I would like to start by saying that we would highly recommend Janet to anyone looking for help in the pre and postnatal period.
As a couple expecting twins, with a traumatic first birth experience (we have a 5 year old daughter who was born in hospital after a long labour and a lot of medical intervention), Janet has been a great support, in preparing and dealing with the arrival of our twin boys (now 3 months old). We met five times over the course of the pregnancy, and have had continued contact since the birth. Throughout, we were listened to carefully without judgement. Janet reminded us of the personal choices we have when it comes to pre- and post-natal care and helped us to think clearly in advance, about what we might wish from the experience. This included our choice for the type of delivery.
It was surprisingly cathartic and useful to air some of our feelings around this subject, before being launched back in to it blindly, second time around. We found that faced with hospital staff in the run up to childbirth and immediately afterwards: we now had real confidence in our convictions. It meant that we could follow our instincts more freely, so that the overall experience was a positive and joyous one: rather than frightening and overwhelming.
We do credit our meetings with Janet in helping us make four crucial decisions, our “mini triumphs”!
The first was leaving the hospital, when we had been booked to be induced, as they were understaffed and we felt intuitively that at 37 weeks, despite the hospital's requests to induce, the babies were not ready. Another was not agreeing to have the twins' fetal heart monitors strapped on me all night long, in the early stages of labour. The third and the most important, was not allowing a doctor who had just come on shift to rail road us into having a c section, due to "the failure to progress in labour sufficiently”. Within one hour the twins had arrived naturally in spite of this doctor's concerns. Finally, after one night on the postnatal ward, I was desperate to be home with my family and it was thanks to my talks with Janet that I was able to confidently leave the brightly lit and noisy ward.
Janet also taught me breathing techniques to use in labour, and offered a session of guided relaxation ("yoga Nidra"). Since the birth, she has supported me with many aspects of the twin’s care, from the logistics of the twin buggy, to some serious feeding issues, that I was not aware of during my sleep deprived exhaustion.
Janet’s continued support has greatly boosted my confidence as a mother, especially being the new mother of twins and it goes without saying that my partner and I greatly appreciate the guidance and care that Janet has shown us throughout!