Your Hypnobirthing Expert in Warwickshire

We have been supporting couples across Warwickshire since 2011 with Hypnofertility and Hypnobirthing to ensure that your journey to parenthood is as smooth as it can be.

Hypnofertility effectively supports the conception process whether that is natural or assisted by supporting you through one of the most important and stressful times of your life: Pre-conception, ovulation, fertilisation, implantation and beyond.

Hypnobirthing techniques aim to teach you ways to stay in control and calm during labour and birth, whatever happens.

Both will teach you how to control stress, feel in control and understand how you can influence the natural flow of the body at a time when it's job is as crucial as it can be.

Hypnobirthing

Our hypnobirthing course is a complete antenatal programme packed full of essential information about labour and birth. Of course the tried and tested breathing, relaxation and self hypnosis techniques are covered in detail to ensure you are always in control of your baby's birth.

Control Stress

Reduce Intervention

Remove Birth Fear

Hypnofertility

If getting pregnant was simply about having sex at the right time then the world would be a much happier place, sadly for many it is not that easy. The mind/body connection is so strong when it comes to conception. Hypnofertility effectively supports the conception process whether that is natural or assisted by supported you through one of the most important and stressful times of your life. Pre-conception, ovulation, fertilisation, implantation and beyond.

Testimonials

Don't just take our word for it! We have supported hundreds of women and couples in Warwickshire. Read some of their stories here.

Find us just 10 minutes from the M40 in the village of Claverdon. We are proud to have worked with couples from all over Warwickshire and neighbouring counties including Rugby, Nuneaton, Coventry, Warwick Leamington Spa, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Evesham, Banbury and the Cotswolds.

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You are in safe hands

Everything that we do at Happy Healthy Babies is promoting good health and education in fertility, pregnancy and birth. Through a programme of well thought out hypnofertility and hypnobirthing sessions and workshops we can fully prepare you for one of the biggest parts of your life. All of our sessions are designed to increase confidence, reduce stress and worry, and offer the most up to date maternity education for conception and birth within the NHS, working closely with the team at Warwick Hospital. We offer a truly relaxed experience in our dedicated teaching studio, a comfortable home from home space in Claverdon, Warwickshire.

The more calm and confident that you feel, the better your body will perform. Stress has a negative effect on how the body works whether you are trying to conceive, expecting a baby or experiencing labour and birth. Anxiety and stress trigger the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream which is the enemy of the reproductive system, massively affecting your body's ability to work at it's best.

Leonie Darch is an experienced and qualified Hypnotherapist and Antenatal Teacher specialising in Women's Health and Wellbeing. Leonie is registered with the National Federation of Antenatal Educators (www.FEDANT.org) and The Warwickshire Pregnancy and Birth Network (www.pregnancyandbirthnetwork.co.uk) so you can feel confident in her knowledge, experience and qualifications as a Practitioner. For more information on Leonie's story click here

All hypnofertility and hypnobirthing sessions are held in a private studio in Claverdon, Warwickshire. View Map A truly relaxed home from home environment just 10 mins from Warwick, Leamington, Stratford-Apon-Avon and the M40.

Why Hypnobirthing?

Hypnobirthing techniques aim to teach you ways to stay in control and calm during labour and birth, whatever happens.

You will learn:

Relaxation and self-hypnosis. These methods can help you to stay alert, but at the same time shut out the world and focus on relaxing your body.
Deep breathing techniques to help you cope in labour and stay in control.
Antenatal theory including birth positions, birth preferences, what to expect from your labour and decision making.

Designed to build confidence, eliminating all fear and panic and fully preparing you and your birth partner with all that you need to experience a safe and calm birth that you had hoped for. You will learn to trust your body during birth, using breathing, relaxation and visualisation to work with your body rather than against it.

The deep relaxation techniques that are practiced throughout pregnancy keep stress at bay having a positive effect on both you and your baby before, during and after birth. Babies are born better adjusted and happier, having a direct result on breast-feeding and sleeping patterns and mums are far less likely to experience any postnatal discomfort or depression.

There is no such thing as a perfect birth!

Everybody's birth experience is different as we are not carbon copies of each other, there is no 'one size fits all' for how we should feel about birth. There can be a very big difference between a perfect, text book birth and a positive birth. In fact, a woman can have a text book birth and feel negatively about it if she didn't understand what was happening and why.

This is where hypnobirthing comes in.

Everything that we do is about preparing you for the birth that you want, and if you are unsure then we will help figure that out too!

FACT

Researchers have found that after 17 weeks cortisol, the stress hormone, can be found in the amniotic fluid at the same levels as in the mothers blood. Relaxation will help to massively reduce the production of this hormone, minimising the effect on your unborn baby.

Benefits of Hypnobirthing include :

Reduces labour and birthing time.
Mums feel more relaxed and energised after giving birth.
Can reduce postnatal recovery time.
Babies are reported to be calmer, more content, feed better and sleep better.
Dads are more actively involved with the birth.
Lower incidences of surgical interventions.
Less risk of birth-related pelvic floor injuries.
Techniques learned can be useful for future situations.

The low down on Hypnofertility

If getting pregnant was simply about having sex at the right time then the world would be a much happier place, sadly for many it is not that easy. The mind/body connection is so strong when it comes to conception. Hypno-Fertility effectively supports the conception process whether that is natural or assisted by supported you through one of the most important and stressful times of your life: Pre-conception, ovulation, fertilisation, implantation and beyond.

Hypnosis can be used safely and successfully before and during conception and throughout pregnancy for a wide range of health issues.

Negative thoughts, emotions and behaviours can all lead to increased anxiety and sometimes depression, getting in the way of your goal of conceiving. The hardest thing to hear when you are trying to address fertility issues is, ‘you must remain positive, try not to think about it too much.’

But actually trying to relax is the hardest thing in the world when your mind is consumed with trying to conceive.

As a treatment it is growing in popularity because it has no negative side effects and can be used safely in pregnancy when women's other options are limited.

"I can recommend Leonie and hypnobirthing from experience! I was very anxious about giving birth and very squeamish and scared of hospitals. After doing the hypnobirthing course with Leonie I had a natural birth with just a bit of gas and air! Leonie is truly amazing!"

"Brilliant classes for anyone who would like to have a relaxed and comfortable birth. Leonie is great and made me and my partner feel confident about the birth of our first baby. By using the techniques we practiced with Leonie I had a very quick and natural labour"

"Leonie was an absolute god send, I am so grateful to of met her and have her be part of my pregnancy journey. I had an amazing birth which I was fully in control of and managed without any pain relief or intervention. I believe this is all down to working with Leonie. She made me relax, feel confident and prepare for the most amazing day of my life."

Read more testimonials and birth stories here!

BBC Radio Interview - Listen Here!

Leonie recently featured on 'Health Matters' on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio. Listen to her talk about the important role that HypnoBirthing plays!

Reviews

Facebook Rating

5.0

Happy Healthy Babies

Joanna Cumberland

2019-05-22T20:53:05+0000

My Fiancé and I took a one to one Hypnobirthing course with Leonie to help us prepare for the birth of our first Baby. Leonie really helped us to understand the process of labour and her support and advice really helped me to release a lot of the anxiety I was feeling leading up to the birth, and to be calm once labour had started and throughout. I had a 14 hour labour with all but the last 90mins at home with only a little bit of gas and air in the final hour. Leonie’s ongoing support for new Mum’s is great too - her monthly coffee mornings have been a real life line for me providing a point of focus and a place to meet other likeminded Mum’s who ‘get it’. Thanks Leonie :)

Carrie Ruhnke

2019-05-22T19:57:03+0000

Me and my husband attended the four session hypnobirthing course with Leonie. I had heard positive things about hypnobirthing and was really keen to try this for my labour. Leonie was warm and made us feel comfortable and relaxed. When we discovered that our baby was breech she offered helpful suggestions about things we could try and made local recommendations. She also enabled me to access the breech hypno/relaxation track. Sadly our baby did not turn, and initially I struggled to adjust to our new birth plan of a c-section, but hypnobirthing helped me to make peace with this and visualise my new birth. As it was, life took over as it does, and our baby was born, healthy and not requiring any additional intervention, ahead of time in an emergency section. I was scared and initially alone when they made the decision, rushed me to theatre and carried out the preparations and spinal block. However I remained calm through this, and was able to attend to the medical professionals around me and keep grounded in the moment. The hypnobirthing I practiced is still invaluable to me, as has been the friendly contact Leonie has kept since our baby was born. If there is a second baby, I certainly will return for some top up sessions and practice hypnobirthing again in the hope that our second delivery goes differently.

Nicola Tavener

2019-05-22T10:01:51+0000

Leonie played a vital role in getting me (and my husband) mentally prepared during the weeks leading up to my labour. The sessions helped me to better understand the entire birthing process and what my body is capable of - which I found very empowering. Leonie also taught me techniques to remain calm and collected throughout labour and birth, by managing my stress and adrenaline levels. I went into labour feeling positive, relaxed and focused on the experience I wanted to achieve. I certainly didn't achieve the perfect/dream birth but I look back on it as a wonderful, incredible experience which gave me a beautiful baby boy. Thank you Leonie.

Steph 'Tinkabel' Tinkham

2019-05-21T15:08:46+0000

Being a first time mum one of the things I wanted was to do a hypnobirthing course to help me prepare for birth - where as my partner on the other hand was very sceptical about it. It was great as we learnt alot more than just preparing for birth.. I learnt how to cope if things didn’t go to plan (and things went way way off plan) how the body works and what contractions actually do and learnt ‘the cloak of protection’ how to cope with other people’s birth horror stories.. Leonie was amazing!! She really made us feel relaxed and comfortable.. the relaxation techniques were very soothing/calming. When my birth went completely off plan I truly believe that it was the hypnobirthing that helped me to stay calm and not feel scared about what has happening.

Laura Baker

2019-05-21T11:42:22+0000

Leonie was brilliant, very positive experience, very friendly and welcoming. Would recommend hyponobirthing was very helpful. unfortunately I had a c-section, however the techniques and the overall experience was brilliant.Thank you so much

Alison Jennings

2019-05-21T11:32:56+0000

As a first time mom i wanted to feel as prepared as possible for giving birth. Our sessions with Leonie were super relaxed and completely changed our perceptions of what giving birth was like. By the time i went into labour i was fully confident in my body's ability to birth my baby. The birth itself was so calm and the most incredible experience!

Belinda Tredwell

2019-01-30T20:40:23+0000

A good friend recommended Happy Healthy Babies to us following the birth of our first little boy, who made quite an unusual and traumatic entry into the world. Safe to say after just our first session with Leonie we knew that our experience second time around would be totally different...calm, relaxed and if I am perfectly honest totally enjoyable. Leonie listens and adapts her methods to each individual, she was always able to work through questions and worries and we would have absolutely no hesitations in recommending her...what we learnt from our 4 sessions with Leonie has been used way beyond labour and birth, and is of enormous benefit in day to day life, particularly with a toddler and a newborn in tow!

Sam De Marco

2018-11-23T12:32:31+0000

I can’t recommend Leonie enough. From the moment I met Leonie at a networking event I was intrigued at the range of services that she has to offer. When I found out I was pregnant last year I wanted to know more about Hypnobirthing but had forgotten about Leonie as it had been a few years since I met her. After a quick Facebook search I could see on various mum pages people were recommending Leonie which speaks volumes. When I started my classes with Leonie it was quite a busy time at work for me and I’m not a person that let’s go and relaxes easy but each session I managed to relax and learn. I’m quite a logical person so I gained in two different ways with these classes.....1. The relaxation side with breathing etc 2. A wealth of practical knowledge that Leonie has and shares. You do not go to Leonie and come away with just a few breathing techniques, you come away equipped to have an amazing positive birth. My first birth was at a hospital with pain relief which was fairly straight forward but not something I would like to go through again but this second birth was a homebirth with no pain relief, not even gas and air. It was just an amazing experience. If you are reading this thinking about booking you won’t regret it. Thank you Leonie!!

Holly Hodgart

2018-11-11T20:23:15+0000

Leonie guided myself and my partner Fraser through all aspects of labour and childbirth. We were able to quickly figure out times and dates to work around my 6 day working week that my partner could also attend. In her cosy space, Leonie taught us tools to work together for something you can never truly prepare for. During labour I was able to distract myself, relax, be aware of what was happening, ask questions, laugh, eat and finally agree that I needed a helping hand.Our baby is a happy healthy calm wee girl. I can't remember where I first heard of hypnobirthing but I make sure to tell any expecting friends about it! I still think fondly of our sessions with Leonie and believe her classes led me to have a fantastic first birth.

Hannah Roberts

2018-06-29T11:23:05+0000

We’d love to thank Leonie for all her support and guidance during our hypnobirthing classes in the lead up to the birth of our first baby. The classes prepared us well for labour and really helped me to stay calm and relaxed in the run up to the birth without experiencing any fear. Although the birth did not go to plan, I managed to stay calm and make clear decisions throughout - none of which I regret now, because it ensured our little boy was brought safely into the world. I honestly believe it went as well as it could have under the circumstances and that is all down to the preparation I did with Leonie. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to others. Xx

Jo Thompson

2018-05-30T19:54:42+0000

Leonie was an absolute god send, I am so grateful to of met her and have her be part of my pregnancy journey. I had an amazing birth which I was fully in control of and managed without any pain relief or intervention. I believe this is all down to hypnobirthing with Leonie. She made me relax, feel confident and prepare for the most amazing day of my life. I think my experience would of been a whole lot different if I hadn’t of learnt about hypnobirthing. Not only is she lovely and caring, she is truely passionate about what she does and made me feel completely relaxed everytime. I also had counselling sessions with Leonie as my pregnancy coincided with a difficult time in my life and she helped me through so much. My hypnotherapy sessions with her gave me clarity and focus and I have since recommended her services to many of my friends. I cannot praise Leonie and hypnobirthing enough x

Sophie Lawrie

2017-12-05T20:34:18+0000

What an amazing experience from start to finish.... myself and my partner attended Leonie’s 1:1 course, and we thoroughly enjoyed it all, including the labour and birth of our little girl!She is our first baby, however not once was we scared or nervous throughout the labour or birth, and this was 100% down to what we learnt with Leonie. Practicing daily, allowed us to feel prepared for everything which labour threw at us.In the end we had a perfect labour and birth for us, which was a water birth, at a midwife led unit, only taking paracetamol and of course practicing everything we had learnt from Leonie!It was magical and we felt in total control throughout the whole pregnancy/ birth � and we have you to thank for this Leonie xx

Lucy King

2017-11-14T11:29:43+0000

Hypnobirthing with Leonie was one of the best things I did. It played a huge part in making the birth of my second child a wonderful experience. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Victoria Davies

2017-05-21T16:28:39+0000

We attended one of leonie's weekend workshops for an introduction to hypnobirthing. To be quite frank, in 2 hours she changed my perception of birth and allowed me to challenge everything I knew about birth from the first time round. I wish I had met her with my first pregnancy. To appreciate your pregnancy can end in 'your' birth was a huge psychological shift for me and challenged everything I have been lead to believe about birth and I can't thank her enough for that.

Helen St John-Claire

2017-02-20T19:36:06+0000

I would highly recommend hypnobirthing with Leonie. I started a course following a recommendation. We'd experienced a very traumatic first birth with my son and was anxious for no2 to be a much better experience. The sessions gave me the confidence in myself and the tools I needed to be positive and make the difference. I ended up opting for a home birth in the last weeks (which was never even a consideration when I started), which led to a beautiful, relaxed, natural labour and birth at home. My husband was astonished how well I managed and in turn it's made me proud. I could never have achieved it without Leonie and hypnobirthing. I urge anyone to try it- even if you're a sceptic- you might just be surprised.

Lisa Davies

2016-11-01T17:31:31+0000

Leonie was fantastic, my partner and I attended a bond and breathe session with her to get an overview of what hypno birthing was all about after a friend recommended it to us. We decided to opt for a 121 session to focus on fears afterwards plus were practising daily at home with the tracks. Without the support and guidance we received from Leonie and the wonders of hypno birthing our 3 day Marathon induction could have easily ended up in a c section. Instead we were able to reserve enough energy in the early stages to have the most positive labour possible for us. We would recommend Leonie every time and if we decide to have another child will be going back to Leonie for refreshers. Thanks for being so friendly, and understanding, plus advising us on how best to use the techniques through a medical labour. Xxx

Lisa Jordan

2015-03-05T07:54:56+0000

Incredible!! I couldn't have gone through labour without this wonderful women Leonie Darch and her hypnobirthing programme!! She taught me everything I needed to know to have a calm relaxed birth xx

Gia York

2014-11-19T16:39:34+0000

Having been recommended Leonie's hypnobirthing classes by a friend, we met with leonie to understand exactly what it involved and we really wanted to give it a go. The sessions with leonie learning how to relax were lovely and having to practice relaxing during pregnancy couldn't have been more perfect. On the day our beautiful Austin arrived, we were able to stay at home for a lot longer than we originally thought before going into hospital and using some of the techniques taught by leonie, we were able to keep it a more relaxed affair than it would have been without her input and education. I'm already thinking about baby number 2 (tho no plans made) and I definitely want to spend more time practicing during pregnancy and have a full hypnobirth at home. I would never have had the confidence to do this previously and I'm very grateful for having met and worked with Leonie.

Sarah Geraghty

2014-03-07T16:59:42+0000

Leonies hypnobirthing sessions have been fantastic! I have also loved the relax and breathe Friday mornings as "top up" sessions to add to the hypnobirthing sessions. The hypnobirthing has been so helpful in pregnancy to help me get in to a relaxed and positive place in terms of how positive I feel about the birth, I am really looking forward to it! But it has also helped me to feel relaxed in pregnancy and just enjoy every moment! The whole package Leonie offers has given us lots of knowledge about the physiology of the body and baby in Labour so we feel relaxed about the birth, and the relaxation techniques have been great, I'm looking forward to using them during birth and I"m sure I will call upon up them in parenting life too! Leonie is a warm and positive teacher and the lodge is a perfect, tranquil setting for the hypnobirthing sessions

Rob Geraghty

2014-03-02T21:42:06+0000

I've really enjoyed hypnobirthing with Leonie. I feel that it has put Sarah and I in a relaxed and confident place for the birth of our first child. Leonie is very warm and I've enjoyed the sessions at the lodge. It's all very practical and down-to-earth stuff which will help us to welcome BabyG into the world in a peaceful and calm way.