Anthonissa Moger - The Hypnobirthing Midwife

One of my favourite things every week.... we breathe, we relax, we chat and we LAUGH. ALOT 🤣😝
It’s a band of lovely local Mums ❤️❤️❤️
It’s FREE and all pregnant lassies are WELCOME 🙏🏼🥰👌🏼 at any stage of pregnancy!
... See you Friday kids 😜
p.s to guarantee a spot book your place on the Leyton Yoga website 🥳
#womensupportwomen
#elevate #pregnancy #birth #midwife #midwives #hypnobirthing #birthwithoutfear
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WHO IS THAT HANDSOME VIKING?
This is Chris.
You won’t see pictures of Chris on my social media... or much about him 🧐 But...
... Chris is my fella 😍
He supported me through the last year of midwifery school, through setting up my hypnobirthing business five years ago, encourages me to follow my hobbies AND dreams, is an awesome stepDad, all round family man, helps me live ethically and stay vegan AND is an incredible cook 🥰... I didn’t plan on writing all of that 🤣 but it’s true!
Three years ago this week Chris’s sister lost her first baby, and it rocked our whole world. Loosing a baby is every parents nightmare.
Experiencing baby loss in the family changed things. It was a very difficult time.
It also changed my midwifery practice and the way I teach ❤️
After six months we decided to try and make something good come from baby Evans death and started raising money for @sandscharity SANDS is a lifeline for parents who have experienced stillbirth AND they do invaluable research into preventing stillbirth ❤️
Together we have raised ⚡️£8876.25 ⚡️ and Chris is running his third marathon for @sandscharity 🙌🏻 we are hoping to hit the 10k mark this time...🤞🏼
I LOVE creating free content on Facebook, YouTube and Insta that helps women all around the world 😍 It really makes my heart sing!!!
If you have benefitted from one of my posts would you consider donating £5 £2 or £1 ? ☺️😁 It would be AMAZING to bring everyone together and support parents who experience this devastating life event.
It will take just 2 minutes to donate using the link below 👇🏼❤️🙌🏻 AND I will give every single person a personal shout out to say THANKYOU (please leave your name/ insta name in the donation comments)
Let’s do this!!! ☺️💪🏼😁🙌🏻🥰
https://smarturl.it/SANDS_BerlinMarathon< br> #stillbirth #stillbirthawareness #pregnancy #birth #labour #midwife
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BIRTH POSITIONS
I love this one and Mums do too!! When you’ve been in labour for 24 hours + and you’re super knackered.... 😴😴😴 BUT you still want to stay U F O (upright- forward- open), this position can be your best friend.
Why do Mums love it so much??? Because it’s often way more comfortable than sitting/ lying back!!
... The weight and pressure of the baby is taken off of your back... which feels Ohhh Sooo Good!!!
You feel supported and safe with your head nestled into the bed ☺️
Most hospital beds will move like this, so show this pic to your birth partner, they can ask the midwife on the day for the bed remote control and you can give it a whirl if it feels good 🥰
Fabulous drawing from Your No Guilt Pregnancy Guide by @rebecca.schiller 🙌🏻 Which is a great book!!
#birth #birthwithoutfear
#activebirth #optimalfetalpositioning
#pregnancy #labour #midwife #hypnobirthing
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We talk about a few options which you can consider to reduce the chance of having a tear or a significant tear during birth. 🤰🏽🤱🏼
Around 70-80% of first time Mums will experience a small tear or graze during birth. I know women really worry about this, but it’s not as scary as it sounds. Ask us any questions a below ❤️
With my girl Cheryl 🥰

THE HUMBLE FLANNEL
Or wash clothe if you’re over in the States!!
This is one of my MUST HAVES in a birthing bag... and I’ll tell you why!
... A simple flannel is good for so many things both during and after birth. You can run it under cold water or put ice in the middle of it and place it on Mums forehead, scalp or neck and shoulders if she’s too hot!! Birthing women are often roasting 🥵🔥
You can pop some drops of aromatherapy oil on it and lay it on Mums head/ shoulder to help her relax (see earlier post for more on aromatherapy oils) 🙏🏼
You can freshen up Mums face, hands or pits if she’s feeling sweaty during or after birth 🥰
And it’s great for getting off that first meconium poo from baby too!!💩
I love a flannel because it reminds me of being looked after by my Mum when I was a kid... so it brings back good vibes ✨ There were a hell of a lot of flannels kicking about it the 80’s.... where did they all go??!? 😆
What was your absolute MUST HAVE essential item for the birth bag??? I’d love to hear 😘
#birthwithoutfear #midwife
#hypnobirthing #birth #pregnancy #pregnant #labour #midwives
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PERIOD PANTS
Have you tried them?? What did you think??
I’ve been wanting to try period pants since I got my period back earlier this year and gave them a whirl last week!! I was lucky enough forModibodi to give me x5 pairs 🥰 (GIFT/ AD)
... These are my thoughts.... I BLOODY LOVED THEM!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
What I loved most was how soft and comfortable they are, that I didn’t have to put anything into my vagina 🙌🏻 and there were absolutely no leaks (and my flow was heavy for two of the five days ❌💦 )
Things to consider.... after using a pair you rinse them out under cold water, hang then to dry, then I put the five pairs in the washing machine when my period finished. 👍🏼 For me this was no problem as I’m not squimish (I’m a midwife 😜) but this could take some getting used to if you aren’t comfortable with blood/ your menstrual blood 🙏🏼 I actually loved the feeling of bleeding freely and felt more connected to my body and my cycle. I rested and chilled out more during my bleeding days than normal, and was more comfortable for it!!
I have to say I’m a complete convert and will be using these every month. The only thing they don’t work for is going swimming/ holiday... so think I’m gonna try a moon cup for that!! 🌚
Got questions about #periodpants?? Fire away and I’ll be happy to answer them 😘😘😘
#periodpositive #loveyourperiod
#period #periodproblems #menstruation #menstrualcups #menstrualcycle #midwife #midwives
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CONTINUOUS MONITORING IN LABOUR
If you do have continuous monitoring during labour it can have a big impact on how you feel, and there are lots of things which can make it more relaxing ❤️ (I will do a post about the pros and cons of it another day!)
Here are my suggestions...
... Turn the volume on the monitor down low, if it’s up high it’s hard to switch off your neocortex and relax 🙏🏼
Turn the screen away from you, the monitor is weirdly hypnotic and everyone in the room end up staring at it most of the time!! 😬
Attach the pads with two belts, one on top of the other. I learnt this when I was a student midwife!! The pads tend to slide around on your tummy so the monitor is often loosing contact... and the midwife will have to readjust it time and time again OR worse still ask you to sit on the bed. If you double up the straps it will be much more secure.
Put some relaxing music on or listen to hypnobirthing tracks with headphones 🎧
Smell some lavender or other aromatherapy oil on a tissue.
Ask for a ball to sit on (fabulous picture from Your No Guilt Pregnancy Guide by @rebecca.schiller 🙌🏻❤️)
AND make sure you really need to be on the monitor... more on that next time!!
Did you birth with continuous monitoring? What was your experience? Anything that was helpful? 🥰
#CTG #womensupportwomen
#birth #pregnancy #birthwithoutfear #labour #midwife #midwives #antenatal
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FREE WEEKLY MUMS GROUP 🥰
Since January I’ve been running a free weekly group for pregnant Mums Leyton Yoga 👩🏾🧕🏼👱🏻‍♀️👩🏻 ‍🦱 .
It’s open to all local Mums at any stage of pregnancy, you don’t have to have done a hypnobirthing course with me and it is completely FREE ❤️
... And I can honestly say it’s become one of the highlights of my week!!! ☺️
We have women of all backgrounds coming, EVERYONE is welcome... first time Mums, third time Mums, women planning to have an epidural, women planning home births.... we practice our birth breathing every week, sometimes we do a relaxation sometimes not, we discuss a different topic every week, sometimes we have guests and ALWAYS something that ISN’T covered in my group hypno classes. But most of all, we LAUGH!!! We laugh together and we laugh ALOT 🤣😉😆
It’s all about sharing our experiences, sharing our fears, being together and offering support and love ❤️👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩🥰 and it makes me SO HAPPY.
Last week we had the lovely Jodie Abrahams Nutrition & Lifestyle talking about nutrition for pregnancy and postnatal... which inspired me to make a MASSIVE batch of energy balls over the weekend -> scroll left to see just a few of them (my freezer is packed full 🙌🏻🙈).
If you’d like to join our community just hop onto the @leytonyoga website below to book your place 😚😁🙂😃 and the weekly topics are available to browse on my website, link below too...
https://www.leytonyoga.com/
https://www.thehypnobirthingmidwife.co/hy pnobirthing-mums-c…
#womensupportwomen #together
#pregnant #pregnancy #birth #birthwithoutfear #midwife #hypnobirthing #antenatal
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GREAT BIRTH BOOK!
Its the heaviest day of my period today so I’ve been working from bed this afternoon. I’m putting together some extra special resources for my birth partner clients ready for my workshop next weekend Leyton Yoga 🥰 And re-reading some of my fav birth books for inspiration ✨
I bought this book a while ago but never got round to reading it.... the pile on my bedside table has become alarmingly high and my boyfriend has banned me from buying anymore books until ...it is significantly shorter 🙈 which is fair!
So I had a good read of this gem for the first time today.... and it is FANTASTIC!!!
So much of what @rebecca.schiller writes is in alignment with what I think and how I support clients. The advice is super practical, pragmatic and applicable AND absolutely NO bullshit 🙌🏻 She knows birth inside out the way midwives do and I LOVED reading it from start to finish!!
Highly recommended!! ❤️ Have your read it? What did you think?!
#midwife #birthwithoutfear
#pregnant #birth #antenatal #hypnobirthing #midwives #Leyton #womensupportwomen
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HOW CAN YOU USE HYPNOBIRTHING IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO RELAX?
This is a question that I get asked quite often directly or indirectly from clients. I teach in London and my clients have full lives (don’t we all?!) and are often career driven. They may go to yoga once a week or listen to headspace for 10 mins a day but in general aren’t very good at relaxing.
So this is my advice.... get into good habits and stick to them. It’s simple but not always easy. And most of us have pr...etty terrible habits around relaxing and supporting good mental health 🥴
Here are some suggestions that I share in class....
Practice 5 minutes of slow birth breathing EVERY DAY especially anytime you feel anxious or stressed. Practice in the shower, on the way to work, during lunch or in bed. Make it easy, you can do it virtually anywhere!
Start to foster healthy habits around your phone, switch it to flight mode at 6/7pm or have an alarm clock in your bedroom instead - even better!!
Take regular 24 or 48 hour breaks from all social media and email, I do this most weekends 🙌🏻 This will temporally re-set your scroll habit and allow your nervous system to relax. Every time you scroll you are stimulating your nervous system and you get a bit of dopamine... highly addictive and not good for mental health 🤪
Schedule relaxation into your weekly timetable and stick to it!! Start to see this time as important or MORE important than work or your never needingTo Do list. Give your body and your mind permission to rest ❤️ skip back a few posts for a whole bunch of Free Self Care habits!
It’s easy to always be in “doing” mode but it’s not good for long term health. Pregnancy is a great time to start being more present and developing better habits that will serve you through birth and well into Motherhood too!!
What did you do in pregnancy to help you relax and practice a better mindset? ❤️ I’d LOVE to hear... let me know in the comments 👇🏼
#slowdown #slowlane
#hypnobirthing #midwife #birth #pregnancy #birthwithoutfear #labour #antenatal #midwives
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FINDING A ✨MENTOR✨
I wanted to hop on and share my recent experience of finding a mentor ❤️ and taking better care of myself. I am naturally inclined to move through life at 100 miles an hour in a cycle of boom and bust... so this self-care business hasn’t come easy!!!
I’ve been looking for a mentor for the last two years... but didn’t find her until last month ❤️ And this is she, Calli @calliyoga
... Deepening my yoga practice with two teacher trainings, going to classes, practice at home, watching YouTube vids and reading.... BUT what I really needed to find was someone to hold the space and support my growth one on one 👯‍♀️ face to face 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩
When I met Calli earlier this year I had a feeling she was going to be the one to help me and after going to her class @stretch_london I knew it for sure!!!she has picked up parts of my practice that I have been stuck on for years!! 🙄
Once upon a time I wouldn’t have put enough value in my personal development to invest money this way.... I’d happily have spent money on my daughter but NOT on my own emotional, physical and spiritual growth. Sounds mad to write that down... but it’s totally true 😳🙈
Now I barely spend any money on clothes and pour it willingly into my health, including regular trips to my AMAZING osteopath Rebecca Davies, deeply relaxing sessions with @kate_reflex, good quality supplements from @wildnutritionltd , slowing down, daily walks, regular naps and baths in the daytime ❤️
And you know what.... I am proud to say that I value myself and investing my time, money and energy this way is an investment for my whole family ❤️ Lord knows my daughter and my boyfriend benefit tenfold 😜🤣
What have you done to invest in your own wellbeing this year?? I’d love to know... drop me a line in the comments ❤️
#iloveyouCalli #mentor
#womensupportwomen #healthy #balanced #resting #yoga #yogaeverydamnday
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Lots of exciting energy @leytonyoga AND I’m teacher of the month!!! ❤️❤️❤️

AROMATHERAPY FOR BIRTH
I used aromatherapy during my birth back in 2008 and went on to use it as a student midwife and midwife. Where I work we are lucky enough to have oils available and it’s become a commonly used tool. 🙌🏻 In most hospitals you’d need to take your own with you.
The most common reasons I use it is to relax mums who are anxious (lavender, chamomile, bergamot and frankincense are great for this 🧘🏼‍♀️), to give Mums energy if they are tired (grapefruit, mandari...n and black pepper are my favs for this) 💪🏼 OR to encourage stronger, more regular surges (clary sage is my go too for this although rose and jasmine are also good. These three aren’t recommended before 37 weeks as they can also nudge you into labour!!).
You can scroll left to see the guidelines I give to my hypnobirthing clients ❤️ I also take mine with me so clients can have a smell and mix their own bottle of massage oil to keep.... no excuses for not practising the massage technique!! 🤣
All of the oils over the page are considered safe during pregnancy and birth, but do use them with caution as they can be powerful 💥 You can use them once or twice in 24 hours, but don’t go massaging yourself all day long as you may feel unwell!! 🤢 Also never swallow them or put them on your skin undiluted ❌ Mix 5 drops of essential oil with 5mls if neutral base oil (sunflower, almond, grapeseed, coconut are all great!) for one massage 💆🏼‍♀️
Have you used oils during birth OR as a midwife or holistic practitioner??What do you absolute LOVE or HATE??

#birthwithoutfear #birth
#aromatherapy #oils #hypnobirthing #labour #pregnancy #pregnant #midwife
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I LOVE this positions for massage during birth!! Mum is supported, can rest, baby is encouraged into the OA (occiput anterior) position or ✨Back to Bump✨ as I like to call it! 🙌🏻 AND Birth partner can support with back massage too 💆🏼‍♀️
Practice this in pregnancy at home on a kitchen chair with a pillow over the back and see how you get on with it (their are some 40+ videos over on my YouTube channel and a couple teaching massage ☺️).
Did you use massage in labour??? Did it ...help or was it really annoying?? 🥴😜 Id LOVE to hear.... let me know in the comments below 👇🏼 .
Drawing from The Midwifes Labour and Birth Handbook by Vicky Chapman and Cathy Charles
#backtobump #activebirth
#birth #birthwithoutfear #pregnancy #pregnant #antenatal #midwife #midwives
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Has anyone read this GEM?
I’m half way through it and WOW!!! 💃🏾
It’s been really enlightening on how to work with my menstrual cycle. One of the things I’ve loved is identifying the power of the ovulating phase (the time when you release an egg, around 14 days after the first day of your period). I get INTENSE energy around this time and my sex drive goes 🚀 It means I can get ALOT done!! Ladies are you the same???
... I also love the feeling of the liminal space around the time of bleeding, a sense of being between worlds and being more intuitive 🔮 BUT this only happens if I slow down and rest during this time rather than pushing through!
What have you noticed about the changes through your cycle!? I’d LOVE to hear, let me know in the comments below ❤️
#aprilinthegarden #easterholidays
#periodpower #period #menstruation #periodproblems #women #womensupportwomen #powerful #witch #witchythings
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We’ve got an AMAZING competition running over on my Instagram account this week...
Ladies you can win all of this ❤️❤️❤️
✨A Mama Mini Photoshoot ✨from @fionacaroline
... A 30 minute Shoot with Mama & Baby in your home. An Online Gallery, 5 x Digital Images with printing rights, 1 x Fine Art Print (8x6 or 10x8) (London Only -Valid until 31st December 2019). Pretty AMAZING right?? 📷
A fabulous Tshirt from ✨The Milky Tee Company - Breastfeeding T-shirts ✨with hidden zip to enable easy breastfeeding! This is genius and we can't believe it's never been done before!! 🍈 🍈 .
A super ✨soft babygrow ✨ from @sleepthiefbaby 100% organic and made in the UK! 👶🏻
A cosy ✨baby wrap ✨from For the Love of Mum perfect for keeping your little one cosy and snug AND keeping you hands-free! ❤️
The winner will be notified by DM on Monday 22nd April 2019. Good luck Mamas!!
Just hop onto my Insta to enter....
https://www.instagram.com/the_hypnobirthi ng_midwife/
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A journo gave me a call on Friday to talk about Hypnobirthing, didn’t expect her to put a little feature in about my homebirth ten years ago!! 🥰☺️
Was delighted to see the Mirror putting out a slightly balanced-ish piece about the pros and cons of homebirth 🙌🏻 Times are a changing!!!
Did you have a homebirth??? I’d love to hear what your experiences was like, the positives and negatives ❤️ Let me know in the comments 🙌🏻
... #motherdaughter #homebirth
#truelove #motherhood
#birth #birthwithoutfear #hypnobirthing #midwife #labour
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