I combine professional antenatal, hypnobirthing and infant feeding training with real-life experience to support parents with calm, evidence-based guidance.

About me…

 

Hello, I’m Lauren 👋

I live in Harrogate with my husband and our two children, and I’m a little bit obsessed with all things pregnancy, birth, babies and breastfeeding.

My journey into this work began during my first pregnancy. Like many people, I’d grown up surrounded by birth horror stories and found myself feeling anxious and overwhelmed in the early weeks. Taking a hypnobirthing course completely changed the way I thought and felt about birth; it helped me let go of fear, build confidence and trust my body. That shift was so powerful that I went on to have two calm, positive home births… and if my family wasn’t already complete, I’d happily do it all again today!

Since my first pregnancy, I’ve trained extensively to support other parents to have the best possible perinatal experiences. I’m a breastfeeding counsellor, antenatal teacher and hypnobirthing instructor, and I’ve had the privilege of supporting over 1,000 expectant and new parents as they prepare for birth, feeding and early parenthood.

My approach is warm, inclusive and grounded in up-to-date, evidence-based information. I believe parents deserve clear, honest support and the confidence to make informed choices that feel right for them, whatever their hopes or circumstances.

My training and experience…

  • Foundation degree in Birth and Beyond from the University of Worcester

  • NCT trained and qualified Antenatal Practitioner

  • NCT trained and qualified Breastfeeding Counsellor

  • Qualified Hypnobirthing Instructor - The Little Birth Company

  • Qualified Babywearing Peer Supporter - Carrying Matters

  • Human Rights in Childbirth training - Birthrights

  • Sands Bereavement Care training - supporting families through pregnancy loss and the death of a baby

  • SIDS and Safer Sleep training - The Lullaby Trust

  • Paediatric First Aid trained

Although I completed my training with the organisations listed above, I work proudly as an independent practitioner. This means all of my courses, workshops and support are guided by current, evidence-based information - not organisational policies - allowing me to put parents and their individual needs first.

My birth stories…

Theo was born during a crazy heatwave in the summer of 2018. I woke up in the early hours of the morning with very dull period type cramps and things slowly started building from there. I was planning a home birth so I called the midwife at about 6am and she came over shortly after. I was totally in my hypnobirthing zone and I lost all sense of time while I was in labour. Somehow hours passed before Theo was born into my arms in the birth pool in our dining room later that day.

We had some complications the day after he was born and we went to hospital for some observations, which obviously wasn’t part of our home birth plan! But thankfully we were both okay and we were back home again within a few days.

Maddie was born during the first lockdown in 2020. I had my first niggle that she might be on her way just before 6pm one evening and things moved pretty quickly from there!

After a 4.5 hour labour, Maddie was born in our bedroom, beside the birth pool which I hadn’t had a chance to get into. Our midwife was on her way but she hadn’t arrived (I’d been putting off calling her because I was expecting things to take much longer than they did!) so Maddie was born into the arms of her mummy and daddy, in the safe haven of our bedroom, surrounded by candles, fairy lights and gentle music.

It could have been quite unnerving, unexpectedly giving birth without a midwife, but the knowledge that I held and the hypnobirthing techniques that I was using kept me totally calm and I felt completely in control. It actually couldn’t have been more perfect.

It was the most incredible experience and I just wish I could bottle that feeling of euphoria I had after she was born.

Birth doesn’t always go exactly as we expect it to and my goal is to equip you with the knowledge and the techniques to navigate your own birth journey with confidence, wherever it might take you.