At The Centre for Integrated Therapies we believe that your role as a parent begins long before your children are born. The choices that you make before conception and during pregnancy have a significant bearing on the physical, emotional and social outcomes for your child. Doing everything you can to ensure that you and your child have a positive birth experience is one of the first things you can do as a loving and responsible parent to give your child the best start in life. Birth has become increasingly viewed as a medical process and one which raises feelings of fear and powerlessness in many parents-to-be, but at ioho we believe that parents who are properly informed can make positive choices and reclaim their power in the birth experience.

We have developed our program 'Preparing for a Positive Birth Experience' to help ensure that parents-to-be are able to fully understand the significance of the birth experience for both child and parents. While we do not believe that an unaided natural birth is the only type of birth which can be viewed as successful, we do believe that parents who are well informed and have made conscious choices about the type of birth they experience, feel more empowered and are less likely to rely unnecessarily on medical interventions. One of the outcomes of this program is the creation of an informed and considered birth plan which you can use when discussing your birth with your family and health care professionals.

The program 'Preparing for a Positive Birth Experience' has ten sessions: 


1. Your Personal Situation. How does your personal situation influence the choices you make about birth? What do men and women fear about birth and how can you overcome those fears? How can you build a supportive birth team and what effect does this have on your birth experience?

2. Testing in Pregnancy. What tests are commonly carried out during pregnancy? Do they have any unwanted effects? What is the purpose of testing during pregnancy and how can they affect your birth experience?

3. Exercise and Nutrition.  How do exercise and nutrition during pregnancy affect the quality of the birth you experience? Why are some foods dangerous during pregnancy and what foods are just unhelpful? How much exercise is enough and which types of exercise are most beneficial for a positive birth?

4. The Role of Stress. How can stress affect a pregnancy and birth? What are the common types of stress experienced by expectant parents? What practical steps can be taken to relieve sources of stress before and during birth? 

5. Different Types of Birth. Is an unaided natural birth the only way to a positive birth experience? What are the pros and cons of elective cesarean births? What other types of birth are there? What type of birth is right for you?

6. The Role of the Birth Partner. Who can be a birth partner and what do they do? Why do you need a birth partner? What are the key features of a supportive birth partner? Does your life partner also have to be your birth partner? What is the effect of the birth on the birth partner? 

7. The Use of Drugs in Childbirth. What types of drugs are typically used in childbirth and what are their effects? What are the pros and cons of common pain relief drugs? What other types of pain relief are there? Is pain relief always necessary? What are some other common medical interventions and are they necessary?

8. The Birthing Environment. How does the environment in which you give birth affect your ability to birth successfully? What are the optimum environmental conditions for a positive birth experience? What is the role of light, sound and touch in birthing? How can you create a birthing environment that suits you?

9. Unforeseen Emergencies. How will you manage unforeseen emergencies during your birth? What is the role of the birth partner in emergencies? How can you ensure your wishes are respected when you are not in control?

10. After the Baby is Born. What is the third stage of labour and why is it important? What drugs are commonly used immediately following birth and what are their effects? What procedures does your baby need to undergo immediately after birth? How can you optimise your chances of breastfeeding successfully?


To enrol in this program please contact us at the clinic on 01225 316670 or email us at mail@centreforintegratedtherapies.com.