Ewell, Surrey
Jillian McAndrew's profile
Why I became a Natal Hypnotherapy Practitioner?
In 2003 I decided to become a Doula. A Doula is a woman who supports women before, during and after birth and has brought me into close contact with women at these times.
I have noticed that too many view the birth as something to be 'got through' rather than an amazing, empowering experience.
I am passionate about my work and believe in extending my knowledge at every available opportunity so when I had the chance to attend a Natal Hypnotherapy Workshop day for professionals I immediately booked. Maggie took this course and it was simply a revelation. At times I felt someone was reading my mind, at others I was impressed by the depth of knowledge, the amount of research and how simple the process of hypnotherapy could be.
At the end of the course I didn't just feel I wanted to become a Natal Hypnotherapy Practitioner I needed to.
I am the mother of two girls, one of whom was born in the island of Malta. My birth experiences were different in so much as one is a very hazy memory influenced as it was by drugs but the other was drug free, calm, relaxed and short. The second birth was obviously preferable and something I treasure.
Between them my daughters have eight children and asked me to be present at the birth of five of them. A great privilege.
It wasn't hard to notice how much easier the births were for my eldest daughter who was confident in her own ability to give birth, was calm, relaxed and asked only for massage and some chosen supportive people around her.
As a Doula I started to encourage mums-to-be to use the Natal Hypnotherapy CD's and the changes I found were quite frankly amazing, even when there had, of necessity, been medical intervention these women felt they had had a positive experience.
My three main philosophies around birth are:-
I believe pregnancy and birth are not medical conditions; together they are a perfectly natural process. They should not be shrouded in medical terminology and fear inducing rhetoric.
I believe all women should be allowed to experience this empowering process in the knowledge that what they and their body achieve during birth is truly amazing and life enhancing.
I believe that to give partners the opportunity to understand the processes of birth; to give them the tools; teach them the techniques and instil in them the confidence to support their women during the birth creates a strong bond between parents and the child.
I have been a Doula since 2003, have learnt, head, hand and foot massage. I am a member of Amspar.
Mobile Phone: 0779 321 8765
E-mail address: jill.mcandrew@tiscali.co.uk