Prenatal family stories

Myofascial bodywork

Baby in a better position – Alyssa’s story

You have to own your birth – Vicki Prescott’s story

Spinning Babies®

I was uninhibited at birth – Anne’s story

Getting past the stall in labor – 2nd time mother’s story

Baby rolls into optimal position – Megan’s story

Myofascial bodywork

 

Baby in a better position

Even before my pregnancy, I struggled with chronic pain and have tried many other types of treatment. Although those have helped somewhat, craniosacral and myofascial bodywork was the first treatment that helped my body to unlearn patterns of tension and move towards a better state of balance. After the first session I felt more grounded and more relaxed, as if a weight had lifted. I felt much less tension in my stomach and hip area. My womb also felt more centered, shifting the baby into a good position for birth. During the sessions, I have been able to reach a state of deep relaxation, which I know will be helpful during labor. – Alyssa

You have to own your birth

Birth is a natural event, but we need to feel comfortable with sounds and movements. Your body will make moves you never may have made. You need to take responsibility for the power that comes out of your body. You have to own it; it’s you. You have to be comfortable with yourself totally. It takes work.

You are awesome

Through our session, my husband felt more connected with me and our birthing team. I was concerned that he felt clueless, until he knew what sounds and movements I would be doing at birth. I was relieved to not worry about him. We had to work and practice together for him to understand what I was doing. There was nothing better than when he would hug me and say, ‘You are awesome’. – Vicki Prescott

I was uninhibited at birth

While I was learning prenatal activities, I didn’t know how I would use them in labor. But then during birth I drew on so much. I needed my helpers to push on my back. I stretched in between contractions. I did movements & poses you taught. Cecelia came out while I was in child pose. Because we had practiced beforehand I was able to be uninhibited in the hospital. I think that’s what got me through labor. I really used my voice to open up while Cecelia was coming out. I wasn’t just moaning, I heard melodic music in my mind. I was doing opera, with just lots of big sound. I felt that I could stay on top of the flow of labor. – Anne

Getting past the stall in labor

For background, my first birth involved three days of labor. My husband and I felt more and more confused and depleted the longer it went, and came through it utterly exhausted. Now, a couple years later, I was worried about repeating that long labor, and being away from our toddler for so long. Catherine taught us all of the Spinning Babies movements to do during pregnancy and during each stage of labor. She helped us to understand the actions and the underlying mechanics of why we were doing each movement. It made much more sense this time around. I labored steadily through the day, but my cervix remained dilated to seven cm for two hours and our baby was still high. Catherine gave me some Spinning Babies options, which I did for an hour. The midwife did another cervical check and it was dilated to nine centimeters now. We were so surprised and relieved! When the midwife broke the sac, she said it was really strong and full. I got in the tub, where I roared during the next contractions and felt the baby’s head pushing through. Then I felt his body squeezing through, which was a relief. From breaking the sac to the baby’s birth was just 20 minutes. I got to hold my baby non-stop through delivering the placenta and getting stitches. We looked into his wide eyes, and he started nursing. I’m so thankful for this birth experience and for Catherine’s support throughout it. – 2nd time mother

Baby rolls into optimal position We are excited to announce that baby Mitchell made his presence earthside on 11/17. My water broke at 11/16 on 1:00am. I felt some big rolls and movements and somewhere between there and going into the hospital he moved to the left side. Labor was slow to start on its own after the water breaking and I ended up going in for a membrane sweep at 5pm the next day and I’m so happy to say it worked! I then had a wonderfully unmedicated birth free of further interventions. Baby ended up being 8 lbs 12 oz and 21.5 inches long at 38 weeks and 0 days 🙂 He was ready to be born and our whole family is doing great.  Thank you so much for your Spinning Babies instruction. We felt very prepared and consciously used lots of strategies in early labor when I could think, and unconsciously, and with help of Nick and our doula, Jessica, used other strategies later in labor. I spontaneously used lots of hip dips and lunges which was cool to reflect on and understand why my body was wanting to do that. We had a great birth and thank you for your role in it! – Megan and Nick

You can receive effective support for the challenges of pregnancy and prepare for your best birth with MamaBebe services.

Experienced birth practitioner & bodyworker

Catherine brings a warm, experienced presence to families. She has provided practical education and therapies for childbearing women and babies for decades. Catherine specializes in prenatal care as a Certified Body Ready Method® Pro and Spinning Babies® Aware Practitioner and Parent Educator. Catherine helps women and babies tap into their own inner resources with a somatic approach of fostering awareness and connection.