I received my HypnoBirthing certification in 2002 after the birth of my last and 10th child. I was introduced to HypnoBirthing for this birth and was so impressed with the difference the simple, but powerful techniques made, that I registered for the next practitioner training and attended with my four month old baby girl. I have enjoyed sharing this information with parents ever since.
HypnoBirthing was not my first introduction to the world of natural birth. My two older sisters and sister-in-law all birthed naturally in the 70s and 80s. I listened very carefully to their advice and reflections on childbirth and chose to birth in the way they described. I took their advice and attended a Lamase class to prepare for the birth of my first child. I was somewhat confused by the way the method was taught and ended up reading the book written by Dr. Bradley, Husband Coached Childbirth. I adopted many of the attitudes and techniques described in the book and came up with my own approach to labor and birth.
I count being the mother of ten children my greatest credential for teaching childbirth preparation classes. Common questions about my family I am asked are, “So, were any of your ten children twins?” The answer is no, all of my children are single births. “Did you have any medicated births?” No, I feel fortunate that every one of my births have been, 100% unmedicated. Because of my personal experience with natural birth, I feel very excited to help as many couples as I can to experience the power of birth as nature intended. in this way is best for mothers, fathers and babies; and it is simply more fun.
My first three births were in hospitals. The first two with a nurse midwife and the third with an obstetrician, because of insurance requirements. During my fourth pregnancy I learned that home birth was an option. Since my hospital births had been positive experiences, I chose to birth at home simply because I felt it would be easier for me to relax and rest during and after the birth. Sleeping in the hospital never really worked for me. Another common question I am asked is whether I believe all women should birth at home. My answer is no, home birth is not for every woman. I believe each woman should birth wherever she is most comfortable and able to relax. For me that was at home. My next seven births were home births, three were water births. My last birth was a HypnoBirth, my easiest birth by far. All my births were amazing experiences, but the relaxed ease of birthing using hypnosis was astonishing.
Aside from my experience as a mother, much of my fascination with the prenatal life of the child comes from my study of child development. I am a certified Montessori teacher and have worked with children professionally, ranging in age from 1 year to 16 years old. As I worked with children I noticed that there were some developmental differences in children that I feel are related to the parents feelings about their baby during pregnancy, the birth experience and the attention paid to bonding as a family after birth. This awareness sparked my interest in assisting couples in creating the best birth possible for their babies.
I received my Montessori training in Phoenix, Arizona at the Association Montessori International training center. My first child was born during this training, which introduced many conversations during class about how to best support a baby’s development. Montessori is a philosophy which profoundly respects each individual’s internal guidance system to bring them successfully through all the stages of development and prepare them to naturally grow to their fullest potential; hence the Montessori mantra to “follow the child”.
HypnoBirthing follows this same basic belief in the integrity of the human experience to bring each person to success. We as humans are meant to be successful and only experience true failure if we do not trust in ourselves and our bodies. I demonstrate this belief in my upbeat presentation to parents in my class. I believe that each woman is able to have a wonderful birth experience and if she is able to tap into her own inner guidance system, is able to be completely successful, no matter what turn her birth takes. I also believe that fathers are gifted with birthing instincts as well and love to teach them to trust their instincts and instruct them in the many powerful ways they can participate in the birth of their child.
I was introduced to hypnosis through HypnoBirthing. I recently received a certification as a hypnotherapist through the National Guild of Hypnotists. I enjoy offering my services to anyone interested in releasing the limiting beliefs that hold them back from reaching their full potential. My main area of expertise is hypnosis for childbirth preparation, but I also enjoys working with those who want to loose weight, improve performance in any are (sports, school, business etc.), assist with preparation for surgery or other medical procedures and relationship enhancement. Hypnotherapy is very exciting to me because the possibilities are limitless!
I have many interests, some of which are gardening, weight lifting, politics and genealogy. I am an avid supporter of any activities my children are involved in.