Breathing Space Yoga

Pregnancy, birth & beyond — support for every stage of your journey, from a midwife and yoga teacher.

If you’re pregnant, newly postpartum, or simply looking for a little more calm and connection during this huge transition, I offer a range of pregnancy and postnatal support in Pembrokeshire — both in person and online.

🤰 Pregnancy Yoga - Friday's 6:30pm at Camrose Community Centre
A gentle but empowering class combining movement, breathing, relaxation and time to connect with your changing body and your baby. Suitable for all stages of pregnancy and all experience levels.

🌸 Postnatal Yoga Wednesday 11:30 at Wintern House Health and Wellness
A chance to slow down, reconnect with your body and gently rebuild strength after birth — with space to breathe, rest and meet other new mums too.

🌙 Hypnobirthing groups or 1:1
Practical tools to help you feel calm, informed and confident about birth. We cover relaxation, breathing, visualisation, birth physiology, mindset and how to work with your body rather than against it , whether you're planning birthing at home/MLU, induction, VBAC or caesarean.

🎧 Pregnancy Relaxation Tracks
Short, calming audio tracks you can listen to whenever you need them, for anxiety and overwhelm, connecting with your baby, preparing for birth and creating a more peaceful pregnancy. Perfect for bedtime, rest breaks or whenever you need to press pause.

🤰🏼Power Hour Calls
Perfect for individualised support focused around you and your questions, or a topic such as homebirth, VBAC etc, use this time for whatever you need to discuss.

Everything I offer is rooted in my experience as a midwife, pregnancy yoga teacher and Hypnobirthing instructor, with a focus on helping you feel informed, supported and confident.

If you're pregnant or newly postpartum and wondering what might be right for you, I’d love to support you🤰🏼

www.harrietbirtwistle.com
IG Harriet- Midwife, Pregnancy Yoga, Birth Prep & Hypnobirthing

A little last call for my September Hypnobirthing course...

If you’re pregnant and have been thinking about Hypnobirthing but haven’t quite got round to booking, this is your nudge!

You don’t need to be aiming for a particular kind of birth to benefit from Hypnobirthing.

Whether you’re planning a vaginal birth, preparing for an induction, hoping for a VBAC, or having a planned caesarean, having tools to help you stay calm, grounded and informed can make such a difference.

We’ll cover how birth works, how fear and stress can affect the body, breathing and relaxation techniques, visualisation, birth preferences, navigating interventions and how your birth partner can support you too.

Most importantly, I want you to leave feeling confident, calm, prepared, and excited to meet your little ones.

The September course is starting soon and I have just a few spaces remaining.

🤰🏼Payment plan available if this helps, £180 investment
🤰🏼Starting Sept 7th 6:30-8:30pm (each Monday in sept)
🤰🏼In Roch, small cosy group course
🤰🏼1:1 available if you can't make these dates

Help, labour has slowed!

Labour progress is a whole topic in itself, but here's a few top tips to support labour progress and get things going again. One of the biggest reasons for transfer out of an MLU to delivery suite for first time mums is "slow progress".

Ultimately, we all labour at our own pace, some fast and furious, some slow then fast, some faster then slow, and some move steadily through labour.
Unfortunately our birth system doesn't support slow progress so well, and we are quick to suggest synthetic oxytocin, but these are some things to try first if possible.

Note- Sometimes we do everything we can, but baby/labour just has other ideas, and that is nobody's fault.
However you birth, you are incredible 👏🏼🤰🏼

I love teaching birth prep and hypnobirthing, because my goal is to make parents feel calmer, better prepared and well informed, so that they can have the best birth for them. So hearing feedback like this makes my heart happy 🤗🥳

Hypnobirthing doesn't promise a particular kind of birth, but it can help you feel calmer, more informed and more confident in your ability to navigate whatever your birth brings.

I’m so grateful to every parent who trusts me to be part of such an important chapter, and reviews like this honestly mean the world. I feel so excited to hear the birth announcements ahead for my first Pembrokeshire hypnobirthing course, when these babies arrive later in the year.

If you’re wondering whether Hypnobirthing could be right for you, I’d love to help you explore it.

My next course starts in a couple of weeks

🗓️ September 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th 6:30-8:30pm
🤰🏼Ideal for birth partners but not essential
🐥£180 investment, with goody bag, manual, activity booklet and mp3s
📍Roch, Pembrokeshire

There is something extraordinary about what a woman’s body and heart are capable of, and it never ceased to blow my mind!

From the very beginning, the loving preparation of your body, conception, and sometimes the heartbreak and grief that comes with trying to create a baby.
Growing a tiny human, changing and stretching and adapting in ways you never imagined.

Then birth. The biggest transformation we can go through, the newness of a baby, but also ourselves.
Whether your baby arrived vaginally, by caesarean, gently, suddenly, with intervention, without it, exactly as you hoped or nothing like you planned…
You did something enormous, something so big, bold and beautiful, there are not enough words for.

Then somehow, motherhood asks you to keep going, when you're starting on empty.

To feed a baby when you are exhausted.
To comfort them when you need comforting too.
To function on broken sleep.
To learn a completely new version of yourself.
To love someone so fiercely that your whole nervous system seems to know where they are at all times.
To heal your body, while sharing it with another.

You might not feel like the woman who has it all together.
You might feel exhausted, overwhelmed, touched out, lonely, emotional or lost.
You might be looking at other mothers and wondering why you don't feel more grateful, more joyful, more enough.

So this is your reminder:

You don't have to feel strong to be strong.
You don't have to feel beautiful to be worthy of admiration.
You don't have to be enjoying every moment to be a good mother.
You don't have to feel empowered for your body to have done something extraordinary.

Sometimes strength looks like getting through the day.
Sometimes it looks like asking for help.
Sometimes it looks like crying in the shower.
Sometimes it looks like lying beside your baby at 3am and wondering how on earth you are going to do it all again tomorrow.

Sometimes, quietly, you realise…
Oh, I am doing it!

From conception to birth, and through every messy, beautiful, exhausting, ordinary day that comes after.

You are enough, you are more than enough, and more than just Mummy. You're everything ❤️

We talk about birth statistics a lot, but what do those numbers actually mean for you?

Around 1 in 3 births are induced, and roughly 1 in 4–1 in 3 births are by caesarean. Rates vary between maternity units and regions, but one thing is obvious, induction and caesarean birth are a normal part of many people's birth journeys. This isn't a discussion about the rise of induction or CS births, it's about feeling prepared and at the heart of your care.

And here's the important bit…statistics aren't predictions.

Being told you have an increased chance of induction, intervention or caesarean doesn't mean that's what will happen to you.
But it does mean that understanding your options, knowing how to ask questions and feeling confident making decisions can be incredibly valuable.

That's one of the things I love about Hypnobirthing.
It's not about promising a particular type of birth. It's about preparing you with practical tools for calm, confidence and informed choice, whatever your birth looks like.

Because the goal isn't a “perfect” birth.
It's feeling informed, supported and empowered throughout your experience, something I feel so passionate about.

My next group hypnobirthing course here in Pembrokeshire starts September 7th, or a 1:1 course is available online, so you can join from wherever you are in the UK 🥰🤰🏼

Link in bio to explore more and book, or pop me a message anytime

~ Hypnobirthing for 'high risk'? ~

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently, particularly as this week, I have been supporting a lovely couple planning a VBAC.

When you’re given a “high risk” label, it can sometimes feel as though the usual conversations around calm birth, preparation and Hypnobirthing no longer apply to you.

But I actually think the opposite can be true, it's almost when hypnobirthing techniques and knowledge are even more useful.

Hypnobirthing isn’t about pretending there are no risks, refusing intervention or guaranteeing a particular type of birth, certainly not how I teach it.
It’s about preparing yourself for birth, whatever your individual circumstances.

For someone planning a VBAC, that might mean having tools to manage fear from a previous birth, understanding your options, feeling confident asking questions, using breathing and relaxation techniques, and feeling more able to stay calm and involved when decisions need to be made. It might look like understanding active birth positions, and how we move (or not) can impact how labour progresses.
Importantly, it’s not about putting all your hopes into one particular outcome, and knowing how to stay flexible and adapt if needed, while making informed decisions.

You can absolutely prepare for the birth you’re hoping for while also preparing emotionally for the possibility that things may unfold differently.
Because the goal isn't a perfect birth.
The goal is to feel informed, supported, capable and prepared for yours.

So if you’ve been told you’re “high risk”, please don’t assume Hypnobirthing isn’t for you.

You may actually find that having a toolkit of practical techniques, knowledge and confidence is even more valuable.

And if you’re planning a VBAC, I’d love to welcome you onto my next Hypnobirthing course.
Alternatively, I can support you 1-2-1 online or in Pembrokeshire, let's chat!🤰🏼

~ Hypnobirthing review~

Whether it's a 1-2-1 session, or a group course, I love seeing couples learn, grow in confidence and explore decision making and understanding, so that they are ready for birth.
I feel so passionate about supporting parents with practical tools and evidence based information, so there’s something really special about hearing how a course has helped someone feel calmer, more informed and more confident about their birth.

Hypnobirthing isn’t about promising a particular kind of birth. It’s about understanding what’s happening, learning practical tools for calm and coping, involving your birth partner, and feeling like you have choices and a voice throughout your experience.

My hypnobirthing course is a full birth preparation course, and is suitable for all births, in all birth settings. I often support couples aiming for VBAC, or navigating a 'high risk' pathway, to ensure they feel confident, involved in their care decisions and have all the tools they need to meet labour with confidence.

My hope is that every person who comes on my course leaves with more confidence in themselves and their ability to navigate birth.

✨ My next course begins in September ✨

If you’re expecting a baby and would love to explore Hypnobirthing in a small, supportive group, I’d love to have you join me.

📍Roch, Pembrokeshire
🗓️ September 7th/14th/21st/28th 6:30-8:30pm
🤰🏼Birth partners very welcome, £180 per couple
🥳Goody bag, mp3s, manual and activity book included

Send me a message or head to the link in my bio to find out more or book