Fear Free Childbirth (ePub)

This e-book will help you to take the fear out of birth and includes contributions from best-selling birth and pregnancy authors as well as world-class birthing and wellbeing experts. It is the ideal accompaniment to the Fear Free Childbirth podcast and includes access to the extensive free resources that are provided to the regular podcast listeners.

Alexia launched the Fear Free Childbirth Podcast because she wanted to create a source of information about pregnancy and birth that she wished she'd had when she was pregnant. She had no idea that it would grow to become as popular as it is today. Since its launch the podcast has been nominated in the UK Podcasting Awards and it has been downloaded over 110,000 times and is listened to in over 120 countries.

When Alexia was pregnant she was terrified of giving birth, so much so that she was sure she'd opt for a c-section; just to avoid the pain of giving birth. Fortunately her pregnancy coincided with her training in a new therapeutic technique that could clear fears quickly and effectively. It was also where someone told her about hypnobirthing and the possibility of a pain-free birth. Once she learned that fears are directly responsible for the pain we experience in childbirth she knew what she had to do; clear her fears! Alexia spent her second trimester clearing her fears and had experienced such a transformation that by her third trimester she opted for a natural birth at home. When she was pregnant for the second time, she had lots of new fears and she dealt with those in the same way and went on to have her second beautiful home birth.

But one thing stood out for her; the lack of readily available information for pregnant women to help them navigate their pregnancy journey so that they can approach birth without fear. For women to feel confident and calm about their births, two things are required. Firstly, they need to feel empowered and this means being well-informed about childbirth. The second aspect is that they need to be able to move past their fears, and this isn't always easy, especially if you don't know how.

Through her podcast, Alexia helps her listeners with both of these. She is regularly joined by world-class birthing professionals and experts who share their wisdom about birth and the choices women face. Alexia also talks to mothers who share their positive birth stories to inspire women that birth really can be a beautiful and positive experience. And finally, she shares the method that she used for clearing her fears and that she credits with helping her to ditch her plan for a c-section and choose a natural home birth.

A whole range of topics are covered including hypnobirthing, coping with a miscarriage, conscious birthing, tokophobia (fear of pregnancy and birth), micro biome, overcoming fear, particularly the fear of pain and the fear of losing control, how dads can prepare for birth, how to avoid inductions and much more.

The ebook includes contributions from Jacqui Blue (director of the Beautiful Films documentary), Sophie Fletcher (best-selling author of "Mindful Hypnobirthing", doula and founder of Mindful Mamma), Mark Harris (best-selling author of "Men, Love and Birth", midwife, founder of Birthing4Blokes), Lisa-Jane Merridue (conscious birthing doula), Susie Gower (holistic fertility, pregnancy and birth support expert), Catherine Holland (Rebirthing breath worker, author, breastfeeding counsellor) and Charan Surdhar (author, epigeneticist), as well as many more through interviews.

To easily access the podcast episodes that are featured in this book, you can use the Podcasts app (Apple) or Stitcher app (Android). Just search for Fear Free Childbirth.