Scottish Public Health Minister Shona Robison standing up for Mother Nature

It appears that if you live in Scotland you will have a much easier time having a natural birth than other women in the UK. Although sad that a guidance has to be written for doctors and midwives to stay out of mother nature’s business at least in Scotland something is being done.

Although I’d like to pick up on a few points I made whilst reading the article

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/05/12094102

The article states that women with low-risk pregnancies are to be offered more choice and control over giving birth, as a result of these new guidelines.

Interesting to me that although this sounds positive, it still implies that there are times when a woman does not have a choice. They also give no indication of what they mean by ‘low-risk’. During HypnoBirthing® classes I teach my couples that they ALWAYS have a choice. That they have a right to ask questions! That they should have the opportunity to become well informed, have all of the facts given to them in a calm, measured way and then make decisions based on what is right for them and their baby. Everyone is different in terms of what they want and indeed where there levels of comfort lie. I would not presume to force my opinion on them and I don’t believe midwives or doctors should either.

The Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic (KCND) guidance for doctors and midwives has stated that it will ensure midwives are the lead carers for women who have safe, low-risk pregnancies and births - the majority of women giving birth in Scotland.

Scottish Public Health Minister Shona Robison recently launched the guidance as she opened Perth Royal Infirmary's Women's Clinic and Midwife Unit.

She said:

"Pregnancy and birth are normal and natural. Most women have a straightforward, uncomplicated pregnancy and labour and don't need intense medical intervention.

What does she mean by intense? Why would there be a need for any intervention in a straightforward uncomplicated pregnancy and labour?

"Having a midwife as the main carer is totally appropriate for them, and it's also the best way to ensure that a woman is in control of her own pregnancy and care options.

And in control of her own labour and birth too I would hope!

"Scotland leads the way in putting women at the heart of care and supporting normal births. Most health boards already work this way, but the introduction of these guidelines will ensure the same high standard of care everywhere.

Bravo! – I hope that I have some Scottish readers who can relay some positive stories to back this up and you never know this strange idea that labour and birth are normal for the majority of women may just spread.

"Women whose pregnancies are assessed as being higher-risk will have their care led by an obstetrician and all women will continue to have the choice of where and how their pregnancy will be cared for."

Will the ‘higher-risk’ – whatever that might mean (I hear of women being put under higher-risk obstetrician care because they are 36 – oh sooooooooo old to be having a baby) definitely still have that choice?

The KCND clinical guidelines have been prepared by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. This work included a three-month consultation. They represent the latest phase in the implementation of the programme, which was introduced in 2007.

So this is not completely new. If anyone out there can let me know what your experience of midwife / medical care is or was like during your pregnancy and birth I’d be very interested to hear your comments.

66 year old woman pregnant through IVF

Divorced Elizabeth Adeney will become the oldest woman to give birth in Britain when she has her baby sometime next month.

I'm sure many people will have an opinion on whether or not this is fair on the child. I had Evan when I was 39 which I do not consider old but I do feel a little sad that I will have just celebrated my 60th as she turns 21. But then I married a toy boy so I'll just continue living my life through his age as no-one ever believes how old I am anyway.

The positive I take from this story though is that she GOT pregnant albeit using donor eggs but with so many women being told they are TOO OLD to get pregnant at 40 this can at least promote confidence that the biological clock has got a lot more tick tock in it than some would have us believe.

Now that's what I call a 'Very Special Delivery'

Postman Pat could not have done a better job himself.

This story put a smile on my face.

Sonia Nascimento gave birth to a healthy baby girl in her local post office proving I guess that 'baby will come when baby is ready'!

I particularly loved the mothers words - ‘I tried to be calm because I know how these things happen because Alberto, my eldest, was the same way– but at home.’ This is most probably why her daughter was born so easily. The staff took Sonia through to the back room and, just three minutes later, Baby Dulce was born weighing 5lb 15oz or should I say £8.22 (the cost of her weight as a first class parcel).

It is fear that actually changes the hormones within a woman's body causing the muscles of the uterus to constrict and tighten during labour rather than relaxing. This quite simply is what causes the great discomfort you hear of when women talk about their difficulties during childbirth. During HypnoBirthing classes couples learn that when a mother is relaxed, calm and in control she enables the muscles of her uterus to work in harmony as they are designed to do. They then learn a variety of techniques in order to enable them to maintain this sense of calm and go on to have comfortable birthing experiences.

Panayiotis Zavos: 'I can clone a human being'

A few weeks ago a documentary was shown on the Discovery Channel showing the controversial fertility expert Panayiotis Zavos creating cloned embryos and then injecting them into the wombs of women who were open to having a cloned baby.

The cloning technique he uses is the same as was used to create Dolly the sheep in 1996.

There is huge debate from scientists and ethicists, many of whom have united in their attack of Zavos' fertility plan but I don't intend to get involved in that myself at this time. My reasons for posting on this subject come from two very simple thoughts that were prompted by an article I read and the emotions I felt as I was reading it.

A quote from the article reads:

"I get enquiries every day. To date we have had over 100 enquiries and every enquiry is serious. The criteria is that they have to consider human reproductive cloning as the only option available to them after they have exhausted everything else," Dr Zavos said.

My simple response to this is does Dr. Zavos include in that how the mind is affecting the body? I learnt HypnoFertility from a wonderful woman called Lynsi Eastburn and she relayed many stories of how medical personal had given couples the news that they will NEVER have a baby and that it was a physical impossibility for them do so. But Lynsi had then gone on to work with these women and they had become pregnant. I myself have worked with women who have been told; your body is on the edge of menopause, your eggs are of such poor quality you will never conceive, you will never become pregnant, and so on. Many have gone on to become pregnant after having undergone HypnoFertility with me. The mind plays such an important part in conceiving. In fact the subconscious mind runs the body and is therefore controlling whether or not a woman can become pregnant. So if the mind isn't considered during a couples journey towards having a baby then all options have NOT been exhausted.

But the article is not just talking about helping couples have their long sought after baby.

The part of the article that affected me the most deeply began with the sub-title "The little girl who could 'live' again". This was referring to a little girl called Cady who died aged 10 in a car crash in the US. Her blood cells were frozen and sent to Dr Zavos who produced cloned human-animal hybrid embryos from them. Dr Zavos said that cells from Cady's "embryo" could in the future be fused with an empty human egg, producing a human embryo, that could then be transferred into the womb to produce Cady's clone. Cady's mother said she would sanction this if there was a chance the clone of her little girl could be born.

I find this story so incredibly sad. I am crying just even trying to write this post. First of all of course the loss of a child. It is utterly inconceivable and no-one would ever want to imagine the pain of this. However, to then go on and look for ways of cloning that child just sends the horror of Stephen King's Pet Sematary right through me. I wonder what there reasons would be for doing this? They cannot bring back the unique child that they lost by cloning her. This will of course be a different child. Is there a comfort in knowing that a new child is part of the one they lost - maybe, I have no idea? Does the pain of losing Cady become any less. I would sadly guess no. This is more than helping a couple have a child this is surely aimed at helping replace the loss of another child. Something that I'm sure Cady's parents will be the first to tell us that you just cannot do.

And here I find myself unwittingly joining the ethics debate.

Most horrifying of all for me is the total understanding I have of what could drive Cady's parents and the character Louis Creed in Pet Sematary towards the making of such decisions.


"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body" - Elizabeth Stone

Quick post for a quick birth

This is a text that I've just received from one of my clients:

"Austin arrived at 22:34 on 6th. Midwife only just made it in time! Stage 2 - 9 mins, I woke at 21:30!" :-)

Ah! The power of HypnoBirthing

Always takes my breath away

Yesterday morning I was in the middle of getting ready for that day's HypnoBirthing course. It was just before 9am when the phone rang and as I picked it up I heard a quiet voice say "hello Dany I'm pregnant". As I sit and write this now I'm having the same reaction I had then I've gone all goose bumpy and feel as though I'm going to cry. No matter how many times I get that call from one of my fertility clients it always takes my breath away. I can hear the disbelief in their voices. Most have been through many, many years of trying, often having done countless other complementary methods and had many attempts at assisted fertility treatment. To finally get that second line appear on the pregnancy test or to actually see the word PREGNANT if they have used a digital one is quite unbelievable to them. I am so proud and lucky to be part of these women's journey's towards having their beautiful babies.

HypnoFertility is truly amazing!

Did the sun go to my head?

What a beautful day it was today!


My lovely hubby (Jim), gorgeous daughter (Evan) and I went off to buy a new car today. We're used to being a two car family. Nothing flashy, two reliable workhorses - both old girls. A Citreon ZX Aura and a 5 Series BMW Estate (I don't know much about cars but this had a nice big powerful engine so it could go very fast which made Jim happy. It also had a nice big boot which made me happy). Now I say had because sadly a few months ago our lovely beema developed a rather shocking noise. On further investigation it was discovered that it would cost £1k to have her fixed, a cost we decided was too much for a 15 year old car.


So Jim's research began. He wanted a fun, fast, powerful car, preferably a convertible. I wanted a big boot. He sent me many, many, many emails of I have to agree lovely cars but the cost was always too high, as was the mileage and the age of the car. And they didn't have a big boot.


And then we got to yesterday and he sent me an email of a lovely car. Good price, excellent mileage, age ok, fun, fast and a convertible. Now I don't know if over the months he has worn me down but I found myself agreeing to go and have a look at it. And so off we went.


So did I get my nice big boot I hear you ask?





Well.......





We bought a 2 seater MGF convertible (to replace a BMW Estate hahahhahahahaha - I'm rolling around the floor laughing as I write this) so NO!!!!!!





But it is a beautiful colour red :-) xx