other possibilities...one I actually prefer because I love how it links to pregnancy.

Some say Easter was originally the celebration of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and s*x. Her symbols were the egg and bunny, hence the tradition of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny. Eggs showed fertility as a baby grows from an egg and rabbits reproduce, repopulating rapidly.

What do you believe in or do you just enjoy the occasion? What are you doing to celebrate? Let me know in the comments below!

- Hannah 💜💚

03/04/2021

What is a lotus birth?

A lotus birth is where the placenta remains attached to the baby after delivery, and is not cut off or separated. The placenta and the baby remain as one for an average of 3 to 10 days. This means that everywhere the baby goes, the placenta has to go.

Originally, it began as a spiritual ritual to honor the shared life between baby and placenta, but there are some benefits associated. This includes the fact that the baby gets the full placental blood supply, meaning a more gentle, less-invasive transition to the outside world. Some also say that there is decreased injury to the belly button, however I’ve only ever known a belly button bleed slight once.

Initially, most people’s first thought is not one of joy, and but options are always out there. Some people carry the placenta around in a bowl, but I’ve also known others place the placenta in a fabric material or bag, with herbs and spices to keep it smelling nice as it slowly decays.

Once the placenta eventually falls off, it can be planted in the ground or disposed of in a medical grade clinical waste bin. Each hospital has specific guidance on this and will provide you with information to ensure the community remains safe. For example, if burying, it has to be at least 1 metre underground to prevent it being dug up by animals and becoming a potential source of infection. Plus, it shouldn’t be near a water source as may contaminate it.

- Hannah 💜💚

02/04/2021

What to expect in the third stage of labour?

The third stage of labour is from the birth of the baby to the birth of the placenta. There are two different options for management of this: active and physiological.

NICE Guidelines recommend active management, which is where an injection is used to encourage faster delivery of the placenta. Here it can take up to half an hour to deliver and the healthcare professional uses controlled cord traction to slowly remove the placenta. It also reduces your blood loss.

If your pregnancy and labour is low risk, you can choose to have physiological management. This is where no medication is given and the woman pushes the placenta out herself. Often this takes a little longer and increases blood loss, but is beautiful to see in practice.

- Hannah 💚💜

01/04/2021

Where did the post go?

I had a whole post written and posted about the topic of crowning. I was so excited to share these empowering and beautiful images, but the post got removed. Despite 3 being reviewed and supposedly reinstated, the post hasn’t come back so I’ve been deflated.

I hate that images around childbirth are blocked. So many women are scared around childbirth and I’ve always felt a need to reduce that fear, to support women to give birth powerfully.

So I’ve been deflated. Having a post removed after planning, preparing and writing about the topic is really sad, but the simple fact that regulations don’t approve of these images is even worse.

Here I am posting some of them again, in the hopes that they stay and will hopefully inspire others to continue to share birth photography. We will get through this battle!

- Hannah 💜💚

29/03/2021

What is crowning?

Crowning is when you can see the top of your baby's head through the opening of your va**na. This moment happens during the second stage of labor, when you push and deliver your newborn.

It is often referred to as the “ring of fire”. Some women describe it as an intense burning sensation but for a lot of people despite that, it is exciting and relieving news because their baby is close. It is also where you can work with the pain, rather than having to breathe through.

Absolutely in awe of these images by 📸 and a huge thank you to the women who allow their stories to me shared for the joy of others.

- Hannah 💜💚

28/03/2021

What to expect in the second stage of labour?

Once your cervix is fully dilated, your baby's head will start moving down through your va**na and your baby will be born. This is called the second stage of labour.

Some women may feel an urge to push prior to the cervix being fully dilate. You should be encouraged to breathe through contractions for as long as you can, but to go with your body when that urge is undeniable.

You also may not have an urge to push straight away, once fully dilated. This is called the passive second stage, and as long as there is no fetal compromise, women can be left for up to an hour before commencing pushing. This is actually recommended for all women with an epidural especially.

The pushing stage is often where women start to feel more relieved. Throughout contractions in the first stage, you have to breathe through them, whereas in the second stage, you can do something with the pain and are closer to meeting your baby.

- Hannah 💚💜

27/03/2021

What pain relief options are available?

Labour is intense. Although perception of pain varies between individuals, it’s important not to compare to others and trust how you are feeling. You should also recognise that accepting pain relief is not a failure.

There are many options for pain relief in labour, both medical and complementary therapies.

Complementary therapies include acupuncture, massage, aromatherapy, TENs machine, water and of course hypnobirthing too!

For medical options, the best way is to work up and through the options, however you can skip ahead if needed. Paracetamol and codeine are the first line of pain relief and often work well together in the latent phase of labour.

From there, entonox (gas and air) is commonly used. This is an inhalation medication which takes about 3 breaths to start taking effect and 3 breaths to get out of your system. It works well at the height of contraction, but can make some people quite dry and dizzy.

Diamorphine is the next step up. This can help women relax and make women sleepy to allow them to get rest. It takes about 10 minutes to start working and the effect lasts for 2 hours. It’s important to note that it does cross the placenta, therefore can also make baby sleepy, but monitoring will observe for this Usually it is given with an anti-emetic as well, as can make people feel quite sick.

Most commonly associated with labour for pain relief is an epidural. This is where a small catheter is left in the back, giving a continuous infusion of local anaesthetic. Most epidurals are now seen as mobile, meaning you can still move around hire freely, albeit usually on the bed or with support. Epidurals can’t be guaranteed to be effective for everyone, but most people have a good working pain relief block where they can no longer feel contractions. The best epidurals are where women can still feel pressure, therefore they know when to push.

Some trusts offer alternatives and professionals will discuss pros and cons of each option prior to providing the analgesia. Being aware of your options prior to labour is important, and make sure to share decisions with your birthing partner.

- Hannah 💚💜

26/03/2021

What to expect in the first stage of labour?

The first stage of labour is up until fully dilated, which I have talked about previously in more detail. This is usually the longest stage of labour and is divided into three phases: latent, active and transitional. You will experience contractions, which ideally are 3 in 10 minutes, lasting 1 minute each.

The latent phase is up until 4cm dilated and may last a few days, with irregular contractions. The active phase is 4 to 10cm dilated, usually with regular, painful contractions. Some women also go through the transitional phase, from 8 to 10cm dilated. Here the cervix is almost fully dilated, and contractions become intense to the point where women have a change in demeanour and want to give up.

Due to contractions, monitoring of your baby is important during labour. For low risk women, intermittent auscultation is used to listen in 15 minutely, but for high risk women continuous electronic monitoring is used instead.

During labour, it’s important to stay hydrated and keep eating to avoid your body halting contractions, to ensure you have energy. You should also feel comfortable with different birth positions and pain relief as you feel are best for you.

The other important aspect is bladder care. It can be difficult to void when in labour, due to the loss of sensation and the baby’s head getting lower, however a full bladder can delay progress, as creates a blockage for baby to descend. If you are unable to pass urine freely, an intermittent catheter may be advised and this is your choice.

- Hannah 💚💜

25/03/2021

How do you teach the sessions?

As an instructor, I teach using a PowerPoint presentation. The slides have easily understandable text which is then built upon through in depth explanation by myself and discussions between members of the group.

All the classes also have interactive activities that enable clients to practice what is being taught in the classroom environment, before being able to do as homework. This is to ensure understanding and break content down into more manageable chunks of information, with timely breaks.

Due to the dynamic nature of each individual client (or group of), the time allotted for activities can vary but the content covered remains the same, as the programme is adaptable.

I do however, strongly believe it’s important to have this time set aside for practice because the programme is all about providing empowering education to overcome pregnancy anxiety and build confidence. Without practice, that confidence can’t be built.

- Hannah 💚💜

24/03/2021

Would you like a free course?

I love the concept of empowering and educating women in their pregnancy and labour, so with that, I want to share the sources and teachings to help women and their families have an enjoyable experience and feel in control at all times. Whilst I continuously endeavour to do this in my role as a student midwife, the constraints of the NHS often make it impossible so this is another route I'm hoping to achieve this by.

For my first few clients, as a "practice", I am wanting a client to case study. This will be entirely free, whilst you will still have access to all the resources normally available, and additional support too. The requirements are simply to be currently pregnancy and interested in learning more about the physiology of pregnancy and childbirth or just about hypnobirthing.

I am excited to see where this goes and hopefully encourage more women to try hypnobirthing! If you are interested, please email me.

- Hannah 💜💚

23/03/2021

What to expect in the early days after having a baby?

The simple answer is just that there is no right answer. During these first few days and weeks, the woman’s body goes through a huge change and has fluctuations in hormones, alongside recovering from a traumatic physical experience and often having interrupted, irregular sleep. It’s important to be kind to yourself and take things slow.

I love listening to podcasts, and I relatively recently listened to ’s podcast “Here We Go Again”. In one of the episodes, Stacey recounted the days straight after the birth of her baby Rex. She was joined by her good friend Nadia Sawalha, who helped her through the emotional struggle of accepting her baby's life outside the safety of her body.

It was truly eye opening listening to the pairs experiences and we got to hear the truly heartbreaking reality of the “baby blues”. Often women are so desperate for help but don’t know how to ask for it because they feel alone. I think it’s so vital to share the reality of motherhood, not just the picture perfect social media version.

I would strongly recommend listening to it if you get the chance!

- Hannah 💜💚

22/03/2021

What to expect in the fourth trimester of pregnancy?

Not many people discuss the fourth trimester of pregnancy and in the medical profession, we tend to stick to the three, however in the wider community, the fourth trimester is widely recognise. This is classed as the period of time up to approximately 12 weeks after giving birth.

This period is a vulnerable period of major adjustments to motherhood and parenthood. Having just been pregnant and given birth, the hormone changes are immense. This topped with looking after a demanding newborn can lead to women experiencing “baby blues”, becoming “postnatal depression” in increasing severity. The former is seen through transient changes in mood, tearfulness, feeling slightly low in mood, anxious, restless and irritable.

It’s important not to forget about yourself. Self care to protect your mental health and well-being is vital. You need to look after yourself physically through eating, drinking and ensuring you are resting to allow time for your body to heal. Reach out to family and friends who would be more than happy to come help, in any way you need.

It’s also such a transitional time in your care too. Throughout pregnancy, labour and delivery and the first 3 weeks postnatally, you will regularly see a midiwfe - hopefully a named one! After this time, you are usually discharged from midwifery care and a health visitor takes over. It’s an even more difficult time at the moment as home visits are few and far between, with most appointments on the phone. Usually we would be able to recognise when further support is needed, but it’s harder when we can’t see people in person. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

I’ll be talking about some specifics of looking after yourself and newborn throughout my posts, but today I wanted to focus on simply looking after yourself.

shares even more details on the topic. This caption uses some of her words through my own voice, but I love that she includes buzz words and phrases, with common changes which may occur and how to overcome them in more detail.

- Hannah 💚💜

21/03/2021

Posted • TODAY is WORLD HYPNOBIRTHING DAY!

Spring is in the air and new beginnings are on the horizon. Please share our post today far and wide so that more parents and babies around the world can benefit from this life changing education. Together we can create a 'SURGE' or 'WAVE' of awareness for all parents to be on this special day.

Today we CELEBRATE

Having a baby is a celebration and that is how all parents should feel as they embark on their unique journey towards parenthood. The hypnobirthing education highlights the importance of being both physically and mentally prepared for this momentous occasion. You certainly could not bake a successful cake without the right ingredients, and the same goes for preparing for birth. A big shout out to all the wonderful hypnobirthing teachers around the world and thank you for sharing what those very important ingredients are in your hypnobirthing classes. The more pregnant couples we can reach and teach, the happier and stress-free pregnancies and births we will see.

Today we CONNECT

Take a minute today and connect with why you chose to do or teach (or both) hypnobirthing and imagine what it would be like if all pregnant couples were able to easily access this incredible education. As hypnobirthing teachers, we know that birth outcomes are directly affected by the quality of antenatal education that a pregnant woman and her birth partner receives along the way.

Today we SUPPORT

When all hypnobirthing parents, teachers and programmes come together on this day we raise awareness for all. Remember individually we are but one drop, together we are an ocean!

Today we SHARE

It is important that we share how pregnant couples can bring their babies into the world in the best possible way.

Happy World Hypnobirthing Day 👶🏻