Pregnancy Circle at the Woodland WOOM
What is a pregnancy circle?
A pregnancy circle is a safe space for women to open up about their journeys into motherhood and find support in other women. This pregnancy circle is always followed by an informal birth preparation chat led by two independent midwives. Once a month, around the new moon, we hold a gift share day with a guest facilitator.
Main information
We gather every Saturday morning from 1000 to 1200. Doors open at 9:45 until 1230.
At the Woodland WOOM in Danbury, Essex. A beautiful community space that has a converted barn situated on 22 acres of land. The pregnancy circle will generally happen in a small cozy room and the birth wisdom chats in the cafe but if the weather is nice we might move the circle outside, to the forest area. See the map at the end of the page for directions.
£12 drop in for the pregnancy circle (includes the birth wisdom chat)
£40 for a moon block of four sessions by bank transfer.
£15 for the August Circles if you bring your partner.
Please do! We want the circles to be a space for pregnant women to come when they need it. If you like the content, you can book a themed block of 4 sessions.
Bottle of water, notebook and pen, slippers (the floor is cold in autumn/winter, there will be some slippers available), vegan snacks if you want some extra food as the Woodland WOOM is a vegan space. Please do not bring non-vegan foods such as meat, fish, eggs or diary products. Thanks!
We have limited spaces to 15 women to keep the event intimate. A minimum of 5 women are needed for a pregnancy circle to go ahead. Bookings need to be made at least 24h in advance. If an event is cancelled due to lack of participants all costs will be refunded.
All circles are lead by myself and each Saturday I am accompanied by a different independent midwife (Beth Rose, Cheryl Samuels,) for the birth preparation chat. Every 4 weeks, on the week of the new moon, we have a guest facilitator that will guide us through an activity aimed at helping us connect with ourselves and the birth process.
Yes, after the first hour we will have a 15 minute break to use the toilet, have a tea and eat a delicious vegan cake. These come at an additional charge that you can pay at the venue (cash only). You will be supporting the Woodland WOOM by doing so. There will be water, tea and fruit to welcome you at the beginning of the circle, free of charge.
Where to book?
You can book your drop in space following the link below.
Booking is essential, we cannot take walk-ins at the moment.
If you would like to book a block of 4 at a discounted rate please contact me for a direct payment.
The Circle
We start the pregnancy circle with an introduction followed by a short song or meditation to ground ourselves and become more present in the space. For the first 1h we sit in a circle and we each take turns to talk about how we feel and whatever is going on in our lives. The rest of the group listens without interruptions nor giving advice. There will be a topic for the circle but you may talk about whatever comes, there is even no need to share anything deep. You do not need to share anything at all if you don´t feel like it.
Generally women´s groups can be quite powerful as emotions emerge through this shared vulnerability. The act of holding space for each other, of feeling safe and free to share without judgement can be a magical opportunity for self reflection, exercise compassion and feel connected to others through our authentic selves. We close the circle with another song or meditation and take a break before the second part of the event. You may wish to remain in the space for longer to journal, meditate, reflect.
The Birth Preparation Chats
After the circle we will have a break for tea and cake and follow this up with the birth preparation chats. When you book you will be asked if there is anything you will like to learn about during the session. We will select some questions that align with the topic of the month and let the participants lead the conversation. We will then sit in the cafe area and discuss the topics. By attending regularly our aim is to offer you similar amount of knowledge as you would get in a structured birth preparation course.
We will be covering a wide range of topics: physiology, the spiritual, emotional and energetic side of birth, fear in birth, childbirth as a rite of passage, place of birth, birth partners, interventions, coping with the intensity of birth, breastfeeding and responsive parenting.
On the last Saturday of every moon block we have the wonderful Cheryl Samuels leading a hypnobirthing session.
The Gift Share Day
On the new moon week we will have a special guest instead of a birth preparation chat. She will be sharing her gifts with us with an activity that will help you connect with your body, your mind, your intuition to prepare you for the birth and motherhood. This is the part you will not get in any antenatal classes. See the program below.
Discover the 2024 program
Contact me directly to book a block by bank transfer and avoid booking fees.
For individual drop-in sessions follow the link above.
Click to flip the boxes.
June Moon Block
From the 22 of June until the 13 of July
July Moon Block
From the 20 of July until the 10 of August
August Moon Block
From the 17 of August until 07 of Septembre
Septembre Moon Block
From 21 of Septembre until 12 of Octobre
And don’t forget independent midwives Cheryl Samuels and Beth Woodger will be with us every month sharing their childbirth knowledge.
Cheryl will lead a hypnobirthing session on the last day of every moon block.
Where to find us?
FAQS
Yes and no. If you attend all the sessions you would have experienced 10h of birth preparation which is the length of most birth preparation courses. However, as the program is designed over 4 months we appreciate that not everyone can commit all their Saturday mornings. Therefore, the vision is that women come for the experience of gathering and sharing with other women and, as a bonus, they get prepared for birth in a very special way. Most birth preparation courses can´t cover everything so by attending this circle alongside your chosen traditional birth preparation course you will have the best preparation.
Most birth preparation courses focus on knowledge whereas we have wanted to create a space for women to find their own answers through sharing their experiences. On top of this we believe that preparing for birth should be as physical as it is emotional and spiritual, not only knowledge based. Therefore we have designed activities and meditations to help you go in and find yourself. Because when labour gets tough, you will have to dig deep to make the right decisions for you and your baby. Of course knowledge is important, so we will talk about fear, hormones, interventions, what to expect, ect.
The space is designed so we can all sit on the floor at the same level in comfy mattresses with back support, however, there are also chairs for those struggling with mobility.
Unfortunately this is a women only space. However every 3 months we will run a month of circles for couples because partners also need birth prepatation.
Absolutely! If you have been attending regularly and want to come back to share your story please do! It will help others with their birth preparation.
Yes you can! If you are hoping to conceive or you are using creative energy to bring a project to life and you want to surround yourself of the pregnant energy, come and join us.
No it is not. We are not qualified therapists nor intent to be.
Since we are a group of midwives running the circle we are more than happy to answer any general clinical questions you may have after the circle however, we cannot offer personalized advise. For this you can book a 121 session with one of us where we can review your history and help you make a decision pertaining your care.
You can stay around until 1230, chat to other women, walk on the grounds, inquire about the activities at the Woodland Woom, have another tea, talk to us midwives/guest facilitators. There is also an option to have a foot soak on site (cash only, 3 pounds for 15 minutes, 4 spaces available). On some afternoons the Woodland Woom runs other events you are welcome to book onto and attend. These involve community gatherings (to celebrate solstices, plant in the garden, creative workshops), drumming sessions, dancing around the fire and lovely vegan meals.
If you can´t attend and you notify us 24h in advance we can transfer your booking to another day.
Yes, there is plenty of space on site as we are in private land.
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