From Natalie: “Welcome to my love, my passion and my career, I’ve worked hard to build this centralised website (Hunter Birth Education Centre). My highest goal has, and is, to help pregnant women to find information around birth and postpartum options and choices.

Please enjoy the services listed and/or provided here that improve physical and emotional outcomes for yourself, your baby and your family.

 

The Hunter Birth Education Centre is:

* Located in Newcastle, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
* A provider of excellent Birth Education Courses.
* A local birth and local care information service,
* Created and managed by Natalie Meade – a passionate womens’ health and birth activist, Counsellor, Hypnotherapist and Doula.
* Providing good, local referrals to any service you see described here,
* Independent of all hospital and all government health services (Natalie is a private birth educator, doula and therapist and therefore has the rare freedom to be able to speak honestly and freely on all topics).

The gap we fill and why

Any woman can experience perinatal emotional complications at any point and one of the important risk factors has been shown to be:

• Traumatic birth or extenuating circumstances around the birth, including the perception of traumatic or difficult birth.

We want to assist women and families and reduce the risk factors that contributes to ongoing emotional complications after their birth.

Sadly, your medical care provider does not have time to mention all the great pregnancy and birth options available to you.

Sadly women who follow standard pregnancy care are often only rewarded with standard birth experiences (and if you have heard the average birth story, you’ll be beginning to wonder by now if you want one of those standard birth experiences).

The most protective action you can take against negative birth outcomes is to choose independent antenatal education and to choose your birth carer wisely.

Why is it important to address perinatal emotional complications?

We strongly believe that pregnancy can include moments of joy for the mother when she is well supported.

Unresolved perinatal emotional complications effect the relationship between mother and baby, as well as effects on the baby’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Emotional support leading to the alleviation of emotional complications can have a positive impact on both a mother and her baby.

There are further Perinatal risk factors, all addressed in the birth education courses provided through the Hunter Birth Education Centre and these include:

• relationship problems / lack of support from partner 

• a previous history of depression/anxiety/mood disorder

• history of trauma, e.g. abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual assault

• major life stress, e.g. loss of a job, recent move

• persistent lack of sleep

• social isolation, lack of support or community resources

• concerns around baby’s health or well-being / a Neonatal intensive Care stay

• history of infertility or previous miscarriages or losses

• difficulty breastfeeding, especially if breastfeeding was something the mother had hoped to do