Mothers' Conversations
on Friday Mornings
Join Jennifer and mothers and babies for a drop-in discussion on Fridays from 10 - 11.
We share parenting stories and talk about sleep, feeding, communicating with your baby, relationships and much more.
To register or for more information please contact Energia at 416-406-6664.
These weekly gatherings are hosted by Energia at no cost to us.
Energia is a store and studio offering running clinics and yoga and spinning classes, located at 164 Danforth Ave,
1 block east of Broadview.
Hope to see you there!
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HypnoBirthing Gathering
A wonderful gathering of the newly born and nearly born (and one 'mature' nine month old) was held Wed.
Oct 8, 7-9 PM at
With Child.
Thanks to all the parents who came and generously shared their HypnoBirthing stories and introduced their babies. You are an inspiration!
It was great to see you. I am so glad that you were able to reunite with some of your classmates and meet their babies.
I also enjoyed seeing parents-to-be from past and current classes. And it was a pleasure to meet those parents who are considering joining future classes.
Thanks to Tina of With Child for hosting!
Watch for the next gathering in early 2009!
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Next 5 week series begin:
Thurs. Nov.13-Dec. 11 Tues Jan. 13 - Feb. 10
Thurs Jan.15 - Feb.12
All classes 7-9:30 PM
at With Child
705 Pape Ave
at Danforth
Learn more:
Having another baby?
Take your second HypnoBirthing class for half price! Attend as many classes as you like!
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Coalition for Breech Birth
If you were disappointed to find at the end of pregnancy that your baby was in a breech position you may have found yourself facing a Caesarean Birth, something that was not at all in your plans.
You are not alone.
Check out breechbirth.ca, created by an Ottawa woman who wants more birth options for breech babies and their mothers. And read birth stories of breech babies.
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New President of International Confederation of Midwives
The 2008 President of the International Confederation of Midwives is Canadian! She's Bridget Lynch, a practicing midwife at Community Midwives here in Toronto.
We can all be proud that not only are our midwives providing superb care for women in Toronto, they are also working internationally to advance the profession of midwifery in order to enhance the reproductive health of
women, and the health of their newborn and their families.
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2008 HypnoBirthing Stats
births: 47
no pain meds:34
home births: 20
Congratulations to all!
Please send in your
Birth Reports so that your birth is included in these stats!
And remember to
announce your births
to your classmates.
They are waiting to hear your news!
Toronto HypnoBirthing News would like to
share your birth story. Please send it to jen.elliott@rogers.com
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Orgasmic Birth
You may have seen the trailer at orgasmicbirth.comNow you can see the film. It contains both powerful images of women birthing naturally, and strong indictments of conventions of hospital birth.
Mon. Nov. 3
350 Victoria St. Library Building
6:30 PM
$10
Please RSVP: s3sulema@ryerson.ca
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Greetings!
 Talk to your Baby
As some of you know, I attended the HypnoBirthing Conclave in October in Austin, Texas. HypnoBirthing Educators gathered from the US, Canada, Brazil, Singapore, the UK and more. Canadians represented the width of our country from the east coast through to Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. It is so affirming to know so many educators inspiring women all over the world to birth peacefully and naturally.
For me, the most thought-provoking presentation was by Karen Strange, a midwife and neonatal resuscitation instructor. In her practice she acknowledges the baby at all levels - physically, emotionally and spiritually. She stresses that we always have time to take a breath, ground ourselves and talk to the baby about our plans and perceptions. Rather than simply treating or caring for a baby, she includes the baby in the care and treatment, encouraging the baby to take a breath, for instance.
Many who care for babies do the same thing, letting the baby know that we are going to pick them up and undress them, or give them a bath, and then we watch for the baby's responses. Our babies are not the dolls we played with as children, but real people with whom we can communicate. We just need to learn what their sounds and behaviours communicate to us. It is perhaps for this reason that many new parents choose to have a babymoon, an extended period of time (perhaps a week) when just the 3 of them spend time together observing and responding.
French psychiatrist and author of Talking to Babies, Dr Myriam Szejer, advises parents to talk to their babies about the specific situations into which they were born. She is particularly concerned about babies who have been separated from their mothers at birth.
Marcy Axness, Ph.D. has written about the trauma of separation suggesting that it, "is registered largely on the physical level, leaving the nervous system predisposed to getting stuck in survival mode: fight, flight or freeze. (what HypnoBirthing refers to as the Emergency Room) In babies, these powerful feelings are thus expressed physically, through inconsolable crying. . . extreme startle responses, arching or stiffening at being held, spacing out or sleeping all the time, severe colic or other illness."
In short, our baby's behaviour may be telling us something about her early experience of the world. If this is the case, (and I look forward to the wise parents around me to providing their feedback on this) what can we do? Axness advises empathy which allows a baby to feel her feelings rather than repress them. She believes that expressing those strong feelings leads to releasing them. And giving words to them lets the baby know you are really listening. Axness suggests empathetic phrases such as, "I understand. . . You had some scary and painful things happen to you while I wasn't with you, and I'm very sorry."
Talk to your baby - about his birth, your plans for the day, his feelings and responses to events and stimuli, about any frightening or uncomfortable moments. Because your baby is tuned to you and always listening. And put your baby's communication into words so that your baby knows that you are really listening. Two way communication builds trust and a healthy bond.
Enjoy your babies, inside and out!
HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator
P. S. Birth keeps getting better in Canada, and Ontario is leading the way. Alberta midwives will be funded by the provincial health care system beginning April 2009, about 15 years after Ontario. The new president of the International Confederation of Midwives is a Canadian midwife from Toronto! And more and more Ontario women and Canadians across the country are having HypnoBirths!
View past newsletters in our archives through the HypnoBirthing page of Life's Journey
Subscribe at Life's Journey
Unsubscribe at the bottom of this email.
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Julie and Paul chose HypnoBirthing for their third birth and found it gave them the sense of control they needed for their fast birth.
The Birth of Siena
Just wanted to let you know that our little girl has finally arrived.
She decided to stay in a little longer than our other two (by 2 weeks)
but when it was time, she was anxious to come out. Here's a bit of our story... I
went to bed around 10 ish and proceeded to listen to the relaxation CD. At around 11:15pm, I woke up and was feeling some pressure but
wasn't quite sure what it was. At around 11:30pm I knew I was starting
to experience surges and they were coming faster. Our neighbour across
the street quickly came over and we were out the door and heading to
the hospital -Women's College. By this point, the surges were coming
on faster with only minutes apart...I knew I was in active labour and
needed to get to the hospital quickly. In the car...I was on my hands
& knees and trying very hard to stay calm and relaxed, using the
techniques we learned in class but by this time I was also feeling an
urge to push. We finally got to the hospital emergency...I could
hardly walk or talk at this point and had to stop quite a bit to get
through each of the surges. A security guard helped guide our way and
went ahead to get us an elevator. We bypassed Triage and went straight
to the birthing unit. A nurse met us and Paul was great at helping
them to understand we were Hypnobirthing parents and we wanted to avoid
any type of medical intervention. When we got to the room - around
12:20am, they checked me to see how far I was and realized I was
10cm. I now had to breath my baby down...I used the visualization
techniques - opening blossom - to help with this and remembered the breathing
you taught us. Within 13 min, Siena made her debut and was on my chest
initiating her first feed. I had no tears and felt amazing
afterwards. It was a little scary just trying to make it to the
hospital...but when it was all over, we were on such a high. We
didn't stay in the hospital for another night but decided since I was
feeling so good that we would go home the same day. Tessa & Zara
got to meet their baby sister by mid afternoon. Thank you for everything. Julie and Paul
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CDS MAKE GREAT STOCKING STUFFERS!
Consider these for friends, family members and co-workers.
Relax and Refocus
a
relaxation followed by suggestions and visualizations for boosting
confidence, letting go of negative thoughts and creating greater peace
of mind.
Birth with Calm and Confidence
Condition yourself to relax. Then visualize the birth you desire.
Calm and Confidence for the New Mother
Relax and parent with confidence.
These CDs are written
and recorded by Certified Hypnotist Jennifer Elliott
at Zoo Music
Available from
www.lifesjourney.ca |
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WHAT ARE FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LISTENING TO IN THEIR DORMS??
Some of everything I imagine. But at bedtime my daughter and her roommate put on a hypnosis CD! They began the year with Healthy Eating Habits which I created at Roxanne's request as she was concerned that she might find it challenging to eat well while at university. Roxy says it helps them sleep much more soundly and she and her roommate use the affirmations to remind each other to eat well. They use phrases like: I eat well, like a responsible adult and I eat regularly and choose nourishing food. Now that they are hooked on the positive effects of regular hypnosis they alternate between Healthy Eating Habits and Destination Graduation, a CD I was inspired to create when my son began university three years ago. He reported that after a few listenings he found himself unaccountably drawn to the library to study! If you know a university student, consider making him or her a gift of Destination Graduation, which comes in a wrapped and illustrated CD case. From now until Christmas I'll add the Healthy Eating Habits CD (not yet available from my website) as a bonus so your favourite student will emerge from her first year without the 'freshman 15' and with some good eating habits instead. Guys will benefit from this CD as well. Available from www.lifesjourney.ca |
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Homeopathy @ Home
Learn how to use homeopathic remedies to treat colds, flu, ear infections, sore throats and more. Build your own homeopathic medicine kit.
Presented by Classical Homeopath Toby Neal.
Life Chiropractic Centre,
98 Symington Ave
Mon Nov. 3, 10 &17
6:45 - 9:15 PM
$25 per session or $65 for all 3.
For info or to register contact:
Toby Neal 416-659-1516 or
classicalhomeopath@gmail.com
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HYPNOSIS HELPS!
Private hypnosis sessions to
stop smoking
reduce weight
enhance fertility
cope with medical conditions,
connect with baby,
turn a breech baby,
release fears, and
let go of disappointing birth memories.
To book an appointment
contact Jennifer at 416-462-1938 or jennifer@lifesjourney.ca
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