My name is Octavia and I am a hypnobirthing instructor based in Manchester, England. When I became pregnant with my first child in 2015 I had never heard of hypnobirthing classes until a colleague at work told me about them. She had an identical twin sister and they were due to give birth to their first babies around the same time. To cut a long story short, my colleague who had done hypnobirthing had a calm, natural birth without the need for intervention while her sister had an altogether different and negative experience. This was all I needed to hear and my husband and I booked onto a Wise Hippo course the following week.
Having completed the course soon after my twenty-week scan and using the techniques we learned, I went on to give birth to my daughter at 40 weeks and 5 days without the need for medical intervention. It was a wonderful experience, achieved to a large extent because my husband and I were both so well prepared after doing The Wise Hippo Birthing Programme.
Just under two years later I fell pregnant for a second time. I don’t think people believed me when I told them I couldn’t wait to give birth again. Again I used my Wise Hippo techniques to give birth to my son at exactly the same gestation as my daughter, 40 weeks and 5 days. He was born in the most calm and relaxed way in a birthing pool, and the whole experience was so gentle for me and my son, that physically I didn’t even feel as if I had just given birth the following day.
Hypnobirthing really works. It is one of the best decisions my husband and I could have made for our family and honestly some of the best money we have ever spent. My husband was initially sceptical but is now one of hypnobirthing’s biggest fans! My positive birth experiences allowed me to truly enjoy those crucial early days and weeks with my babies.
To read about the births of my two children in more detail (one was born with cleft lip and palate), please click on the following links:
Daughter’s birth: https://enjoyeveryminute.co.uk/2024/12/15/my-daughters-birth-using-hypnobirthing/
Son’s birth: https://enjoyeveryminute.co.uk/2024/12/15/my-sons-birth-using-hypnobirthing/
I am an experienced teacher with a First Class Degree in French and English from the University of Liverpool. Having taught in high schools and primary schools for several years before having children, I love my role now teaching expectant parents the magic of hypnobirthing.
I offer a free taster video of my classes which includes a calming relaxation track for you to get a sense of the self-hypnosis part of hypnobirthing. Please message me at [email protected] if you would like to receive a link to the taster.
I teach the brilliant Wise Hippo Birthing Programme, which is the course I did myself when I fell pregnant with my first baby. It is a fun, modern and highly engaging course for pregnant women and their birth partners. It is also realistic about the unpredictability of birth and will help prepare you for any curve balls that come your way on the day.
Please click on the following link if you would like to learn more about The Wise Hippo Birthing Programme, book a course or have an informal chat about your options:
I look forward to meeting you and your bump soon!