Blog
It Takes a Village
They say it takes a village to raise a child – and yet we don’t often have much of a village these days. Sometimes we need to look outside of our own extended family to create extra support and bring a richness that comes from having many different people as part of...
The Importance of Play for Young Children
As an only child of a single mother, I grew up entertaining myself. When mum got home from work, she didn’t have the time or space to entertain me. I knew from an early age that my own fun came from me, and what I could make, create, discover and imagine. If ever I...
Life After Birth: Managing the First Few Days
Read this before your baby is born and get your partner/a loved one to read it to you asap after your baby arrives. Having a new baby is like learning a new job where you’re expected to work 24/7 on limited amounts of broken sleep, with a boss who doesn’t speak your...
Your Baby has Arrived! Tips for Partners
You have been an amazing partner during the birth – now what happens? It’s a very intense time of learning and adjusting when a new baby lands, particularly for the birthing mother. Not only does her body need to heal from the birth and return to a non-pregnant state,...
Creating Family Rituals
My son gazes lovingly into my eyes one night as I put him to bed. This has always been an important time of connection for us. I have sung him his own song since he was a baby. This song signals the words I want to deeply instil within him, that he is loved and he is...
Cultivating Emotional Intelligence
It was one of those days where everything felt hard. Getting up was almost human torture, feeling like I must have had a 10-minute sleep, not the 7 hours the clock reported. Getting the boys breakfast was mundane and nerve wracking as every disgusting noise and...
8 Reasons To Use Acupressure For Birth
Holly Brocklebank is an Acupuncturist, Transpersonal Art Therapist and Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner who focuses on supporting women through their wellbeing, fertility, pregnancy & birth journeys. Learn more about Holly's work here. The Power of...
The Emotions of Pregnancy & Parenting
One of the couples I worked with had a very difficult first birth. As a result, they researched other ways to welcome their second baby into the world. This time, they changed their model of care to a more woman-centered model. They completed my course and the mum did...
Rapid Transformational Therapy to Help You Grow as a Parent
“I can’t help it, I fly off the handle at the most ridiculous things.” “I’m not the parent I want to be, I seem to have this pent-up anger, and my daughter triggers me.” “I’m sick of feeling anxious all the time. I have this continual fear that something bad is going...
The First Forty Days
The moment has finally arrived - you're finally gazing into that beautiful face of your newborn. All of the mystery surrounding the identity of your baby has been resolved in just one moment. You're fascinated by the unique little features and the perfection of...
Becoming a Grandparent
Grandparents are gold in the life of a child. They come with experience, their hearts full of love for their family, and no real responsibility to the child, other than keeping them alive 🙂 This means they can be playful, breake the rules, spoil them and give them...
Breathing Better Is Not That Hard
I am blessed to see my families again after they have had their babies, and I do get some beautiful compliments about how my course changed their labour. But during a birth debrief with a couple, I received one of the most wonderful and confusing compliments I have...
Finding Your Voice in Labour
I have a distinct memory of looking at my husband’s face during my birth with James, with desperate eyes, pleading with him to read my mind – to get a towel for the floor, a hot pack for my raging bum, a drink of water, call the midwife and not to tell her she has...
Reclaiming what was lost in birth
It’s her second birth, and she’s chosen a homebirth. She’s excited to experience birth as a connected family event. She trained her body and mind and brought a great level of commitment and love to her impending birth. She has done all the right things to prepare. The...
From Calmbirth Canberra to Transform Your Birth and Transform Parenting – An evolution story
It’s close to a year since I first decided to leave my beloved Calmbirth community. To further my experience of working with new families and act on creating the vision of transforming not only birth experiences, but the parenting experience. When you teach something...
Reflections on my Personal Meditation Practice
It was the first day of my training, over 14 years ago, when I was listening to Peter Jackson, the founder of Calmbirth, talk about the role of the subconscious in childbirth. I was smitten, not only with Peter's lovely kind manner and his relaxing voice but also his...
Understanding Your Child
I get to coach parents and listen to their stories and I have to declare – loudly from the mountain tops – parenting is a tough gig! The more I work with parents and their struggles, the more I see that the changes that need to happen, need to start within the minds...
The Magic of Zoom and Teaching Online
I have to be honest, when the world started to change so dramatically in March and almost overnight I went from teaching 20 people in the one room, to 20 people online on Zoom, I had to wonder “Will my program still work its magic?” I’m a results person. I will always...
Keeping Relaxed and Excited About Birth
I will admit, I’m a total nerd when it comes to the science of the mind. I have a real affinity with Joe Dispenza’s work, as he integrates science with the very real task of learning to ‘change your mind’ on a subconscious level, which leads to a change of feeling, a...
Being Transformed by Birth
Since moving on from Calmbirth, I have called my new birth program ‘Transform Your Birth.’ I love the word 'transform' because this word encompasses what I know is happening for the families preparing to bring a baby into the world. I’ve described birth as the doorway...
Instinct and Intuition as Parents
I love feeling intuitive and having strong instincts as a parent. I love responding to my world with certainty and not overthinking things - it drives me nuts when my brain goes into overload and I have streams of thoughts to sort through. Instincts and intuition are...
