Testimonials

"The birth of our baby girl was a beautiful experience and worlds apart from the birth of our little boy three years ago.  His birth left me feeling like a stunned robot after 30 hours of contractions, epidural, gallons of syntocinin, failed vontuse, episiotomy and forceps.  Our little girl on the other hand arrived at home (unplanned) after just two hours of contractions. She was delivered by her Dad with our midwife giving instructions over the phone.  There was no tearing and no need to go to hospital after the birth.  I have to say it really wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be – labour without drugs that is.

I contacted Jo early in the pregnancy and she encouraged me to think about what I wanted for this birth and to ask a few questions of potential midwives to get a feel for their approach (which was hard but I did it).  With Jo’s help I found a wonderful midwife whose approach I liked and in whom I have complete confidence.

Jo kindly agreed to be there for the birth.  In the end it all happened too quickly for that to happen but simply knowing that she would be there made me - and even more so my husband - feel very relaxed in the weeks coming up to the birth.

Although I know that second births are generally easier than the first I do feel that the things I did this time around made a difference – they certainly made me much more relaxed and confident. This time around my husband and I attended Jo’s Birthing with Confidence workshop which gave us a great deal of information and confidence.  I also read up about the mechanics of labour, pain relief techniques and deep mental & physical relaxation techniques.  I also finished work much earlier, made sure that I was well rested, did lots of preggy yoga and told myself that I would stay calm on the day.

I still can’t quite believe it.  Thank you Jo!"

Jenny and Travis, Devonport

 

 

"Dear Jo

Your support – mentally, physically and emotionally – during my ‘labour of love’ was fantastic. 

I achieved the birth I had visualised and I know I can do it now.

Your calm, confidently reassuring approach will be a godsend to any birthing mother (and father!).

Lots of love

Erin, Tim, Miller and Teyani

x"

 

"Dear Jo,

Great news, last Wednesday I went into labour and gave birth to our son Luka. This was brilliant, as it was 9 days before they planned to induce me. So after only two days of beginning to try some natural induction methods we were surprised to find my waters had broken and I was in labour at 12:30am on the Wednesday. Karl had just reread your notes the day before, so that was great as he knew how long the gaps between contractions and the length of contractions would be when it was time to call our midwife. So we stayed home, we called her at 6am and met her at Invercargill hospital at 7am. It was great being home, I dozed between contractions. We'd got a TENS machine a couple of days before, so I used that, it was great distraction between 4 and 6am. I'm not sure it did anything, but I think if I hadn't had it to occupy myself with I would have called our midwife at 4am. Karl also did some visualisation of holidays at our friend's bach, so that was awesome. He was altogether fantastic. I also found visualising the way you'd described the thinning of the cervix really helpful. The mouth shapes you'd used were so good for visualising.

So when we got in to the hospital at 7am I was 5cm dilated, and our midwife put me in the birthing pool, after the CTG. That was great, so good leaning forward, and nice and supported in the water. And she gave me entonox, which again I found distracting at the start of contractions, but I never got her to put it up, it was more something to do really. Once the contraction was under way I found I could just be in the now with it. I was in there a couple of hours, and was totally in the zone by the time I got out. So after that I was on the bed, 10cm dilated and pushing at last! The baby took a while to move down, but it was terrific to be pushing, to really be doing something with the contractions. It was weird too though. The ultrasound we'd had the week before gave Luka's weight as 7pound 11, give or take 3 quarters of a pound. Well he was 8 pound 10, so that was a good size, the same as I was.

So after controlling my blood sugars with diet, it was great to find Luka's blood sugars were just fine. They kept an eye on them overnight, but were happy with them and his feeding. He was straight into the breast-feeding, I think it was an hour after he was born.

Thankyou for all your support and encouragement, it made such a difference to me when I was moving down here, between LMCs, with this diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes, but nothing I could do about it. You helped me feel a lot more calm about it, and empowered by the knowledge that I could control it and affect the outcomes of it - for me, our baby, and the birth.

So it was only an 11 hour labour, and I was thinking in the afternoon how it wasn't such an ordeal, that I could probably do that again one day if I were ever to conceive again. So that was pretty positive!!

Thanks so much, I'm so glad we came to your course, so much of the calmness and confidence I've felt in the last trimester have been built on the education you gave us, your relaxed and positive attitude, and the support and encouragement you gave us since January.

Warmest regards,

Roxanne" & Karl, Te Atatu/Invercargill.

 

 

"Jo's Birthing with Confidence REALLY helped me achieve the birth I wanted. I used visualisation and the affirmation that Jo gave me and they were really useful.

It was a truly awesome experience and I would do it again in a second.

The main bit of advice I could give you preggy ladies is; don't fight it. Know that every contraction is exactly what it should be. Nothing is wrong, everything is unfolding as it should be.

Thanks Jo!"

 

Cate, Auckland

 

"Before I came to your workshop I wanted a c-section. I have a nursing background and had never seen a normal birth. Your course made me see the other side. When it came to the day, the choices were easy to make. I wanted to go as long as I could without pain relief, so when I got to 7cm I knew I could do it.

So all in all the successful birth was partly due to your fantastic course. I hope other Mums to be get as much out of it as Matt and I did."

Helen, North Shore

 

"Jo, the birth of our daughter Chloe was the most beautiful, memorable and life-altering experience of our lives. We don't know how to thank you enough; you were invaluable to us. This was our first baby and it was all so brand new for us and, with no family here in New Zealand, it was a daunting prospect. Mike and I really appreciated the way you shared your knowledge and experience during my pregnancy. It made us feel confident in our decision and enabled us to look forward to the birth of our daughter.

Also, thank you for helping us figure out, and then honouring, what our needs and desires around the birth were. During labour you were so sensitive to my needs and Mike's. I can't imagine having gone through that experience without your support! We were so blessed to have found you! Thank you for being the perfect doula.

Love Helen & Mike", Milford

 

"Prior to meeting Jo and her wealth of knowledge, I had a pretty horrid experience with labour and birth with our first son. I truly thought I would have the same experience second time around.

This was definitely not the case. After spending time with Jo and with all the great advice she gave us, we were empowered with the tools and knowledge we needed to have a natural birth with no intervention. With the great focussing and breathing techniques the entire labour lasted five hours with the pushing stage lasting only 3 minutes. This compared to my first labour, which lasted 20 hours.

The difference between the births was so extreme and I truly believe that it was down to the coaching that Jo gave us.

Jo told us that my role was just to focus on the birth. My husband's was to support in any way he could.

Jo, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you. You helped me realise that giving birth naturally can be enjoyable, even with the pain.

We had been to a regular antenatal class with our first born and Jo's teaching was far superior to any of that.

We highly recommend to all who are looking for the natural way."

Sue, North Shore

 

"Jo, I can't thank you enough for the support and advice you have given me. Thanks for phoning me on Monday, I had given up hope and thought I had left it far too late to change course.

I met with our new midwife and am very happy with her philosophy and approach to the birth - we are on the same wavelength! I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I am looking forward to our baby's birthday again and can now read your affirmations with a smile and think YES!

You are right it should be the happiest day of our lives and a celebration of the miracle of birth and we are gearing up again towards that and letting go of all those negativities that were thrown at us.

I meet with her again next week at her clinic and am really looking forward to it - she is the sort of person that puts you at ease instantly and I can pick up a very positive vibe in her presence - much like we did from you at your weekend course."

Tracy, Sunnynook

 

"Your workshop was very valuable to us. It gave us the information we were seeking, and the tools and confidence to seek the birth we wanted.

This was our second birth and it went very well - so much better than the first. I felt so relaxed and calm for all of it [except for a brief moment during transition]. I can only describe it as a pleasant experience for everbody.

My midwife said to me afterwards 'you so knew what you had to do'. I feel so proud of myself.

Lila is a very contented baby. She doesn't cry very much and only I know when she wakes at night for a feed.

We are very happy with everything and would recommend the workshop to any second [third/fourth] time parents who want to improve on their previous birth experiences."

Teri, Narrowneck

 

"...so, what worked for us? The main things were the long outbreaths and low chanting - they were a constant throughout. Mark simply did a light massage stroke from the top of my head down my arm or arms while saying "relaaax" in a quiet voice. I'd immediately relax my shoulders and face and everything else would seem to as well. Whenever my chant went up a pitch he'd join in and bring me back down to a very low chant. Most of this I wasn't even aware of until he stopped, then I'd look around in a panic for him. He also did a great job at keeping me drinking water, which meant that I didn't once feel drained of energy. I could not have done this alone! Ladies, train your men!

The Pink Kit gave us confidence, as it allowed me to work out what positions kept my pelvis open and I was very aware of that throughout. The Birthing with Confidence workshop was invaluable in that it gave us the confidence to work out a birth plan that allowed for all eventualities and also gave Mark and our midwife the confidence to know what I really wanted.

The workshop also gave us space to discuss every little concern as well as the biggest fears we both had going into the labour - doing this meant there were no outstanding fears lurking before the big day. We also learnt some affirmations there. I cannot say enough how brilliantly they worked for me. I made up a few of my own to dispel my biggest fears..."

Carolyn Langenhoven, Devonport

"I would definitely have your support during my labour again."

C M, Orewa

"Your support [in our labour] was brilliant. Thank you."

D B, Greenhithe

 

"Million thanks to Jo! You are a star. We really appreciate your support."

F and G H, Devonport