About Helen
Hi, I’m Helen
Founder of Positive Births NZ, hypnotherapist, mum of 3, author, podcast host and believer that YOU have everything within YOU to achieve success!
If you’re pregnant right now – Congratulations!!
This is an amazing time in your life, but I know it can also feel quite daunting too.
There’s so much to learn, so much to take on board and so much information to sift through!
Actually, I’m envious of you, because if you’re here right now, you’re certainly on the right track. I wish I had known more about birth in my first pregnancy rather than just one book and a standard antenatal class.
I’m mum to Jess, Jack and Amelia (born 2002, 2005 & 2009) and had three very different births.
I discovered hypnobirthing in my second pregnancy quite randomly when I was given a book about it. You could say that it changed my life….who knew that shortly after my birth to Jack, I would decide to teach the hypnobirthing course!!
I’ve been sharing the amazing hypnobirthing program with thousands since 2007 and met the most incredible people along the way. You can read some of their stories on this website, and listen to some of their stories on The Positive Birth NZ podcast.
After teaching the program for a number of years, in 2020 I decided New Zealand needed its own hypnobirthing program – more relevant for Kiwis, so I sat down and wrote the book “Positive Birth in NZ using Relaxation, Hypnobirthing and Mindfulness”.
From there I created the Positive Births hypnobirthing program and am now teaching others to teach this program too (you can find out more here)
If you’d like to read the book first, before taking a course – you can buy the book here.
My first hypnobirthing experience
In 2005 I gave birth to Jack – who weighed in at a very health 9 pounds 11 oz which is 4.4kgs. He looks huge against me becuase I’m a tiny 5.0ft.
No, it wasn’t much fun at the end of my pregnancy carrying him inside – however he came out just fine. My midwife (who took this photo) said that during my labour it “looked like I had an epidural”.
It was this experience that made me consider sharing the program with others, as at the time nobody knew about hypnobirthing in NZ. I trained with the Hypnobirthing Institute in 2007 and have taught the program to thousands since.
My second hypnobirthing experience was with my daughter in 2009 and you can read the birth story here.
I’m also a Hypnotherapist
I feel super fortunate to genuinely love what I do – which is essentially to inspire you, to provide you with practical tools and to support you in your journey – whatever that may involve.
You can read other peoples comments about me below.
When I’m not teaching hypnobirthing, I’m usually working with other types of hypnotherapy, as I also have an advanced certificate in hypnotherapy and help people with a variety of life’s challenges (eg fear, anxiety, stress, weight loss, addictions, menopause, parenting, past life regression). You can read about this work here.
I can offer extra skills to the program and if you need extra support to release negative emotions, deep seated feelings, or just extra fears and worries that crop up I can personally help you to release and heal. I offer support with Birth debriefs and working through any birth trauma and miscarriage healing.
I love being out at the beach, I love walking, yoga and bushwalks. I’m also a avid reader and will constantly have a number of books on my bedside table that I’m reading. I enjoy meditation and am fascinated by all things metaphysical. More recently I’ve become quite interested in gardening and growing food as we moved into a house with an amazing vege garden. While I hate heights and am not much of an adrenalin junkie, my kids and I recently did some ziplining, and I’m now a fan!
What others say
“Helen’s genuine and warm aura underpins everything she teaches which makes the whole experience easy
and enjoyable to connect with – it feels safe and comfortable, which can be hard to achieve when the topic could
be viewed as quite a ‘scary’ one.”
Victoria
“After having years of infertility and going through IVF, I experienced a lot of anxiety with all of the tests, scans, appointments, waiting etc. Before I came to see you I would turn up at the fertility clinic with knots in my stomach, heart racing, feeling nauseas and always ended up with upset bowels as a result of the stress. I seriously can’t believe how much my session with you helped!
I just had my first visit back to the fertility clinic since we had the zoom session. I had no nerves! No heart racing, no butterflies, no anxious poops. I felt so calm and I still do. It was such a relief.
It was all good news, my surgery went well and they are happy for me to have an embryo transfer next week….and I’m still feeling calm! (usually I would be getting all nervous, excitement feeling by now). Thankyou so much.”
Alex
“Thankyou Helen for helping me to find the confidence and strength I’ve needed to get through a challenging time. We have appreciated your down-to-earth and practical advise. The tools you’ve shared with us have made a huge difference to my pregnancy so far,
I can’t wait to use them in birth.”
Cindy and Joe
“Thank you so much for all that you have done that helped me to prepare for this birth and really succeed.
Our baby arrived in a beautiful, calm, relaxed VBAC home, water birth.
It was such a beautiful experience thanks to hypnobirthing!!!”
Janelle
“Helen, you were amazing. Such a breath of fresh air, so passionate about what you teach, and so patient with us all and our questions. You never made anyone feel like their questions were silly, and you made everyone feel safe and comfortable in the learning environment.
Your knowledge and way of teaching is just awesome, and I think your positivity really helps instill that confidence in the women that we totally can do this!
We will be recommending you and your course to everyone, as I honestly think no matter what the circumstance, there is something for everyone in it, and your work is going to lead to many more beautiful birth experiences for families.
We are so looking forward to ours now!”
Bex and Mike