Watch Intro Video

WATCH: Relax Into Birth PLUS

with Midwife Karen and Doula Charlene

Course Curriculum

  • 1

    JOIN US FOR RELAX INTO BIRTH PLUS

  • 2

    BIRTH, FEAR AND HYPNOSIS

    • What is birth?

    • Why is there so much fear present around labour and birth?

    • The Fear-Tension-Pain cycle

    • How does fear affect the birth process?

    • How can you release your fear around childbirth?

    • PRINTABLE: Your Body is a Robot, taking instructions from the mind. How fear affects the workings of the uterus...

    • What happens during hypnosis?

    • Hypnosis fits in-between being wide awake and fast asleep. It is a normal state.

    • Releasing Resistance to Labour

    • AUDIO TRACK: The Convincer

    • Holly and Etienne and try out the convincer...
  • 3

    THE PHYSIOLOGY OF BIRTH

    • Your amazing uterus

    • The Pelvis In Labour and Birth

    • Concepts of an Active Birth

    • More on the Physiology of Birth & Hormones

    • The Love Cocktail of Hormones

    • The Stages of Labour

    • PRINTABLE: Am I in Labour?

    • Observing Labour Progress without Internal Checks

    • PRINTABLE: Observing labour progress without cervical checks
  • 4

    TOOLS FOR A RELAXED LABOUR

    • Your cervix has a voice

    • Two useful Mindfulness techniques: Open Awareness & Focused Attention

    • AUDIO-TRACK: An Exercise in Mindfulness

    • Gate Theory of Pain

    • Bag of Tricks and Counter-Irritants

    • Examples of counter-irritants

    • Relaxation, Rhythm and Ritual

    • Back Massage and the TENS Machine
  • 5

    MEDICAL PAIN RELIEF METHODS

    • Laughing gas takes the edge off

    • Entonox: Nitrous Oxide aka Laughing Gas

    • Pethidine in Labour

    • All about Epidurals

    • Summary of Comfort Measures: Medical & Non-Medical
  • 6

    BREATHING INTO A CALM PREGNANCY

    • FOR COOLING AND CALMING DOWN: Left Nostril Breathing

    • FOR OVERWHELM: Box Breath - 4-4-4-4

    • FOR INVIGORATION: Humming Bee Breathing

    • FOR MORNINGS: Wakey Wakey Breath

    • FOR BEDTIME: Relaxation Breath 4-7-8
  • 7

    BREATHING INTO LABOUR FOR SUCCESS

  • 8

    CREATING A SACRED BIRTH SANCTUARY

    • Setting up your birth space

    • Labour Ward Makeovers

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Music for labour

    • Enhancing labour with aromatherapy oils

    • PRINTABLE: Aromatherapy Information Sheet

    • PRINTABLE: Birth Choices Cheat Sheet
  • 9

    YOUR BIRTHING DREAM TEAM

    • Mother and Baby: You are doing this together

    • Your birthing cheerleaders!

    • What not to say in labour

    • Choosing your care providers wisely

    • Confident Communication with your Birth Team
  • 10

    OPTIMAL POSITIONS FOR LABOUR AND BIRTH

    • INTRO: Listen to your body and your baby's way

    • Birthing positions cannot be predicted: Trust your body.

    • Positions to help backache in labour
  • 11

    THE MIDWIFE GUIDE TO INTERVENTIONS & HOSPITAL BIRTH

    • Introduction

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Cascade of Interventions

    • Induction of Labour

    • AROM: Artificial Rupture of Membranes

    • Augmentation of Labour

    • IV Therapy in Labour

    • A Ventouse Birth

    • In Conclusion...

    • PRINTABLE: BRAT Pack

    • PRINTABLE: Common Hospital Interventions

    • PRINTABLE: Interventions Cheat Sheet
  • 12

    CAESAREAN BIRTH

    • 4 Main Reasons for a first-time Caesarean and how to avoid them

    • Medical Indications for a Caesarean Birth
  • 13

    BONDING WITH YOUR PARTNER

    • Holly and Etienne breathe together...

    • AUDIO-TRACK: Circular Breath of Bliss with your partner

    • PRINTABLE: Support Partner Guide
  • 14

    LIFE WITH YOUR NEWBORN & BREASTFEEDING

    • Breastfeeding & The Golden Hour

    • Colustrum and the First Week of your Baby's Life

    • Breastfeeding Positions
  • 15

    YOUR RELAX INTO BIRTH HYPNOBIRTHING TRACKS

    • PRINTABLE: Relax Into Hypnobirthing Every Day - Listening Schedule Information

    • Track 1: Lotus Relaxation

    • Track 2: Pregnancy Affirmations

    • Track 3: Birth Part 1- Cervix Thinning and Opening

    • Track 4: Birth Part 2 - Pushing Your Baby Out

    • Track 5: Fear Release Visualisation

    • Track 6: Safe Place Visualisation

    • Track 7: Birth Partner Affirmations

    • Breathing: Equilibrium Breath

    • Breathing: Surge Breath

    • Breathing: Surge Breath with Affirmations

    • Breathing: Rainbow Breath

    • Breathing: Circular Breath of Bliss with your partner

    • An exercise in Mindfulness
  • 16

    SURRENDER INTO BIRTH

FAQ

  • When will I get access to the course once I place my order?

    As soon as you buy the course, we will get your username and password sent to your email for immediate access.

  • What distinguishes this course from other birth preparation courses online?

    You get the best of both worlds. Doula Charlene provides the Hypnobirthing and Relaxation tools (along with a whole bunch of essential info) and Midwife Karen you find your way around the medical jargon so that you can make informed decisions with confidence.

  • The hospital offers a free course, why should I pay to do this?

    Hospital courses are free because they do not share all the information you need to make informed decisions. The focus is on medical interventions and why you might need them so that you don't question when you are offered them. Sorry, but that is the reality. (and I used to teach them, so I know)

  • I am planning an elective cesarian birth - why do I need a birth preparation class?

    I would highly recommend learning as much as you can about your birthing body. There are many changes that occur in pregnancy in preparation for birth - whether vaginal or surgical. Being prepared allows you to enjoy and embrace the changes rather than worrying that something is wrong.

  • Surely I could find all this information online for free?

    Yes, you could. There is no shortage of information available as long as you know what questions to ask and how to discern between information that empowers you and information that makes you afraid. There is a natural fear of the unknown when it is your first pregnancy, we show you how to channel that fear into curiosity that leads to confidence. If you can do that on your own without tumbling down the rabbit hole of conflicting advice and information, you don't need this course.

  • Do I have to use a desktop computer to access the course content?

    You can use any of your devices such as a Laptop, computer, iPad, Tablet or even smartphone.

What you will learn on this course

Delivered by Midwife Karen and Doula Charlene, both highly experienced birth workers, Relax Into Birth PLUS covers an extensive range of information about pregnancy, birth and your newborn. We are here for you and will walk with you on your journey into parenthood.

  • What is best for YOU - home birth or hospital birth? What is the difference? How to prepare your environment.

  • The 4 main reasons you may need an emergency cesarian and how will you know if it really is an emergency (as well as how to avoid one by knowing the 4 reasons)

  • How and why hypnobirthing techniques work and how you can harness the power of your mind during pregnancy and birth.

  • The skills your partner needs to be able to support you during labor and birth.

  • Why medical interventions are done and what you can do to avoid them by understanding the normal variations of labor.

  • How to prepare for birth (I mean that's what this is all about really, but you can't do it unless you know all that other stuff 👆🏽)

Meet your Teachers

<< The Doula & The Midwife >>

Founder: Relax Into Birth

Charlene Yared West

Birth & Postpartum doula, Professional Clinical Hypnotherapist, HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator, Pregnancy & Postnatal Massage Practitioner, Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, Freelance Journalist, mother to Leonardo. Charlene has been a doula for a decade since the birth of her son, which launched her passion into birth work. Since her own transformational birth experience, she has supported over 300 women on their birth journeys, walking with them every step of the way. "Each birth is a gift. Each birth is a story in its own right and I strive to empower women to have a better birth, no matter what turn it takes," she says. "I have learnt that every single birth is different, that there is no such thing as an unnatural birth, even when your baby is born abdominally - and that mothers need good mothering when they birth their babies. When she fell pregnant with her son, she could not envision any other birth besides a caesarean birth, but through literal signs along the way, education and encouragement, she changed from planning an elective caesarean in hospital, to having a homebirth with an independent midwife and doula in attendance. A complete 180! "Enter Leonardo: Literally! At 02:26 on a cool Spring morning , he swam into my arms with a lot of effort and strength, a power which I didn’t know my body was capable of. My birth story was a good one and I had an unmedicated home water birth and I can say wholeheartedly that it was the single, most life-changing and transforming event of my life." Charlene went on to become a HypnoBirthing practitioner, birth doula and Professional Clinical Hypnotherapist. Her experience in these fields gave her the tools she needed to create the Relax Into Birth Online School. It is the first proudly South African Online Birth Preparation School teaching women and their partners Hypnobirthing techniques and deep relaxation methods for a more comfortable and manageable birth experience at home or at hospital, for natural or caesarean birth. Her aim at every birth is to inform parents of their options, educate, empower and mirror exactly what the mother needs so that the experience she has is a positive one.

Relax Into Birth PLUS Instructor

Karen Wilmot

Professional Nurse & Midwife, Prenatal Yoga Instructor Midwife and Prenatal Yoga Instructor, Karen Wilmot has been supporting families around the globe for over a decade in person and online as the Virtual Midwife. An adventurer, traveller and entrepreneur, she has worked around the world and continues to find new and challenging ways to improve health care for women during pregnancy and birth using online technology. Karen qualified in South Africa as a Professional Nurse & Midwife in 1990. An adventurer, traveller and entrepreneur, she combines her love for travel with her goal to restore normality to birth. Her career has enabled her to work on a diamond mine in South Africa, in a small village in Mexico, in a military hospital in Saudi Arabia and with the Royal family of Oman. Karen is a pioneer in the Middle East where she established the first private community service in Oman between 2009 - 2015, supporting expat women during pregnancy and birth. During this time she deepened her study to include yoga, breath work and mind body therapies. In 2016 she was instrumental in opening the first center for Mother and Baby wellness in the Gulf region. “I left the hospital system in 2009 because I had a vision of creating change. At least 80% of the women I met in the labor room were not prepared for the challenges of pregnancy and birth and yet they had no way of finding the support they needed. While it is true that women have been doing this for millions of years, they did not have to navigate a system that supports policy and procedure over women’s choice. I support choice and believe that knowledge is power. I strive to find the balance between modern understanding of hospital culture and the innate knowing we are born with. My programs are designed to embrace the uniqueness of every woman and guide couples to make informed decisions."

Relax Into Birth PLUS

This Course is Perfect for You if:

Your plans have changed due to Covid and you are not clear on your options anymore. You are reading and listening to everything you can find about pregnancy and birth but you still feel unprepared. This pregnancy is just too precious to leave it up to chance and hope for the best. You are a planner and an action taker.
Get Started Today