Inspiring Mumprenuer Series | Sarah Collison | Hypnobirthing Instructor | birth trauma recovery therapist

Welcome to the inspiring mumprenuer series featuring Sarah Collison who is a hypnobirthing instructor and a birth trauma recovery therapist

Imagine if you could have your dream job whilst being a mum.

Every month I invite business owners who inspire and help pregnant ladies and new mums with the service that they provide and who have also conquered this challenge to share their stories, from how old they were when they fell pregnant to how they have found the perfect work-life balance for their families now.

If you want to be inspired by stories of other mums in business and learn from their challenges and lessons read on to learn how their business can help you as a mum, how they can help you with the work-life balance and to live the life you want to.

I had heard many great things about Sarah from anyone who has met her, Everything baby Berkshire who we are both members of and from ladies at my athena networking meetings. I checked out Sarah’s website and was really impressed with the testimonials.

As someone that wanted hypnobirthing myself with both of my pregnancies but did not due to finances at the time and as someone who believes in hypnotherapy and RTT as I have felt the benefits I have always been fascinated to hear of the positive birth experiences as a result of hypnobirthing by ladies that I have photographed.

I spoke at an event that Sarah attended a few years ago so we have mutual friends that help pregnant ladies and new mums. Sarah is a lovely lady and we had a really interesting conversation recently that has left me hooked on listening to podcasts and I can highly recommend the feel better, live more with Dr Rangan Chatterjee podcast that Sarah recommended to me.

Sarah is a hypnobirthing instructor and a birth trauma recovery therapist, we’re going to talk about how Sarah got into her work and ask if she has any advice for pregnant mums.

Lets start with a bio?

I’ve had a very varied career path since Uni where I studied Psychology! I feel so privileged to now do what I love, as a Positive Birth Coach and Hypnobirthing Instructor. I support parents-to-be in preparing their baby’s birth to be an awesome, positive, calm and empowering experience. 

I also offer Mindful Breastfeeding Support, and help parents heal from their traumatic birth experiences with a very gentle, safe and effective therapy called Traumatic Birth Recovery (3 Step Rewind).

Are you are a mum?  What age where you when you got pregnant?

Ah yes, being a Mum, life’s most challenging and incredible job yet! I was 33 when pregnant with my son Noah; we are now just at the start of our school journey. Where does time go?!?

Did you have any cravings or go off anything?
I used to hate fizzy drinks, but could not get enough Fanta when pregnant! I generally ate looooooads (including lots of ginger biscuits) to help with the nausea, eating was the only time I didn’t feel sick. 

How do you get the balance between being at work and be a mum?
This is where being a single mama has its advantages! I hold my classes when Noah is with his daddy – generally at weekends - which works well for my clients too. 

Providing support to couples by email or phone I do after bedtime. Social media and other bits and bobs I squeeze into nap times (so lucky my son still naps at age 4!)

How did you get into your work?
When pregnant I underwent a huge shift in mindset around labour and birth thanks to a hypnobirthing course. At first, I was super anxious and had a ‘give me all the drugs’ plan. Following a huge amount of learning, I was in awe of what my body was made to do naturally, and went on to plan and have an amazing home-birth where my partner and I retained control over decisions, and we both hugely enjoyed the entire experience. 

After seeing too many close friends sadly have less than positive stories about their babies’ births to tell, I became passionate in helping others achieve happier births. 

Joining a family on their journey and knowing the tools and techniques they’ve learnt help make their baby’s arrival calm and positive (their testimonials and birth stories speak for themselves), well it’s just the biggest gift to be a part of that.

What is your favourite thing about your work?
Oh, so many things! Visually seeing couples’ ‘a-ha’ moments in class, where we talk about something so simple yet so powerful that helps them see birth in a completely new light. At school, we’re only taught how not to get pregnant, not what happens when we do, and over our lifetime a store of messages builds up in our subconscious that ‘birth can be painful/dangerous/is to be avoided’ – my job is to help undo that unhelpful learning and replace it with knowledge of the normal physiology of birth and the positive belief that it can (with the right tools and techniques) be a really great experience! 

I love love love receiving news of baby’s arrival, and hearing how women and their birth partners took full control for achieving the positive birth they wanted. This is less around ‘what happens’ during birth, and more about how they felt – in control, educated, confident, and relaxed. 

Dads falling asleep during my relaxations is another highlight, I take it as a compliment that (sometimes a little sceptical at first) men enjoy the relaxation parts of the class so much!

What is the biggest challenge about your work?
The steep learning curve that came with creating a business – things like website design and development which I did on a self-taught basis! 

Being able to expertly tailor my service to work on specific fears or circumstances of each client has come from working with so many families in such different situations, and from oodles of continued professional development. I’m always learning and grab training opportunities to expand my knowledge.

There is also a huge challenge in the fact that support like birth trauma recovery therapy should even be needed; I’d love to work more with healthcare professionals, and see all women empowered and educated pre-pregnancy in their birth rights and choices, to help reduce the incidence of birth trauma.

If you could give any advice to pregnant mums what would it be?
Becoming a parent can feel like the most terrifying moment – so much change, unknown, and new responsibility. Be assured that all parents are winging things to some extent, yet your instincts to know what is right for your baby and your family are strong, and will pretty much always win out in guiding you in the best way to do things!

Support is out there, so do reach out if you are struggling with anything at all pre- or postnatally. Just because problems and issues may be common, doesn’t mean you should put up with them or handle struggles alone. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, and accessing that help can make the world of difference in your parenting journey.

Do you have a self care routine?
I think it’s super important to model self care to our children, so they see the importance of looking after ourselves physically and emotionally. Building in time to rest and to exercise is key for me. Running and Pilates are my favourite ways to move for releasing stress and anxieties! I’m not one for traditional at-home pampering, but I’d never say no to a professional massage or reflexology treatment – heaven! 

Where can we find you?

Web:       www.HappyBirths.net

Facebook:   Happy Births - Hypnobirthing Berkshire

Community:  Positive Birth Prep

Instagram:    @HappyBirths