All 4 Mommy

On this Mother’s Day I want to take a moment to thank my past, current and future clients for choosing All 4 Mommy.

I started this business because the journey to your baby isn't always straightforward.

From fertility, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, the pace of change is intense!

My hope is that today you are able to pause and feel celebrated for all that you are and all that you do.

👉 If my offerings have made a positive impact on your motherhood journey, let me know in the comments below. 👇🥰

This helps me reach more mamas who need support through their fertility, pregnancy and parenthood journey.

Happy Mother’s Day! 💐

Positive birth stories like this one make my heart sing! 🥰👇

“We welcomed baby Aodhán (Aiden) on February 23, 2024!

I managed a minimal intervention birth experience. No medication! (Which was challenging at times but I’m so proud of myself!)

I was in active labour for 21 hours. And he came out after 1.5 hrs of pushing at 9lbs 4.

I had my affirmations written out on yellow (my birth colour) poster board and listened to my recordings throughout.

I have to say what got me through most of all was the birth colour release.

I still use it to this day when I’m feeling anxious- Rory will just say “YELLOW” and I instantly do my breathing exercises.

We both found your class so helpful and as a first time mom I want to say thank you because there isn’t really a way to fully prepare for what labour is, but you really gave us all the tools we needed.

I hope all is well with you and I’m sure I’ll be touch for future babies 😊”

Congratulations Erin and thanks for taking the time to share your baby’s birth story!

Do you want to have all the tools to feel prepared for birth like Erin did?

Join my in person HypnoBirthing classes that begin THIS Saturday…

5 week series
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, May 11th to June 15th
(No class May 18th)
At The Perinatal Wellness Centre
Dartmouth, NS

For a limited time, SAVE $50! Register here:
https://www.all4mommy.com/hypnobirthingns

Formación para Educadores Prenatales de HypnoBirthing…

Estás destinada a ser parte de algo maravilloso y significativo!

Quieres apoyar a los futuros papás a tener un parto empoderado. ¿Lista para convertirte en un líder en HypnoBirthing?

Obten el conocimiento que necesitas y confia en tu capacidad para ayudar a las familias a tener nacimientos con los que se sientan bien y que realmente disfruten.

Los padres siempre recordarán su experiencia de dar a luz, por lo que es algo que vale la pena hacer de manera tranquila, digna y respetada.

Todos te buscarán como educadora prenatal de HypnoBirthing y experta en parto respetado.

¿Cómo funciona?​

✅ Participa en el curso durante una de las fechas disponibles

✅ Completa un cuestionario para cada componente tomado (Hipnosis, Educador de HypnoBirthing, Código de Ética y Normas de Práctica & Birth Basics)

✅ Escribe un reporte de libro de 500 palabras de una de las dos opciones siguientes:

Lipton, Bruce H., Doctor en Filosofía. La biología de la creencia: La liberación del poder de la Conciencia, la Materia y los Milagros.

Hunter, C. Roy, MS, CHt. The Art of Hypnosis: Mastering Basic Techniques. 3rd Edition, Crown House Publishing, 2010.

✅ Estudio de caso con una pareja de práctica

​¡Visita el enlace en la biografía para más detalles!

https://www.all4mommy.com/es/instructor-training

Limited Space Left! HypnoBirthing starts Saturday, May 11th…

HypnoBirthing is a 5 week birth education series.

If you'd rather a birth that was:

✓ Empowering
✓ Comfortable
✓ Calm
✓ Euphoric
✓ Incredible
✓ Something you actually enjoy

Then you've got to try HypnoBirthing!

Join us for an upcoming series…

✨ Saturdays at 9:00 am from May 11th to June 15th - IN PERSON with Mercedes at The Perinatal Wellness Centre in Dartmouth (No class on May 18th)

✨ Sundays at 7:00 pm from May 19th to June 16th - ONLINE with Jessica

Do you have questions about the classes?

Comment below or send me a DM!

Join me today, May 1st, as we take part in Flora’s Walk, raising awareness and funds for Perinatal Mental Health.

Named after Flora Babakhani, a Canadian who lost her life to untreated postpartum mental illness in 2022, we honour her memory by raising awareness and helping to improve access to perinatal mental health services.

📍Halifax Waterfront (meet at Queens Marque Courtyard)
⏰May 1st 12pm
🌸Learn more at https://floraswalk.ca/en/

Calling all July/August “guess” dates…

My upcoming HypnoBirthing® Prenatal Education Classes are for you.

What even is a guess date? It is what some people call a due date, but it is only our best guess of when a baby will be born!

HypnoBirthing is a 5 week birth education series that teaches you to ditch the fear, trauma, and wild discomfort for a birth that is empowering, calm, and everything you deserve to have.

Join us for an upcoming series…

✨ Saturdays at 9:00 am from May 11th to June 15th - IN PERSON with Mercedes at The Perinatal Wellness Centre in Dartmouth (No class on May 18th)

✨ Sundays at 7:00 pm from May 19th to June 16th - ONLINE with Jessica

Do you have questions about the classes?

Comment below or send me a DM!

Last call! Tonight at 7pm we are offering a free workshop for expecting parents…

Are you curious about HypnoBirthing®?

Simply looking for a positive and empowering birth experience?

The best way to understand HypnoBirthing® is to join our free online workshop happening tonight.

In the session, we are going to show you…

✅ 5 Must Know Secrets for a Positive Birth
✅ Details about the 6 areas of HypnoBirthing, and how they help you enjoy your birth experience
✅ What a HypnoBirthing mother looks like in labour (calm, in control, confident and relaxed)
✅ How birth trauma can affect you and your baby, plus some simple tips to help avoid it
✅ Real life stories from HypnoBirthing mothers
✅ How you can have a more comfortable labour
✅ How to reduce fear, worry and pain around pregnancy, childbirth and parenting

Partners are welcome and encouraged to come along!

Sunday, April 28th at 7pm online with Jessica or
Saturday, May 4th at 11am in person with Mercedes

Reserve your spot for tonight’s online workshop with Jessica here: http://eepurl.com/defHVv

Or join me in person on Saturday, May 4th!

Just 3 days until my free online workshop for expectant parents!

Are you curious about HypnoBirthing®?

Simply looking for a positive and empowering birth experience?

The best way to understand HypnoBirthing® is to join my free online workshop happening this Sunday at 7pm..

In the session, we are going to show you…

✅ 5 Must Know Secrets for a Positive Birth
✅ Details about the 6 areas of HypnoBirthing, and how they help you enjoy your birth experience
✅ What a HypnoBirthing mother looks like in labour (calm, in control, confident and relaxed)
✅ How birth trauma can affect you and your baby, plus some simple tips to help avoid it
✅ Real life stories from HypnoBirthing mothers
✅ How you can have a more comfortable labour
✅ How to reduce fear, worry and pain around pregnancy, childbirth and parenting

Partners are welcome and encouraged to come along!

Reserve your spot for Sunday’s online workshop with Jessica here: http://eepurl.com/defHVv

Or join me, Mercedes, in person on Saturday, May 4th at 11am!

This staggering statistic came out of a recent editorial about a mom’s postpartum psychotic break:

“One study by the University of Saskatchewan found that two-thirds of patients with perinatal depression did not receive treatment.

The stigma of being labeled crazy, the fear of being deemed an unfit parent and the unrelenting societal pressure to be a perfect mom keep many from reporting their experiences or sharing their stories.”

Statistics like this make me feel sick. 🤯

It is unacceptable that so many moms suffer from postpartum mental illnesses and do not receive the treatment they need to heal.

Our society puts so much pressure on moms and that too plays a role in why we tend not to seek the help that we need.

I am on a mission to change the way mom’s are supported with their mental health.

Will you join me? 👏

Please like, comment on and share this post!

source: https://torontolife.com/deep-dives/my-psychotic-break-the-postpartum-nightmare-no-one-talks-about/

Recently I read this article on Toronto Life where a mom so vulnerable and powerfully shared her difficult postpartum journey…

When talking about the crippling fear and anxiety this mom felt leading up to her baby’s birth, her obstetrician assured her it was “normal”.

This word made me stop in my tracks.

Just because something is common (worrying about giving birth) does not mean it is normal.

Over this mother’s journey of pregnancy, birth and postpartum, the doctor’s failed to diagnose that this mom was suffering from a mental illness.

By the time she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, it was much too late.

The article notes that…

“One study by the University of Saskatchewan found that two-thirds of patients with perinatal depression did not receive treatment.

The stigma of being labeled crazy, the fear of being deemed an unfit parent and the unrelenting societal pressure to be a perfect mom keep many from reporting their experiences or sharing their stories.”

If you identify with any of this and are curious about whether counseling could help, check in with me.

We can set up a free 20 min video consultation and decide if we are a good fit.

With the right supports in place, postpartum psychosis is highly preventable and treatable.

Our own healthcare systems are not setup to catch postpartum mental illness, as evidenced by this stat:

“One study by the University of Saskatchewan found that two-thirds of patients with perinatal depression did not receive treatment.

The stigma of being labeled crazy, the fear of being deemed an unfit parent and the unrelenting societal pressure to be a perfect mom keep many from reporting their experiences or sharing their stories.”

If you are worried at all, please set up a time for us to chat today.

Link to schedule: https://theperinatalwellnesscentre.janeapp.com/ #/discipline/1/treatment/12

I love baby wearing! Not only does it help you carry your baby and use your hands while doing it…

💗 Babies carried in slings cry less
💗 Babywearing facilitates bonding
💗 Helps baby transition from the calm environment of the womb to the outside world
💗 Helps baby’s brain development by giving them a different view, and babies in slings are more receptive to learning and display enhanced visual and auditory alertness

Do you baby wear?

Thankfully postpartum mental health awareness has come a long way in the last little bit, but Postpartum PTSD or P-PTSD is not often talked about.

P-PTSD often happens after a traumatic labour and/or birth, but can also be because of something that happened during pregnancy or postpartum.

Not everyone who experiences complications during pregnancy and/or birth will view the events as traumatic, but those who develop P-PTSD do.

Signs include:
🔹Reliving the event
🔹Intrusive thoughts / flashbacks / nightmares
🔹Avoiding anything that reminds you of the event
🔹Anxiety and/or panic attacks
🔹Feeling detached
🔹Irritability
🔹Difficulty Sleeping

Did you know that 30% - 40% of your baby’s blood is in the umbilical cord and the placenta at the time of their birth and there’s no reason to rush clamping or cutting it?

The umbilical cord, which connects you and your baby, is typically cut shortly after birth. In the past, umbilical cords were clamped and cut right away, but there are many benefits to delaying the clamping of the cord for at least 90 seconds or leaving it intact until it falls off on its own (this is called lotus birth). Some of those benefits include:

✅ Continuing to provide oxygen to baby while they coordinate breathing outside of the womb resulting in a better cardiopulmonary adaption
✅ Higher hemoglobin levels and iron stores in the first few months of life
✅ Less anemia in later infancy
✅ Higher blood cell flow to vital organs
✅ Increased duration of early breastfeeding
✅ In preterm infants, it improves transitional circulation, improves the establishment of red blood cell volume, decreases the need for blood transfusion, and lowers the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis and intraventricular hemorrhage.
✅ A Swedish study found that four-year-olds whose cords were clamped three minutes after birth had higher fine motor and social skills than those whose cords were clamped less than 10 seconds after birth.

Anything that you or your baby need to be done, can be done with the cord intact

I know you’re out there walking, bouncing on a ball, and eating spicy food, but we’ve all heard “the baby will come when they are ready”.

And it’s true, your baby will start labour when they are ready to be born.

Do yourself a favor and stop the countdown, only 4% of babies are born on their so-called “due date”!!

And remember your baby isn’t really late until after 42 weeks.

Did you know that it was only in the 1900s that women started giving birth on their backs? This was to make it easier for the doctors, not the women giving birth!

The reality is, there are much better positions to give birth. A more upright position like squatting, on a birth stool or standing while being supported, or even on all fours can help the uterus contract more efficiently and help baby get in a better position within your pelvis!

Don’t be afraid to have the birth YOU want!

Has anyone ever said to you “at least baby is healthy”?

Your birth experience matters. Even if you had a “good outcome” or things turned out okay.

People who have professional debriefing, experience less trauma, less incidence of depression and feel so much more confident during future pregnancies and births.

Ideally this would happen within the first 6 weeks postpartum, but even after that, debriefing can still be helpful.

Send me a message or find me at the The Perinatal Wellness Centre to book an appointment or free consultation

Today is World Health Day, and now more than ever it’s important to reaffirm that everyone, everywhere deserves access to quality health services, education, safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions, and freedom from discrimination.

We also want to highlight the importance of midwives and midwifery care. Registered Midwives are primary care providers and experts in the provision of care throughout pregnancy, birth, and the first six weeks postpartum for parents and infants.

In addition, they can provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care which includes contraceptive counseling and prescribing, abortion care, vaccinations, cervical cancer and STI screening, and infant feeding support.

We support the Association of Nova Scotia Midwives as they urge the Government of Nova Scotia to invest in midwifery and commit to increasing the number of midwife-led births to 10% of total births in the province by 2025 and 30% by 2027.

What can we do?

💗Advocate for policies that support universal health coverage
💗Send letters to the government advocating for Nova Scotia Midwives (ANSM has a letter template for you on their website: https://www.novascotiamidwives.ca/novascotianeedsmidwives/)
💗Educate ourselves on health related issues
💗Take care of ourselves

Have you ever stopped and looked for the “glimmers”?

Those tiny moments that make you feel joy, gratitude, peace or happiness! Maybe it’s hearing your kids laugh, your cup of coffee, the sunshine, or your baby smiling.

Once you start looking for the glimmers, you’ll notice more of them 💗

What’s a glimmer that stood out to you recently?

Are you curious about a water birth?

Having a waterbirth was such an amazing experience for me. Did you know that studies actually show there are benefits to a water birth vs a land birth?

All the information from this post comes from Waterbirth International

💗 Provides a more relaxing birth experience
💗 Provides significant pain relief
💗 Reduces the need for drugs and interventions
💗 Reduces perineal trauma and eliminates episiotomies
💗 Highly rated by Mothers, and they would choose to have a water birth again

Did you know we rent birth pools? Rental includes the birth pool for 4 weeks (2 weeks before your due date and up to 2 weeks after your due date), everything you need to inflate and empty the pool, a disposable liner & instructions!

Send me an email at [email protected] if you’re interested in renting a pool for your birth!

Are you expecting?

Getting ready for a new little one is an exciting time, whether it’s your first or you’ve done this before!

But it can also be a nerve wracking time! What are you most nervous about? We’d love to help!

Here’s why you can’t “do it all”...

Because it’s impossible.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to get everything done, especially as women and mothers, and it’s no wonder that 31% of new parents in Nova Scotia reported feelings of postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety.

As a Counsellor, I support your healing process with a variety of techniques, using the one that best works for you. My approach is to meet you where you are at and help you get to where you want to be! I have extensive experience working with people that live with anxiety, depression and trauma throughout their lifetime; including pre and postnatally.

Counselling sessions can be done online, so it doesn’t matter if you’re not in Nova Scotia! You can book a free 15 minute video consultation to make sure we’re a great fit! Find the link on my website: https://www.all4mommy.com/counselling

My face when someone says the postpartum period is 40 days after birth 🤪

Nope. Your postpartum period is WAY longer than 40 days - try one year+

When it comes to your postpartum we have to take into consideration breastfeeding, your hormones, the return of your menstrual cycle, and more.

There’s absolutely no pressure to “bounce back” (whatever that means) after 40 days, or ever. Take care of you & that new babe!

Tonight is the night!🤰Who wants to join me for a free seminar called “How To Have An Amazing Birth!”? 💗 This workshop is for pregnant mamas and their birth companions. Join me tonight at 7pm ADT for one hour of all things empowered birth! Pre registration is required. Register here:

The Perinatal Wellness Centre The Perinatal Wellness Centre Email Forms

“I wish I would’ve taken this class earlier in my pregnancy” 👈is what I heard from Jasmine when she finished my HypnoBirthing Class.

The skills learned during HypnoBirthing don't just apply to giving birth, they can be used any time to help you cope during challenging moments, relax, and sleep better.

Our next class is starting on April 13th at 9am at The Perinatal Wellness Centre in Dartmouth! Learn more and sign up here: https://www.theperinatalwellnesscentre.com/hypnobirthing

Spring is here! In nature, spring is a time of awakening and rebirth. Animals come out of hibernation, flowers bloom and many baby animals are born.

Are you giving birth or is your birthday during this season?

Not everyone feels immediate love and bonding when they first hold their baby… that is okay, and perfectly normal.

For some people, that bond takes time to develop. Skin to skin time, talking and singing to your baby, and breastfeeding can all help grow your bond, remember you can’t spoil a newborn!

Experiencing postpartum depression can also interfere with bonding. Contact me for more information on perinatal counselling and how it can help you.

The thing about birth is that we have to accept that we are not in control, but we can feel supported, calm, and positive, no matter what unfolds.

HypnoBirthing doesn’t promise a particular outcome, it is an amazing tool that you can use during your pregnancy and birth experience to help you feel calm and confident.

I want you to come away from your birth experience with a fond memory! Want to learn more about HypnoBirthing? Join me at The Perinatal Wellness Centre on Sunday April 7th at 9am for a free info session where I’ll be sharing my secrets for an incredible birth and more! Register here: https://eepurl.com/defHVv

We often convince ourselves that we aren’t doing “enough” (whatever that means!)

We spend too much time and energy comparing ourselves to others (spoiler alert: that mom who looks like they have it all together online is probably feeling the same mom guilt you are)

And we feel the pressure to “enjoy every moment” and feel guilty when we don’t (even though some moments are just plain hard)

But the fact is, you love your kids, you do the best you can with the tools you have, and that’s what matters.

Hands up if you needed this reminder 🙋‍♀️

Are you taking time to relax during your pregnancy?

Growing a human is hard work, and taking time to relax is so important for both you and the baby! Here are my favourite ways to relax:

💗Meditate
💗Practice deep breathing
💗Prenatal Yoga
💗Massage Therapy
💗Listening to music

What has been your favourite way to relax? How can you incorporate more of it?

You don’t need to “get your pre-baby body back” after birth!

Almost every new Mom struggles with their body image after birth. Pregnancy changes our bodies in so many ways and it’s important to remember that it’s supposed to change and there’s no reason you need to “bounce back” after birth.

Your body is a testament to the incredible journey of motherhood. Embrace your postpartum body and be proud of all that it has achieved, it just grew a baby! Remember, every stretch mark, scar, and imperfection is a symbol of strength and love.