After the 3-step rewind I felt exhausted but strangely ''free' it was a feeling I couldn't put a name to, but it was good! It totally transformed my second birth which was a home birth in my bath surrounded by calmness" 2020

 
3-Step Rewind.

Sometimes having a baby doesn't go to plan.
Sometimes everything snowball's out of your control and what should have been a wonderful empowering experience is stressful, painful and fearful.
Sometimes it is traumatic.

​If you feel you have been traumatised giving birth, then you have. Sadly it is surprisingly common.
Symptoms can vary but if you have flashbacks, nightmares, depression, panic attacks and anxiety following a birth, these are all symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. 
Each time you think about your birth your are RELIVING it, triggering a cascade of 'fight or flight' responses as though you are still in the trauma itself.  It is important to begin the process of understanding what happened, and why it had to happen in order to unravel the PTSD symptoms.
The 3-step-rewind is a simple gentle treatment that can address these hyper-aroused feelings of helplessness and sadness and help you gain closure so you can realign your memory to the event.  It cannot change the traumatic experience, but it alters the emotional response that occurs when you think of it.

I trained with Alex Heath Clinical Hypnotherapsit https://traumaticbirthrecovery.com who has trained over 300 practitioners such is the success of this effective treatment.
Alex says:"The practitioners are trained in how to listen to difficult or traumatic birth stories. They know how to make a listening service an opportunity to be heard, to have your feelings acknowledged and validated, to begin to understand how it may still be impacting on your day to day life and relationships and if appropriate to begin the process of feeling differently".

I am now holding these sessions via Zoom until we can be face to face again in the Doula Den.  
​The cost for the 3-step rewind is £70.
It involves 3 sessions in total.
These sessions, or steps, begin by revisiting the traumatic experience through to looking ahead into the future without the very present traumatic feelings.

The first session - 1hr - is an informal chat about the 3-steps, information swapping, and will include a short relaxation and breathing exercise.

​The second session - usually 2hrs in length and we would cover the following:
-explanation of what to expect
-birth debrief - some of my clients have not been able to speak about their birth and that is totally fine. It still works. Some have written it down prior to the first meet-up such that I have read about it.
-relaxation and rewind technique
-brief chat after the rewind.

The third session -  This session is shorter in duration, about 1hr and would include:
-chat about what has changed
-relaxation
-closing chat.

If you would like more information then call Lucy 07526116850 or send me an email via my Contact Me  page.

Bella said:
Before my first rewind session I had a lot of anxiety and guilt about my the birth of my little boy over a year ago now. I felt like I had let him down and anytime I remembered it I physically felt heavy about how it had played out. I felt like I had missed that beautiful 'mummy' moment that everybody talks about where you look at your baby and think wow this beautiful creature is mine. 
I wasn't convinced that the rewind would do a lot to help me, but even in the session I could feel my perspective on the birth change. When I look back on my sons' birth now I feel lighter. I don't see the the unplanned aspects as failures, just part of his beautiful birth story, even the language I used to talk about it has changed. I can see all the lovely moments that were previously lost and I found my 'mummy' moment. 
It has allowed me to feel relaxed and calm about the birth of my second baby, believing that however his story turns out it will be beautiful and exactly how it needs to be. 2017

The beautiful Linocuts are by Anita Klein and you can find more images here ​ http://www.anitaklein.com

Doulababes
with Lucy Shutes
lucy.doulababes@gmail.com