

Welcome to The Good Birth Practice
Are you looking for some realistic, sensible, well-informed antenatal education and support during your pregnancy, birth and fourth trimester?
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Are you interested in hypnobirthing, but a bit concerned you won't be able to get on board with it all?
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Maybe you're considering doula support, but aren't sure exactly how it helps?
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You're the sort of woman who enjoys a good plan, but can't quite see how to write a birth plan that is credible, realistic and gets the attention it deserves?
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Are you planning caesarean birth, and want it to be as positive and empowering as any other type of birth
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Or perhaps you want support from someone who knows the system inside out, and can be realistic and honest with you about the practicalities of the system, as well as tools and strategies you can use to make birth more positive?
I'm Charlie, a hypnobirthing teacher, doula, maternity researcher, MNVP Lead and volunteer with AIMS. I have over 10 years experience working with women and families, and within the NHS maternity system. I am dedicated to helping you navigate the nuances of your choices, and create practical, realistic and tailored birth plans that leave you feeling fulfilled not frustrated.
Want to know more?
Contact me to book a chat at charlie@thegoodbirthpractice.co.uk
Or find out which support could be right for you here
Supporting You
Because I only offer one-to-one support, all the antenatal classes and sessions I offer are entirely tailored to you. Whether you're seeking hypnobirthing or birth planning, caesarean birth support or Pocket doula care,
we do it your way. It can be helpful to have an idea about how it works, before you book a call with me to discuss how it can be adapt to your particular situation.
These sessions are for you if are want to want to learn hypnobirthing skills and how to apply them in practice. In four sessions tailored to your situation and your needs we'll cover all the hypnobirthing basics, and discuss why they work and how you can use them.
Maybe this is your first pregnancy and it's all new and overwhelming? Or this birth to come is after a traumatic experience? Or you just want to make birth better than it has a reputation for being, I will help you navigate your choices, the NHS and any bumps in the road throughout your pregnancy and birth

Pocket Doula
You like the sound of a doula and the benefits they can bring, but don't feel you want or need another person at your birth. Pocket Doula support gives you all the benefits of a doula's antenatal, birth and postnatal support, we just do it without being physically in the birth room with you (always available to you and your partner by phone and WhatsApp though!)
You're the type of woman who naturally makes plans and prepares. In pregnancy, though, you have a short amount of time to gather a huge amount of very important information. Birth plans are a pregnancy rite of passage. And they also have a shocking reputation for 'going out of the window when things get intense'.
I am here to help you make plans that are realistic, credible, adaptable and unique to you.
Caesarean births deserve as much celebration and positivity as any other type of birth. If you are planning a caesarean birth I am here to help you to prepare for the birth of your baby - and your recovery. From the practicalities of the day itself, to creating a positive and soothing birth environment, to ideas to celebrate... we can cover it all so you can feel relaxed and confident about your baby's birth.

How to be a birth partner
There's a huge amount of pressure on partners to be a 'Good Birth Partner' - but there are very few sources of realistic information about what that actually means. I'll share my 10 years + experience with you, and support the two of you to develop a Birth Partner Plan that will offer practical and emotional support you can both feel confident in and rely on

Could we click?
Why I might be right for you and your pregnancy
Choosing someone to support you through your pregnancy and birth is a big decision. Whether you're seeking a doula or a hypnobirthing teacher or someone to help you with birth planning, you are likely to remember them for the rest of your life. So it's an important decision!
Your choice is going to be driven by how much you trust me, as well as the services I can support you with. So here's a little bit about how I work and why that might be important to you.

I want you to feel confident in yourself, and your ability to make the right decision on the day. During your pregnancy, our work together will give you the insight you need to make the right decisions for you on the day.
I genuinely don't have an opinion about how or where you have your baby. As long as you are able to make fully informed decisions your choices are your choices. I have supported planned home births, planned caesarean births, birth centre births, water births, births that were planned to be in one place and transferred to another, emergency caesarean births, inductions of labour and all sorts of different births.
I am able to have worked with women and their growing families for over 12 years, as a hypnobirthing and antenatal teacher, as a doula and as MTW NHS Trust MNVP Lead. I can help you navigate the nuances of these complicated systems, and I can help you prepare to have your baby in them.
I have three children, all of them born at home and supported by the same two midwives.
Follow me on insta for entirely irregular but well considered thoughts on having a 'good birth', hypnobirthing, continuity of care, feminism, doula support, informed choice, birth planning, the social value ascribed to 'mother', why birth matters, antenatal education and preparation, and some general stuff around being a woman in the world....
Read some blogs inspired by my time as an antenatal and hypnobirthing teacher and doula. Thoughts arising from my research at the Centre for Women's Studies at the University of York and as Research Assistant at Coventry University. Insights from my time as Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) Lead
Supporting mothers and families
Doula-led antenatal and hypnobirthing classes
Birth Doula and Pocket Doula support
Offering in-person classes, sessions and workshops in....
Sevenoaks | Hildenborough | Tonbridge | Tunbridge Wells | Kings Hill | Crowborough | Edenbridge
Bromley | Orpington | Chelsfield | Bexley
Classes, sessions and workshops available nationally and internationally via Zoom