Testimonials

From Parents

Pre-natal Classes

Lucie & Dan (2022)
My Husband and I attended Nicki’s Pre-Natal and Hypnobirthing classes in the run up to the arrival of our first child and haven’t stopped recommending them to others since. Her classes were welcoming and supportive but most importantly, impartial, with a good mix of theory (which was accessible for the non-medical community), interactive activities and experience gained from her career practising midwifery across the full maternity services spectrum in our local area. It seemed that there really was nothing she hadn’t seen before and her ability to talk about what to expect and how to manage such an important and anxious time in your life with calmness and confidence was reassuring.

Salome & Richard (2022)
Attending antenatal classes with Nicki really helped my husband and I to feel we were prepared for the birth of our baby. Having an experienced midwife teaching us the information gave us the knowledge we needed to make informed choices about all aspects of our birthing experience from birth place options and pain relief to infant feeding choices.
The information from the course taught us how to have a meaningful discussion with any professionals involved in our maternity care.The information we received helped us have a flexible approach to our birth plan whilst still taking our preferences into account.

Ilke & Simon (2022)
We truly enjoyed the course. It not only prepared us for the birth, but also for caring for our baby and for each other after the birth as well. The course provided relevant and evidence based knowledge, and also prepared us psycho-socially. I cannot emphasise the value of the psycho-social preparation, building positive mindsets and meeting other like-minded parents to be. We now have a support group, mums and babies to socialise with, and feel confident as new parents that we have got off to a good start, doing the very best to help our little fella grow and figure out the world.

Hypnobirthing Course

Lucie & Dan (2022)
Attending ‘The Complementary Womb’ Hypnobirthing course was an obvious choice for us, as we had met Nicki at Portishead Youth Centre during our Prenatal classes with her. We valued our time on this course, exploring the methodology, which made a huge difference to our birth plan – moving us from an original desire to have a medicalised, consultant led, birth to a place of trust in ourselves and wanting a midwife led journey. The techniques we learned were not only useful in our birth journey but we have taken them into so many other aspects of our lives.
Nicki is a strong advocate for maternal wellbeing and self confidence - very much ‘you do you’ - and at no point did we feel pressurised into our change of plans, it was just an organic outcome of attending both her Prenatal course, and this hypnobirthing course. We came to the Hypnobirthing course, for a variety of reasons and Nicki tailored the learning to our needs wonderfully. Even when things didn’t go to our original plan, the teachings and support we received from Nicki meant that giving birth to our daughter was the single most empowering experience of my life... and even though we knew we’d been in very safe hands with her by that point, when staff from across the North Bristol Trust knew that she’d been part of our journey they all said how lucky we’d been to have her!

Salome (2022)
After attending Ante natal classes led by Nicki, I decided to attend her hypnobirthing course. This course was a lovely opportunity to bond with my husband and our unborn baby. The skills we learnt on the course helped us both to feel in control and remain calm during labour and the birth. I really enjoyed looking at the benefits of different essential oils and making up a blend to use during labour. Having face to face coaching for different breathing techniques and labour positions helped me feel confident in these skills when I needed to use them. The course really helped my husband to understand how he could help and get involved with the birth.

Other kind words from parents

Helpful information, well presented, with all options explained really well.
Lots of useful information for both myself and my partner. Nicki is very reassuring and very interesting to listen too.
Great for dads to be - thank you so much.
Really useful... I’m so glad this session was run by a local midwife who actually has ‘insider knowledge’ rather than telling me what was already online.
All aspects of birth were covered. I was pleased caesarean section was covered, so I knew about all possible eventualities.
So much more to breastfeeding that I realized… I feel much more confident about it now.
Calm, reassuring & informative throughout the course - thank you.
Really interesting course, and great to have all the handouts to take away; these provided excellent sign-posting to more information - thank you.

From professionals

Amanda – Prenatal-Pre-School Co-ordinator, Portishead Youth Centre
Working with Nicki has been such a positive experience. The experience and knowledge Nicki brings to the prenatal sessions is fantastic. She is welcoming and has such a refreshing honest approach that the parents-to-be really appreciate. The classes are well planned, full of excellent information and provide a complete overview of what to expect and how to manage through the birth and after. There is also plenty of opportunities to ask questions.
Nicki’s years of experience as a registered midwife enable her to offer appropriate advice to a range of varied queries on pregnancy, birth and looking after a new baby.
I highly recommend Nicki and the information and courses she can offer.

Jo, Occupational Therapist
Nicki and I worked together for 16 years, when I worked as an occupational therapist for women with mental health problems in the perinatal period. Nicki was professional, understanding and knowledgeable. Nicki has a warmth and kindness that puts parents to be at ease. She is able to listen to fears and concerns and allay them with her years of training and practice. I wish Nicki had been my midwife.

Rebecca Franklin (Registered Midwife & Complementary Therapist Midwife)
I have worked with Nicki for many years, as a midwifery colleague and as a fellow Complementary Therapy Midwife. Nicola is a safe practitioner who has a comprehensive knowledge of the regional units, and their guidelines. We have worked together as Managers of the Low Risk Birth settings in Bristol and our joint ethos for caring for women always prioritised the well-being of both mother and infant, at all times. Nicola’s knowledge of midwifery practice is extensive, having worked in practice for nearly 25 years, which ensures she cares for women and infants, with exceptional skill. I wish her every success in her new business, and I am confident that her clients will receive a safe and positive experience.

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