Limerick Hypnobirthing

What's happening in 2024?!
Lots!!
Pregnancy Yoga, Hypnobirthing and some VERY EXCITING new opportunities that are being announced soon!

I am also offering Second Time Around online courses, Virtual Hypnobirthing Courses and 1 to 1 Courses! 😊

If you have any questions I would be delighted to speak with you!

Do you offer postpartum services in Limerick and Munster?

I have created a directory that I offer to all of my Hypnobirthing Clients, however I am always eager to add more services and stretch the availability of postpartum supports even further.

If you, or someone you know, offer services for postpartum support please send me an email with your information and any information you would like shared x

Ideally I would love to also be able to have this directory to share between us and highlight all available support for mums, dads and babies x

Absolute Total Myth!

Building your confidence so you feel prepared for your birth experience is the goal of my Hypnobirthing Course!

If you are preparing for a scheduled induction I will always support and respect your decision. My job is only to make sure that whichever decision you make on your birth journey that you do feeling empowered, positive and informed!

I always say there is only one aim here, a happy mum and a happy baby! I would love to see you beginning your postpartum life feeling so full of positivity in yourself and looking back on your birth story with happiness and pride. Because you absolutely deserve that x

It's coming up to Xmas, why not throw out some giveaways!

I'm going to give one couple a chance to pay what they like for my second November Hypnobirthing date! Valued at €180!

All you have to do is:

🌱 Like the post
🌱 Tag some friends
🌱 Share the post!

I'll pick out the winner in my pregnancy yoga class on November 2nd!

Yay!

🌱🌱 What's On! 🌱🌱

✨️✨️There is one space left in my Hypnobirthing courses for 2023! ✨️✨️

I have been asked about a possible second November weekend, if you are also interested please let me know ASAP and I'll try and get a second Hypnobirthing course rolling in November🌱

🧘‍♀️ Pregnancy yoga and mindfulness starts November 2nd every Thursday from 6.30 to 7.15pm

Booking is through the website www.limerickhypnobirthing.com

Thursdays
18:30 -19:15 x

🌿 Yoga Movements suitable and beneficial for pregnancy to strengthen, release and alleviate common prenatal discomforts.

🌿Relax deeply using mindfulness, positive visualisation and other forms of meditation

🌿Breathing techniques and positions for the different stages of labour.

🌿Pelvic floor exercises and relaxation techniques.

🌿Support your changing body with better posture and awareness.

🌿Connect deeply with your baby and yourself.

🌿Trust in your body and feel empowered to birth your baby

Booking link in Bio x

Starting to get fed up of being so full of glow and that wonderful unrelenting pressure on your lady bits?

Here are some useful, and some dubious, natural methods of 'Natural Induction!'

1. Stair/Curb walking- the idea being that walking at an angle should move the baby down and into optimum position!

2. Acupuncture (my personal favourite!) - Stimulates acupressure points with needles to encourage natural Labour 😊

3. S*x- if you can muster the enthusiasm then absolutely go for it! Boost those happy love hormones!

4. Dates- Apparently eating up to 6 dates a day leading up to birth can soften the cervix and shorten Labour time.

The Other 'natural induction methods'- many of these are old wives tales and their reliability is dubious!

1. Eating pineapple- contains bromelain, which is believed by some to soften the cervix and trigger contractions, but no research has shown that bromelain or pineapple actually have this effect - also causes horrendous heartburn and supposedly you need to eat about 3 to get the correct amount of bromelain!

2. Eating spicy foods- The theory is that a spicy curry can stimulate your gut, thereby stimulating your womb (uterus) to kickstart labour....can also cause upset tummy, heartburn and indigestion though so...

3. Watching sad and happy movies- encouraging big emotions helps to relieve anxiety and keep you relaxed. Stress may prevent Labour from progressing

And the Weirdest Induction Method goes to...

4. Coffee ground Steam-
Give yourself a coffee steam bath. It’s supposed to help your body open up and encourage your cervix to dilate. Start by putting a plastic bowl in your toilet, then adding a cup of regular coffee grounds. Pour hot water over the coffee, then sit on the toilet and let the steam work its magic on your body.
For the record, I don't encourage this, I'd rather eat the three pineapples than risk a burn to the bits!

Have you tried any of the natural methods? How did you get on?!
Let me know below!

New Pregnancy Yoga Classes!

Mind & Body Bump Class is starting on November 2nd at 6:30pm!

Spaces may be limited but the benefits are absolutely endless!

🌿 Strengthen pelvic floor
🌿 Improve flexibility
🌿 Prepare mind and body for birth
🌿 Relieve stress & calm the mind
🌿 Deepen connection with baby
🌿 Boosts health
🌿 Helps with pregnancy aches and pain
🌿 Can be great for helping with Digestive issues or nausea

Booking available now via link in bio x

This week I've joined a giveaway raising awareness for Limerick Mental Health Week

Pregnancy & Postpartum Mental Health care is something I am very passionate about and I personally feel like both are forgotten about with our current Health system.

If you are lucky you'll have landed yourself an awesome GP who will genuinely want to care and support you. Or, you may end up with GPs like my two previous GPs. The first told me at my 6 week check up when I mentioned that I didn't feel right 'down there' that I'd never "feel right again" and didnt offer to examine me; skip forward to ten weeks postpartum and finally finding out I had a prolapse.

I swiftly changed to GP #2 who at 17 weeks told me I would probably feel better about myself if I maybe tried to lose a bit of the baby weight and offered me no other help when I said I felt I might be depressed.

The three pictures I've posted are all from that time. Where I popped on my happy face hid my tears behind sleepy eyes and jokes.

I am now on GP #3. At 6 weeks pp with my second baby I had a full check up and a separate chat with the nurse about how I was feeling. At 3 months I started to feel depressed again and I was treated with time, respect, dignity, kindness and options. I felt heard and I felt like my mental health mattered this time. It was a game changer. I'll never leave this GP!

Pregnancy and being postpartum are vulnerable times. In my opinion they are greatly overlooked in Ireland and part of the 'women just get on with it" attitude of our women's health system.

Having a strong support system in your corner makes a huge difference. Never settle for half arsed care. Never settle for shrugs and being passed over. Never settle for scoffs, and please Never feel as though you just need to get on with it. That is not what support and care look like.

Your mental health matters

This week is more important than we even realise.

Spread the word, join my giveaway, encourage your friends and family to seek help, and always let yourself be heard xx

Check out the Course and Class availability in the upcoming months!

November pregnancy classes to be announced shortly! ❤️

Self Care
Me Time
Time Out
Rest

We can call it so many things, but what it really is, is crucial.

Spending time in the bliss & beauty of doing nothing is important in all of our lives but has so many extra benefits while pregnant.

You are giving your body Time to reenergise.

You are allowing your hormones time to balance.

You are giving baby space to play.

You are giving your mind permission to calm and reset.

You are starting subconscious habits that will help you in pregnancy, birth and beyond!

What do you do to help you relax? Let me know in the comments 👇👇

2 days postpartum wearing pregnancy leggings and the equivalent of an adult diaper while sitting in Starbucks too scared to drink the full caffeine coffee I had been dreaming about because I was holding my new baby!

This was the very best of times. There are no words to describe how it feels to hold perfection in your arms.

But I wish so much that I could revisit this time and give this girl a hug. I had such high expectations of how my birth would look. I thought I would sail through it and be one of those mom's that came out the other side looking impossibly fresh and well adjusted!

A 50hr labour, an unnecessary and ill advised induction and a Kiwi birth. And I still turned around after and told myself that my body had let me down- why wasn't my birth 'natural', I had let my baby down.

I could say I was naive but I know now that what I truly was unprepared and underinformed. It took me almost a year to understand that I had suffered birth trauma; now its my dream to help women navigate our systems and avoid the let down that I faced.

I had the second dreamy birth. I know that beautiful deliveries are possible and attainable!

I am birth positive and as an Acupuncturist that helps couples with fertility it just feels right that I can encourage the positive from the beginning to the delivery!

Friday Self Hugs to all the mom's out there! It's lovely being a mum but it's tough at times too! 💗💗💗

"I cannot recommend this course enough! I was so anxious and worried about having a hospital birth because we had wanted a home birth. Jennifer explained the system so well and talked us through all our options in such a calm and caring way. I am trying to practice my hypnobirthing every day and we have had two calls outside of the course to make sure everything is going well. I'm actually looking forward to my delivery now and I feel really prepared and relaxed! I can't recommend this course enough for any new parents"

🌱 The goal of my Hypnobirthing Course is to support you to find your birth confidence and calm.
I want to remove the fear and unknowns of the birth process (especially in Hospital Births) so you feel like your energy is spent on you and your baby x

🌱 I LOVE getting feedback like this 😊😊😊😊❤️❤️❤️❤️😊😊😊😊

🌱🌱 Due to Demand! 🌱🌱

Block booking AND Pay As You Go options now available for Pregnancy Relaxation Classes!

Click link in bio and follow instructions to book!

Pregnancy Relaxation Classes are now available to book!

Follow the link in Bio to secure your place!

Thank you!! 🌿🌿

I'm not sure if there are words to actually describe how it feels. The sense of pride and accomplishment when you know your body is continuing to nourish outside the womb is unparalleled.

HOWEVER!!

Is it easy peasy lemon squeezy hearts and bubbles???

Absolutely not!

My son didn't latch properly until almost 4 months. I'm as stubborn as they come and I refused to seek any help. At 4 months Ali was still eating every 30 mins to an hour. I couldn't leave the house without spare clothes and pads because I wasn't draining. He didn't sleep, I didn't sleep.
I was done.
And then an angel by the name of came into our lives and changed everything!

Tongue ties, latching issues, sore over-full b***s- sorted.
Ali fed until 16 months. He loved b**b bainne, it was the best!

Cleo sprang from the womb and onto the breast and happily ate, burped and slept. No problems. Rarely looked for b***s for comfort.
Cleo weaned off herself, much to my dismay, at 11.5 months. She had NO interest. Never looked back.

Lesson I learned:
🌿 Ask for help
🌿 It is a skill, it must be learned and practiced for perfection
🌿 It can be a messy practice!
🌿 Bottles are not the enemy of the breastfeeder
🌿 One day, one week, one month, six months, a year, two years - it's a tough job, never judge yourself on the length of time you breastfed. It all counts, its all amazing.
🌿 If breastfeeding was is/was not for you, there is no shame in this parenting game. We are all doing our best x
🌿 Babies bite.