Author: emma-lowe

You may have heard about hypnobirthing, but what is it? As more and more women choose antenatal hypnobirthing classes, you may have questions about hypnobirthing and whether it’s right for you. Does it work and does it really relieve those birthing pains? Read on to learn all about how we use hypnobirthing in our Daisy Birthing classes, its benefits for you, your baby, and more.

Knowledge– and knowledge is power! If you know things about birth you’ll be able to stack the odds in your favour. You’ll know how to reduce the chances of inductions, vaginal tears, forceps. You’ll learn all about the purpose of contractions and how they affect the body. You will learn how to work with your body, gravity and breath work to help control pain during labour. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to birth.

Birthing without fear. Fear is a useless emotion in birth. It’s also a massive hinderance. Feeling fear can make your labour stall, it can even prevent your labour from starting! It can make you more likely to have intervention. It can make you choose things that you wouldn’t have if you didn’t feel fear. Reduce that fear with knowledge and feel confident during birth to make a truly informed choice.

Learning ways to keep calm. Going into labour with a tool box of techniques so that you can remain calm during contractions, during your induction, during your caesarean. Feeling calm gives you a smoother birth, this is science and is how our body in birth works. During Daisy Birthing classes, we will talk a lot about releasing oxytocin, the love hormone. Oxytocin is the hormone that keeps your labour progressing. Staying calm during labour is crucial to help the production of this wonderful hormone.

Changing the way you think about birth. If you think that birth is going to be traumatic, wild and dramatic just like you see on the TV, then in fact your birth is more likely to be traumatic, wild and dramatic just like you see on the TV. Hypnobirthing is switching up your thoughts as those negative ones just aren’t serving you at all. We focus on the power of the mind, our subconscious, anchors to our relaxation such as breath work, music, movement and positive affirmations.

In Daisy Birthing classes, we deliver our ‘hypnosis for birth’ through rhythmic movement, flowing breath work and seamless education and relaxation that flows through the whole class. We complete each weekly class with a gorgeous guided hypnotic relaxation too of course!

If you would like to book onto our Daisy Birthing classes please click on the link below.

Daisy Birthing Active Antenatal Classes – Emma Lowe (thedaisyfoundation.com)

Supporting somebody through birth is a privilege.

It can be beautiful, awe-inspiring and intense but, it can also be scary, stressful and exhausting.

It is really important for your birth partner to have some preparation for their role. They are there for you, not to witness the birth. It’s not really fair to just ask them to ‘be a support’ – they need practical tips.

If you are pregnant, help your birth partner prepare by:
 Writing your birth plan with them so they understand what is important to you⁣
 Talking positively about birth together so they can see that birth is something to look forward to and be excited for⁣
 Learning hypnobirthing together, it gives your birth partner practical tips to help you relax⁣
Going to antenatal classes together so they understand the birth process, this will give them confidence in your body⁣

If you are going to support somebody through birth, your role is to help them stay calm and relaxed, feel safe and secure and to reduce tension and anxiety. You can do this by:⁣
 Having the confidence to be her cheerleader; tell her how amazing she is doing and how proud you are of her⁣
 Encouraging her to relax her face, jaw, and shoulders, don’t suggest she squeezes your hand as this builds tension⁣
 Making a birth playlist⁣
 Setting up her essential oil diffuser⁣
 Massaging her back⁣
 Running her a bath and lighting some candles when you’re home⁣
 Reminding her to drink, and snack if she feels like it⁣

Our Active Birth Workshops can help you both prepare for you confident birth TOGETHER!

When it comes to preparing for your baby’s birth – making the time to prepare as a team with your birth partner in a way that works for you both and your own unique hopes can be challenging. The Daisy Birthing Active Birth Workshop helps all those who are pregnant and their birth companion prepare for an active and confident birth together. This second step of your continuous perinatal support takes the best elements of traditional antenatal education workshops and hypnobirthing and wraps all of these together in a powerful workshop that allows you the confidence that comes from realising you can both do this.

To find out more get in touch!

emma-lowe@thedaisyfoundation.com

Or to book on a workshop, click the link below:

Daisy Active Birth Workshop – Emma Lowe (thedaisyfoundation.com) 

A weekly class for parent and baby to help you learn how to use a variety of tools such as: baby massage, baby yoga, rhythm, rhyme, story and sensory experiences to aid your baby’s development, your connection and have fun together!

Why is Daisy Wrigglers class so different?

When it comes to settling in to motherhood & parenthood, once the early postnatal phase has passed it can be overwhelming as baby seems to develop so fast! Daisy Baby Wrigglers helps mum/parent and baby (or baby’s other carer) enjoy a relaxed, fun and safe journey together at this exciting time in their development. This stage of many firsts with baby on your continuous perinatal support journey takes the best elements of baby massage, baby yoga, sensory experiences and baby classes and wraps all of these together in a powerful 5 element model that allows you the confidence that comes from realising you can have fun together.

Sensory Play

Babies may be limited by their mobility and dexterity, but not their ability to interact with the world. Babies can enjoy the feeling and properties of different materials, take in the movement and motions of the parachutes, ribbons and scarves and track the journey of our bells, balls and bubbles.

A focal point in every class is our unique “What’s in the box?!” where babies discover our theme for the week and we begin our sensory journey. Babies enjoy plenty of opportunity for free play in our social baby time, to discover the sensory theme in their own way along with the opportunity to interact with all the other babies and of course for mums to chat too. Classes are designed to encourage the development of hand and eye co-ordination, fine and gross motor skills, speech, listening, visual development, play and laughter.

Infant Education and Support

Daisy baby is unique in its methodology, offering the convenience of having multiple needs met in one multi-purpose class. Infant development education and demonstrations of techniques to calm, soothe, stimulate or respond to your baby are delivered effortlessly alongside the stretch, movement and relaxation for both of you. Over the course of your classes you will learn about the more common topics such as colic, reflux and calming methods, but Daisy takes this education one step further. You will learn evidence-based education in some of the more complex, often not touched on areas – for example weaning, sleeping and immunisations. All parenting choices and styles are discussed, with all being supported for a completely inclusive class. Educational themes will change weekly and will be age appropriate throughout the early fourth trimester stage of Tinies through to the developmental milestones of Wrigglers as you progress through the classes.

Baby Massage & Yoga

Daisy believes in positive touch and movement through massage and yoga being a natural activity between mum and baby rather than a formal routine to be completed. These methods of verbal and non-verbal communication help mum to understand baby’s behaviors, cries and language so that baby feels loved, valued and respected. Positive touch and movement between mum and baby helps nurture positive attachment, bonding, closeness and confidence to respond to your baby’s cues and needs.

By combining baby massage AND yoga babies enjoy greater benefit from some of the more practical techniques such as relief from colic, wind, constipation and teething discomfort to the longer term benefits such as secure attachment, reducing emotional distress, improved co-ordination, physical development, body awareness and brain development.

Meet New Mums and Parents

The transition to motherhood/parenthood is a life changing experience that for some can prove challenging as you adopt to a new way of life. For many, Daisy classes are an opportunity to get out, meet other new parents, learn and share experiences and to ask questions. This element is fully supported by your Daisy teacher who has been though an extensive postnatal education training program. What makes Daisy unique is that we give this element of our classes’ real focus as we nurture the relationships and connections between each group via in class discussions, social time and our own social media community groups. From experience we know that Daisy Baby classes become a unique community of new friends, sharing with each other their own experiences, highs and lows, feelings and uncertainties. When we asked Daisy communities across the country to sum up Daisy Baby, in their words it is: ‘relaxing’, ‘inclusive’, ‘supportive’, ‘friendly’ and with ‘knowledgeable friendly teachers’. As our Tinies classes are focused on postnatal movement and emotional support after birth, these classes are solely for those who have given birth and their baby to attend, but as baby progresses to our Wrigglers classes co-parents, Grandparents and other carers are welcome to come along and enjoy spending time with baby too.

Rhythm, Rhyme & Story 

In addition to the massage and yoga in each daisy wrigglers class you and your baby will also enjoy a multi-sensory story delivered through movement, rhythm and rhyme. The use of stories (through our collaboration with Usborne Books) and accompanying sounds in our classes are specifically designed to support your baby’s speech and brain development. Infants tune in to the rhythm and flow of our voices. While initially the rhythmic phrase, “That’s not my Duck”, for example, may not hold meaning; your baby is taking in the sounds of language and how they fit together. As babies see a picture of a yellow duck in the book and you name the duck, they begin to make the connection between what the teacher says and the picture of the yellow duck.

Through our use of rhythm and rhyme alongside movement your baby will be developing the skills they will use for language, literacy, coordination, concentration and building a strong relationship between brain and body.

To book on a class click the link below:

Daisy Baby Wrigglers Classes – Emma Lowe (thedaisyfoundation.com)

Looking for a baby massage class in Southport & Formby?

Not sure about baby massage?

If you are anything like me you may be a bit sceptical of all the baby massage classes that seem to have popped up and deemed as a MUST do for newborns and new mothers. Personally I didn’t want to spend money on something I could do at home and that felt simple enough to do as a new mum.

Oooohhh how I was wrong! Yes massage can and should be done at home. Yes it is simple. No, I did not know of all the techniques. No, I did not know of all the benefits for a baby to receive massage. I did not consider the mental impact it would have- me getting out the house and learning in a fun group environment and benefiting from all that lovely oxytocin.

It’s hard weighing up the pennies of maternity pay and what you find as beneficial when let’s be honest, half the time baby is either feeding or having their nappy changed during a class.

But this is why I love Daisy Baby Tinies so much! It provides so much valuable content in an impactful, balanced and worthwhile hour session for baby and YOU. There is absolutely no pressure to get through a whole routine, in fact the massage section of the class is only 15 minutes long unlike the usual hour in other massage classes. No matter how that hour goes, if baby has been crying and you’re feeling exhausted or baby has fed for the majority of the class and you’re feeling touched out. The massage learnt can be practiced at any time and the guided relaxation at the end can be done how ever you find yourself… whilst standing up bobbing your baby or cross legged feeding and swaying… Because learning to relax whilst mumming is a whole new VERY IMPORTANT skill to be learnt and you’re important (plus you paid and should get just as much out of the class as baby has). As well as all the other benefits Daisy Baby Tinies has that can be found here.

Daisy Baby Tinies

Here’s a list of some great evidence based, physiological benefits that may help you decide that learning baby massage is actually pretty awesome in so many ways:

• Enhances there cognitive development
• Enhance their physical development
• Enhances their proprioceptive development
• Enhances the bond between the person giving the massage and baby receiving it
• Enhances mood for both baby and person giving the massage
• Strengthens the digestive system
• Improves baby’s circulation
• Deepens and regulates baby’s breathing
• Increases levels of oxygen in the bloodstream
• Increases the immune system
• Increases concentration
• Reduces negative emotions and fussiness
• Eases gas and colic
• Relieves tension in both baby and massage touch giver
• Improves skin condition
• Reduces pain level including teething pain
• Alleviates nasal congestion
• Helps premature babies gain weight
• Builds positive sleep patterns and deeper sleep

Wow the power of positive touch!

During class I show you different techniques, short routines, link song to the movements to help you remember them after class and lead discussions on key topics around all things parenthood. From how do babies get so much fluff in between their little fingers to ways of developing an infants vestibular system.

To book on a class click the link below:

Daisy Tinies Baby Classes – Emma Lowe (thedaisyfoundation.com)

I hope to see you in a class soon.

What is the ideal position for baby? 

The best position for baby to be delivered is what’s called ‘Occiput Anterior’. This is with baby’s head is down and it’s back facing Mum’s belly button. It is often referred to as the optimal foetal position.

If baby is not OFP then it can increase the chances of requiring medical interventions during labour and birth. The non-optimal positions are Breech (Bum Down), Transverse (lying across), Posterior (back-to-back with mum). These positions during pregnancy may also cause unnecessary discomfort for Mum.

What should I try to avoid?

• When seated at your desk try not to cross your legs.
• Do not sit back and slouch in a chair.
• Avoid relaxing on your couch with your feet up in front of you and your butt tucked under.
• Don’t sleep on your back
• Avoid long car journeys (90 minutes+)
• Avoid Squat exercises when baby is not in optimal and any other exercise that helps to descend baby deeper into mum’s pelvis.

All the above can encourage posterior, transverse and breech presentations and this is mostly due to the position of the pelvis. How you sit and relax in the evening can also affect how baby presents especially from 30 + weeks. Aim to always have your ‘Hips open’ instead of in the tucked under position.  You can relax on the couch at night by sitting in the position shown below with ‘open’ crossed legs and with a small cushion supporting your lumber spine to encourage anterior pelvis position. What I used to do when sitting on the floor would be to lean over an exercise ball or bean bag. I would do this all the time from 32/34 weeks.

What can I do to help?

There are many things that you can do during your pregnancy to assist baby presenting optimally. You can address exercise, posture, how you sit, sleep and relax to help achieve this optimal position.

• Always have your knees lower than your hips
• Keep your body weight forward when seated. Tip: When you are sitting, turn a chair the wrong way round and lean forward from your hips. You can try this at your desk, in meetings or out at a cafe with friends.
• Watching the T.V at night? Lean over an exercise ball or onto a bean bag
• Sleep on your side and make sure you have a pillow supporting the knee keeping your pelvis open
• Keep your hips relaxed whilst standing.
• Keep your pelvis open.
• Avoid seated machines at the gym.
• Once baby is in optimal then you can Squat to keep baby in OFP

Take a look at this link for more information which also has some good visuals to show how you can be in the ideal position to help baby. BHNFT-219.pdf (barnsleyhospital.nhs.uk)

How do Daisy Birthing classes help?

The pregnancy friendly yoga movements all help to encourage baby into this ideal position whilst helping to alleviate any discomfort Mum may be feeling at that stage of her pregnancy.

• Help to create more space in the upper body helping baby to move.
• Relax the pelvic area and keep muscles supple ensuring baby can tuck their chin creating this ideal position.
• Let gravity assist the baby into the ideal position.

However, babies can be quite stubborn and everything you do does not move that baby. Nothing in life is a guarantee and giving birth is different for every woman. I can be there to help you through it all and offer guidance and advice to help you have the most relaxed birth possible for your baby.

If you would like more information about how Daisy classes could help your pregnancy and labour, please do not hesitate to get in touch, I will be happy to help.

emma-lowe@thedaisyfoundation.com

Book onto Daisy Birthing classes now by clicking this link Daisy Birthing Active Antenatal Classes – Emma Lowe (thedaisyfoundation.com)

I have been asked many times how Daisy Birthing classes can help during pregnancy and labour, and there are many reasons. One of the great things about the classes is the pregnancy yoga aspect.

Even if you have never stepped foot on a yoga mat before, you may be drawn to yoga during your pregnancy. Pregnancy yoga can provide a safe and supportive way to move your body in pregnancy, working with your pregnant body as it grows and changes.

Here are some of the many reasons pregnancy yoga can help you during your pregnancy.

EASING OUT TENSIONS IN THE BODY

You are doing something amazing and beautiful when growing your baby but as your baby grows and changes so does your body as a mother to be. This can sometimes be difficult for some women both physically and mentally. Using gentle yoga movements can ease out the sides of the body, tension and tightness in the upper back and shoulders, and stretches out the legs helping to relax the compression of the lower back. All of this can make your journey through pregnancy more relaxed and at ease.

BREATHING BETTER IN PREGNANCY AND LABOUR

Throughout all our classes we practise what is called the centred breath. This is a deep diaphragmatic breath helping Mums to calm and settle their mind giving them time to connect with their baby. I still find I use this breath today when I need a moment to calm, before I engage with my little ones or when I am settling down to sleep at night. This breath will become the anchor for your labour to help you stay focussed, calm and relaxed throughout. We also discuss how we can change our breathing as your labour progresses, something I was SO grateful for during both of my labours.

STRENGTHEN YOUR PREGNANY BODY

Finding strength in you body in pregnancy can be so beneficial, getting your body strong to carry your baby through your pregnancy and ready for the physical demands of labour too. It’s no secret that giving birth will take a lot out of you physically, this is why it is called ‘labour’ but being prepared can really help. I was so nervous about giving birth the first time as I wasn’t an active or physical woman and wondered whether I would be able to cope. But having the knowledge of the different yoga movements I can use throughout my pregnancy and labour gave me the confidence and strength to believe I could do it!

MEETING OTHER AWESOME MUMS TO BE

This was something very special to me when I started Daisy classes, meeting other women in the same situation as me. Being able to share my worries and concerns about the upcoming labour and becoming a Mum and knowing I wouldn’t be judged. I had a safe place where I could vent and cry about not finding a comfortable position to sleep in and also share the wonderful feeling of that first kick I felt inside my tummy. All these Mums then went on to be good friends, helping each other through this huge time of change.

CONNECTING WITH YOUR BABY

In Daisy Birthing classes a space is created in which you can slow down and really connect with yourself, your amazing pregnant body and your baby growing inside of you. It’s so valuable to have that opportunity to get comfortable with your body while going through the many changes pregnancy brings and finding out why they are happening. I always looked forward to this special time every week when I carried both of my children. With my first child, it was a special time where I could learn about the different changes my body was going through and how these changes were helping to prepare me for my upcoming labour. With my second child, it was chance to have some time out (because let’s be honest, there isn’t much chance to have time out when you are also caring for a toddler at home!) I could relax, reset and recharge, all while bonding with my baby growing inside of me.

So, there it is, just a FEW of the many reasons why pregnancy yoga can help. Relaxation, body awareness, connection, friendships, the list really does go on. There are so many other things that I haven’t mentioned like, helping to ease pelvic girdle pain, sciatica, strengthening your pelvic floor (as well as knowing how to release it too) and improving your sleep. I truly enjoyed my time being pregnant and I believe pregnancy yoga played a big part in this.

Click the link Daisy Birthing Active Antenatal Classes – Emma Lowe (thedaisyfoundation.com) to book on to Daisy Birthing classes. If you would like any further information about what the classes can offer, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

emma-lowe@thedaisyfoundation.com