I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with beautiful Izzy and her sweet daughter, Charlotte, in the studio. I got to find out all about her antenatal classes (and take some pretty cute photos)! Izzy has led such an interesting life! She’s lived and worked all over the world, trained as a registered nurse and midwife and is a mother to two adorable, little girls. Izzy currently offers birth classes through her business, “The Holistic Midwife“. She brings all this experience, along with her vibrant, enthusiastic personality to her classes to support Perth’s parents-to-be.
As her business name suggests, Izzy is all about providing holistic education and support. She believes it’s important to consider all the physical, psychological, emotional, social, cultural and spiritual influences that affect how parents might view birthing and parenting. Izzy wants all parents to come away from her classes feeling prepared and positive about their births.
Birth Classes at The Holistic Midwife are currently available as a small group workshops or as private workshops in the comfort of your own home.
Izzy teaches her “Empowered Birth to Parenthood” workshops in Shenton Park. They run over two sessions- a full day and half day and cover everything you’ll need to know about labour, birth and caring for your newborn. As a fellow midwife, I love that Izzy’s course includes lots of education about the postnatal period, too! Learning about your newborn and preparing to parent our little ones is just as important (maybe even more important) as preparing for the birth. Izzy’s workshops include lots of really useful information. You’ll learn about breastfeeding, settling techniques, keeping yourself emotionally healthy and even about what to expect If your baby needs to spend time in the Special Care Nursery or NICU.
And of course, there’s also lots and lots of information about birth and labour- how to work with your body to help the process, techniques your partner can use to make you more comfortable, different ways your labour may progress and what to expect at the hospital, birth centre or at home as you get closer to meeting your new addition. Izzy has designed the classes to be intimate and interactive, so there’s plenty of opportunity to ask questions. She strongly encourages your partner or support person to attend. The workshop is intended for both of you as equal partners in the birth (and beyond).
Izzy will send you an email after the first session with a recap of the day’s information and an invitation to ask any questions that you’d like her to cover in the next session. After the workshop is complete you’ll also be invited to join The Holistic Midwife’s private Facebook group. There you can connect with Izzy and other parents to share experiences and continue to receive support.
If you’d prefer antenatal education tailored specifically for you Izzy’s private workshops could be just what you’re looking for. These cover all the same content as the group workshops, but can also be tailored to your specific circumstances. That means all the education will be relevant for you. These workshops can be arranged to fit in with you and your partner’s schedules and usually run over two half days. Izzy travels all over Perth to meet with her clients. Her 1-on-1 clients also receive a postpartum visit to check in and provide some additional support once baby is hearthside.
The Holistic Midwife also offers postpartum support for parents who may need some extra support, or a little reassurance to settle into life with their new baby. Izzy will travel to your home to meet you and help you navigate this very special time. This service is also available as a very practical and extremely thoughtful gift to new parents.
Izzy recommends booking in your Empowered Birth to Parent Workshop any time after 20 weeks. The workshops run throughout the year. You can head to The Holistic Midwife website for more information and to book in or get in touch with Izzy. Or you can contact her via Facebook or Instagram.
After you’ve checked out Izzy’s antenatal education you may like to also check out some “antenatal photography”. You can find out about a maternity session with Leah Cherub Photography right here.