Down To Earth Birth

About

​My name is Jenny and I live in Wagga Wagga NSW with my two beautiful girls, Isabel and Evie and my beautiful husband, Rick. I am very passionate about supporting and nurturing women through transitions in to pregnancy, birth and motherhood.

After having two very different but wonderful births, I realised my calling was to empower and give strength to women and their partners through this significant journey. Through my own experiences, I learnt so much about myself and discovered a new found strength I never knew existed. Prior to the birth of my first daughter, I also experienced a miscarriage which shook me to my core and forever changed the way I approached other women going through loss of pregnancy.

I gave birth to our first daughter in a private hospital setting with an obstetrician and a doula. After having such an amazing experience with midwives, we decided to use a wonderful private midwifery practice on the Sunshine Coast for our antenatal care which gave us a continuity of care. We loved having this option as we knew who would be supporting us through birth and built a really lovely relationship with our midwives during pregnancy. This has inspired me to give back and provide holistic care to other women.

My passion for supporting women through the postpartum period has stemmed from my own experiences of feeling isolated, lonely and overwhelmed following the birth of my babies. While I had positive births that I was able to reflect on, when the postnatal check ups ended and the sleep deprivation kicked in I felt there was no support for me to navigate my way through motherhood. Traditionally , it was common to have extended family around new families... our own mothers, aunties, friends... however these days, we often live far away from family and therefore lack that support system. Have you ever heard of the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child!"

I have often found myself feeling that I should be able to handle it all, but I now realise that this is not the case and have started to build my own village. There are times when I have been too tired and have felt out of my depth with managing even the simple tasks. Women need a strong support network because it is the small gestures that can make such a big impact. For example, my sister in law coming over and making a cup of tea and sitting with me. She was able to hold a nurturing space just by being with me and listening to me when I needed someone to understand. I want to support other women so they know they are not alone and yes they need a break too!

​I am currently completing my birth doula studies and available to support families through birth, offer Prenatal Yoga classes, Yoga for Fertility and also provide postpartum support packages. Having a baby is a big deal and it's important to create a positive experience around your birth and postpartum as those experiences will stay with you forever.

Yoga for Fertility

Yoga can assist you to overcome fertility and hormonal challenges. It focuses on providing a holistic practice by supporting your body, mind and spirit.

A womans hormonal system is sensitive to stress meaning that stress has a negative affect on the hormones that play a part in fertility and conception.

Through our Yoga for Fertility practice we focus on restorative postures that promote nourishing blood flow to the reproductive organs, allow the body to enter a deep state of relaxation therefore reducing stress levels and therefore helping to re-balance our hormonal system and guided meditations to help strengthen the central nervous system.

Yoga for Fertility classes are a nurturing and judgemental free space for you to share and explore your journey with other women who are also on their own journey to conception.

Next upcoming workshop: Yoga for Fertility 22nd October 2017

Prenatal Yoga

Wednesdays 7-8:30pm - Body Compass Health Centre - 40 Morrow St Wagga Wagga

​Prenatal yoga is an opportunity to really connect with your pregnancy and most of all, your baby!
Each class is specifically tailored to create a community between women, to explore and discuss fears around your childbirth and the transition into parenthood and celebrate your pregnancy. Prenatal yoga gives you the tools to prepare for an empowered birthing experience for you using specific yoga poses for labour, as well as massage and acupressure techniques.
Prenatal yoga poses are a safe and gentle way to build your strength and stamina before labour. Gentle stretches are taught to alleviate common issues in pregnancy such as sciatica, joint and back pain and insomnia. Relaxation is also incorporated to allow your body and mind to rest using meditation and visualization. These relaxation techniques help prepare the body and mind for a more positive birthing experience.

Birth

A doula is trained in supporting and empowering women and their partners during pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenting and she provides that much needed continuity of care and support.

A doula does not provide clinical care however she does provide holistic support to you through pregnancy, birth and your postpartum journey into motherhood. A doula does not replace the role of your partner however instead supports your partner to be the best support they can be and of course be your number 1 support if your partner is unable to be present for the birth of your baby.

During pregnancy Jenny will..

• Meet you and your partner to discuss birth options/preferences,


• Explore your fears/concerns


• Give you tools to help you with labour and prepare your partner to be an amazing support


• Prepare a postnatal plan that will help you and your partner get the most out of parenting and really support each


• others values and goals​.

For your birth Jenny will..

• Be on call 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks after your due date


• Attend your birth and create a beautiful and comfortable birthing environment


• Provide emotional reassurance


• Massage and accupressure for comfort and pain relief


• Suggest active birthing positions


• Relieve your partner when they need a break!


• Take much treasured photos of your birth if desired

Settling into life at home Jenny will..

• Support you postnatally offering breastfeeding/feeding support


• Emotional support


• Basic meal preperation


• Help you to create the postpartum experience you desire

​Contact Jenny for an obligation free chat to discuss how I may be able to support you on your journey