About me

Hello and and big welcome!

My name is Valentine (Val), I help expectant parents release fears, change their mindset and feel confident for birth and the postnatal period, so that they can fully embrace the transition to parenthood.

Birth is often treated as though 'it's only one day'. Yet it's an experience that stays with us forever.

You deserve to have the best possible birth experience and your feelings during and about your birth matter.

Birth is just the start of your wild and wonderful parenting adventure!

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I'm a mum of three small children and live in Winchester. I can often be seen in town pushing my two boys around in search of a babyccino or a playgroup. As well as chasing after my three, I love going for runs and walks in the beautiful Hampshire countryside where my husband and I get to properly talk.

Am I a parenting expert? Absolutely not, I am a complete work in progress, forever learning that trying my best is all I can do!

 

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My training 

I'm a certified Hypnobirthing practitioner trained by Katharine Graves and the Hypnobirthing Association and have a KGH Hypnobirthing Diploma, a course accredited by the Royal College of Midwives.

Hypnobirthing helped me conquer the many fears and anxieties I had around pregnancy and birth and actually feel excited, a word I never thought I would use when talking about birth! I absolutely LOVE helping expectant parents feel more confident, calm and positive about birth and beyond.

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My other mission is supporting new mums (whether for the 1st or 4th time) in the beautiful but intense postnatal period. Having experienced anxiety before having children, and again when my daughter was born, I feel very strongly about equipping parents with practical tools and techniques for navigating this transition with confidence and calming the overwhelm on tougher days. I trained with the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre to teach Mindfulness (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) and completed my 3 Step Rewind Practitioner training for birth trauma recovery. Mindfulness helps me navigate the beautiful chaos that is motherhood with more joy and less worry/pressure on myself! ​

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My other professional 'hats' are working with the University of Winchester as a guest lecturer for the new Midwifery programme, and as a service-user representative for the Maternity & Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP). I have been working with the University since October 2022 to develop a Midwifery degree with women and their families at its heart and I am now a guest lecturer. My ​MNVP role involves working closely with clinicians and managers at Hampshire Hospitals to improve maternity services for women and their families.   

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Please get in touch with any questions about the courses or have a look at what previous clients say. I’m always very happy to have a chat over the phone, in fact I prefer it!