We’ve got a guest blog from one of our own clients today, Dean & Steph from Daddynatal and Bump, Birth & Beyond. They’ve had a brilliant week, going from teaching local classes, to national coverage via a TV appearance. I thought it would be really helpful for other people who have small businesses to hear that opportunities for national coverage are out there, if you’re prepared to work hard and make the most of the opportunities available….. 

While everyone else seems to be winding down for Easter things have never been busier at Bump Birth and Beyond Ltd. It has been a hectic week, but a very positive hectic week!

Our busy week kicked off on Saturday, listening to the first interview Dean had recorded for The Baby Show broadcast on Star Radio. The interview was focused on the role of the dad in pregnancy, and very exciting for us, as it was the first ‘official’ interview Dean had done, and it definitely was a great learning experience.

Then, Sunday saw us officially announce our partnership with Peterborough City Hospital at Peterborough Baby Show. Bump, Birth and Beyond are now running DaddyNatal and Active Birth Classes, on behalf of the hospital, free to parents. How fantastic to have a Head of Midwifery who is so forward thinking, she really is one of the first in the country to recognise that fathers/birth partners have huge antenatal education needs which have never (until now!) been met.

There was an excellent response to the news of the classes, with signups both on the day and since. Both courses are already 10% full, and we are still awaiting the formal press release and for the community midwifery team to start promotion yet!

Sunday also marked the completion of the first part of training for our new Daisy Birthing teacher, Alison. Courses have been so successful that Steph cannot keep up with demand on her own, so we are extremely excited about Alison’s arrival. She will commence teaching in June which will allow us to offer more courses in even more locations.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, Steph was out teaching her regular Daisy Birthing classes in Peterborough and St Ives. Steph teaches classes to around 40 pregnant ladies a week, as well as managing all the bookings and day-to-day admin of the company. And she looks after our two toddlers full time as well!

Little did we realise what more the week still held in store… At 10pm Wednesday evening, Steph arrived home from yet another Daisy Birthing class to the news that Dean had been invited down the next day onto The Vanessa Show on Channel 5 to talk about fathers at birth. Turns out a producer had heard his interview on The Baby Show website and wanted him there for a discussion segment about birth! How could we refuse…?!

So scrapping all previous arrangements for Thursday, Dean travelled to London to record the show. To say he was nervous would be a major understatement! He was petrified to be doing his first TV appearance only a few days after his very first ever live media interview! But, of course, he was also really excited. The people were brilliant and he had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Pearl Lowe and Christina Hopkinson, as part of the segment on the discussion of fathers at birth. They were lovely and certainly put Dean at ease (although nerves kicked back in once the cameras started rolling!). You can see his appearance here and judge for yourselves how Dean got on at The Vanessa Show.

Feel free to comment as we would love to hear your feedback. It was a long day though – Dean left home at 11.30am, and didn’t get home again until 8.30pm (luckily Thursdays are Steph’s evening off!)

But there was still work to be done… Friday saw us at a meeting at Peterborough Hospital to discuss some of the logistics of our partnership, and then followed by an agreement that we would produce contact and reference packs for the community midwives, so that became our focus on Saturday!

However, the support and excitement of what we are doing, coming direct from the midwives is so refreshing. It really is a pleasure to be working with them all.

And finally, we finished the week on Sunday with one of our Couples Antenatal Workshops in Kettering. Our classes are jointly run between the both of us, to make sure that we cover all the essential points from both the mum and birth partner perspective. It was a really great class – we thoroughly enjoyed it, and then arrived home in time to spend the remainder of the afternoon in the garden with our two children.

So a busy week made busier by some unforeseen media appearances! A great experience though and we look forward to seeing what the next few weeks brings us.

So that was our hectic week how was yours?

You heard it here first. There’s something new starting up in antenatal classes. It’s men, teaching men, about antenatal and postnatal stuff. And it’s usually taught out of a pub. Here’s Dean, from Daddynatal, to tell us more…DaddyNatal is a course run by men for men.
So what do we do?

We look at pregnancy and birth from a male perspective.

• We discuss common male concerns and take them through the pregnancy road map plotting the development of their unborn child. We  also explain the changes likely to be occurring in their partner.
• We explain the fears their partner may have and how this can affect their behaviour.
• For labour we look at what their partner wants from them, what their possible roles are during labour and the effect they can have on birth outcomes.
• We look at the early days as a family and discuss how they can support their partner, and, the effect they can have on successful breastfeeding through correct support.

Fathers to be are able to gain a better understanding of both what they are going through and what their partner is experiencing. This knowledge means they are able to to be more active and supportive antenatally, in labour and postnatally. Our exercises help men visualise their unborn child and encourage antenatal bonding.

Giving expectant fathers this information in an environment that they can relax and bond with other expectant fathers has a multitude of benefits.

They don’t have to feel they are in it alone!

We provide men with knowledge. This helps them manage their emotions. In realising that their feelings are normal, we help to reduce their apprehension and fear. Antenatal bonding is crucial for effective support in those early days, without it there can be a time delay before dads bond with their new child. This can impact on the effectiveness of their support for mum which in turn can have a detrimental effect on successfully establishing breast feeding.

A partner that is calm and relaxed will instil confidence into their partner. This can only have a positive effect on the likely outcome of the birth.

For more info on daddynatal follow them @daddynatal on twitter or www.DaddyNatal.co.uk

When you are pregnant, your mind is usually filled with thoughts of how to save money and do things at as little cost as possible. The one thing I recommend, as a mum of two myself, is to go to antenatal classes. To make this blog a bit less biased, I asked Laura Hackett, an experienced antenatal teacher, to tell us a bit more as to why they are such a good thing.

 1)      The classes are usually fun and informative.
I use humour to help learning and make classes enjoyable. Attendees can have concerns or worries that they don’t feel able to bring up in class, so it’s my job to lighten the atmosphere and make people feel relaxed and comfortable.

2)      Dads learn loads.
My classes focus on the role of the Dad as the birth supporter  - why are they at the birth?, what is expected of them?, what can they do to help?, and will they be a good Dad?  This is the sort of thing that men tell me they want to learn and women want their men to know too!

3)      Mums make new friends. 
I find that mums who attend my classes forge good friendships no matter what the course format, whether it is 2 whole days or a series of evenings. Whichever the format, there will be opportunities to get to know the others on the course. These friendships are very useful postnatally.

4)      Practical Skills for labour.
You’ll learn coping skills including breathing techniques, massage, positions and simple comfort measures for labour. 

5)      Practical Babycare skills.
Want to know how to change a nappy, how to bath a baby and how to put  baby down for sleeping? All of these practical skills and more are covered

6)      Manageable labour.
Women who attend my classes very often report back that the labour wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be. With an increasing number who birth at home or who are 7-8cm when arriving at hospital, they truly use the skills learned in classes on how to “manage” their labour.7)      Using water for labour.
My classes always include a session with a birthing pool so women and their partners can get into the pool, experiment with positions and learn about the benefits of labouring and birthing in water. It’s always good to practise.

8)      Increased satisfaction after the birth.
From speaking to many parents after the birth of their babies a large number are very satisfied with their birth experience and transition to parenthood. This is true  even when the birth did not go to plan. My no-nonsense approach in classes to what the early days may be like and strategies to cope are found to be useful.

9)      Ongoing support.
Most teachers offer ongoing support. For example, after the set of classes is completed those attending know I am only an email or phone call away. I have attended women in early labour while their partners travelled home, I have helped Dads at the hospital with asking about potential options in care and frequently visit new mums on the postnatal ward or at home if asked. I feel very privileged to be part of the couple’s life at this important transition point and this shines through in my commitment to anyone who attends a class with me.

10)  Because you don’t know what you are missing out on if you don’t.
First time parents tell me that they only realise the value of their classes after they’ve attended and gone on to become parents.  Those who don’t attend do not know what they missed and those that do attend find them invaluable.

Laura Hackett has taught almost 1,000 pregnant couples about pregnancy, childbirth and beyond. To see why people like Laura’s classes so much, visit www.bumpsandmore.co.uk . The site also has details of courses, events and services available from Laura at Bumps and More.