Pregnancy guidance
The early relationship with the mother (and the father/partner) is the mother of all relationships
I have guided groups of women in their pregnancies since 1989. As a result of my own development and the changing needs of modern parents, this has evolved into haptonomic pregnancy guidance for couples. It involves individual guidance in which the connection between the parents and the unborn baby is central. Connecting with yourself, each other and the baby will help you experience the pregnancy more consciously and the associated discomforts of pregnancy different, milder. It has been found that women who can maintain contact with their (lower) body during childbirth are better capable of softening their bodies and experience less pain and anxiety. The partner, in supporting the mother through touch and by inviting her to feel towards the pain, will play a more important role than in conventional guidance. In addition, by making contact you as parents provide the child with a safe foundation that will benefit the process of bonding. Feeling is the first sense that develops in humans, early in the womb. A child who has bonded safely with its parents will be able to enter relationships with more confidence and will also develop confidence in his own abilities.
Important themes are:
- Active participation of partner, focussing on awareness, relaxation and support
- Connecting through touch with mother, father/partner, and the baby, for a secure attachment process
- Dealing with and reducing pain and anxiety, stemming from trauma or previous child birth, for example
- Information about child birth, such as dilation- and labour positions
- Advise on ways to make contact with and carry your baby after birth
By coming into contact with yourself, each other and the baby, you can experience the pregnancy more consciously and the associated discomforts of pregnancy different, milder.
Guidance starts around 20 weeks and involves approx. 6 session of 1 hour; 5 (or more) before birth and 1 (or more) with the baby after birth.
The costs are € 95 per session. Some insurance companies reimburse haptonomic guidance whole or in part. You can make a first appointment without further commitment. You can decide afterwards whether you want to proceed.
I am a member of the Association for Haptonomic Pregnancy Counsellors (VHZB): www.vhzb.nl