After my older son Leo’s physiological hospital water birth almost three years ago, I went into this labour feeling confident but curious how this birth would unfold. We had revisited some Calmbirth concepts and discussed our birth preferences again in preparation. This time we planned a homebirth through the Mercy hospital. We kept an open and flexible mind. If a transfer to hospital felt more comfortable or was deemed necessary we were fine with that. We had a beautiful experience there with Leo’s birth and a repeat of that could never be considered a failure.

I was so excited to go into labour and I had dreamed about how I would go and what my birth story would be. As a midwife, I knew the importance of education, birth prep and also ensuring that my partner was also on the same page as me. I had dreamed of a physiological intervention free birth and as confident as I was, I wanted to ensure that my birth team was on the same page. That’s where Calmbirth came in and empowered us with the tools to feel ready to give it my best shot, but also mentally prepare for the unpredictability of birth too!

The whole week before going into labour, I had this feeling that baby wasn’t far away. On the Friday, I remember having such a beautiful day with family and my husband, Tony. I felt relaxed, strong, and ready — and baby was certainly ready too.

Hi Amy

We were part of the sessions commencing in January and wanted to share our birth story and thank you again for your incredible education and guidance.

In the weeks leading up to meeting our baby, I focused on engaging in oxytocin-boosting activities, as we had discussed in our Calmbirth course with Amy. For me, this meant spending plenty of time at our favorite spot, Lake Eildon—swimming, enjoying delicious food, indulging in Gold Class movies, attending Reformer Pilates most days, taking long walks, and spending hours in the kitchen preparing nourishing meals to freeze for postpartum. I also made time for stretching, using the fitball, listening to my birth playlist on repeat, and enjoying relaxing massages from Hayden whilst reading my personalised birth affirmations which my friends had made for me.