Embracing new beginnings - Training to become a hypnobirthing teacher whilst on maternity leave

Becoming a parent is one of the most transformative experiences in life. It is a time of joy, love, and new challenges. But it can also be a time of reflection and growth in other areas of life, such as your career.

For many, maternity leave is a pause that offers a unique opportunity to rethink professional goals and explore new paths. If you’re contemplating a career change while on maternity leave, know that it is entirely possible and can be incredibly rewarding.

Maternity leave is often the perfect time to consider doing something new

Maternity leave provides a rare chance to step back from the daily grind and reassess what you truly want from your career. The break from routine work life can give you a fresh perspective on what makes you happy and fulfilled. You may realise that your previous job no longer aligns with your values, or that you have a new sense of purpose and priorities. You might start to wonder, what do you really want from a career? 

That's exactly what happened with 3 of our graduates here at Love Your Birth who all decided to take the plunge to become Hypnobirthing teachers with Love Your Birth whilst on maternity leave 

Meet Eleanor Marshall - "It was now or never for me"

Eleanor spoke to us about why she decided to train to become a hypnobirthing teacher whilst on maternity leave with her second child. She said it was a now or never moment as she approached turning 30 and often thought to herself 'where do I see myself in 10 years time?'  Eleanor describes her own experiences of birth as 'the most empowering moments of her life' and she was so desperate to help other people feel that way too. 

With 7 months left of her maternity she wanted to pursue her passion of spreading the positive birth word, whilst also knowing that she could do the nursery drop offs, and be a present Mum at the same time. 

'It was the perfect time, what did I have to lose?'

At the time of training, Eleanor was 5 months post partum and also had her 2.5 year old son to look after, with no family near by to support her but she tells us that 'if my birth experiences taught me anything, it’s that I’m capable of far more than I ever thought.' 

The worries did creep in and Eleanor wasn't sure if she could do it

Eleanor openly admits that she had no experience of running a business and she felt intimidated at the thought of having her own business whilst looking after 2 children but she overcame this by leaning into the support from us and the community here at Love Your Birth. Eleanor also battled the feeling of Mum guilt, she worried that her second baby wouldn't get the 'first baby experience' by 'trying to juggle even more' but she really does believe that following her passion has made her a better Mum.

"Training with LYB has given me the chance to do something I love and support expectant parents on my own schedule — exactly what I need with two little ones."

Here's how Eleanor completed her training whilst also having a busy family life

She made time to complete the online modules at her own pace, often utilising nap times and evenings when the children were in bed. Eleanor attended the live online training with us whilst breastfeeding her daughter and her toddler made an appearance too which we absolutely welcome, the training fits around you. 

Eleanor really did utilise the spare time that she had. Often listening to training modules on the long journey to her parent's home. 

And now, she tells us that actually her clients love that she has as baby under 1, it allows her to truly empathise with the challenges new parents face, plus she has a fresh, real-time insight into the local hospital experiences right now too. 

"If I can do it, so can you"

If you are wondering if maternity leave is the right time to try something new and become a Hypnobirthing teacher, Eleanor says "I would absolutely encourage anyone to consider starting a Hypnobirthing business during maternity leave. The timing worked out perfectly for me, and I know I couldn’t have done it if I was working full-time. You have the flexibility to dive into something you're passionate about without the commitment of your ‘day job’. My best advice is: trust yourself, lean on your support network, and take it one step at a time. Expectant parents need your passion and your skills, now more than ever. If I can do it, so can you!"

You can find out more about Eleanor by heading to her website here or following her on Instagram birth_with_choice

Meet Molly Bouch: 'I was desperate to follow a new passion'

During maternity leave, Molly was keen to pursue her passion of teaching all things birth and baby, so whilst she was feeding and not sleeping she decided to train with us to become a hypnobirthing teacher. She was really keen to not go back to her full time job as a teacher in her school and knew that teaching hypnobirthing would allow her to go back part time. 

Molly had actually attended other events about hypnobirthing but in her words found LYB to be  'approachable, kind, realistic and warm'. She also loved the continued support that we after the live training ends. 

How did Molly manage the training alongside having a newborn?

Initially, she was worried about the amount of time she would spend away from her family and baby. Molly goes on to say that actually it was hardly any time at all and when she did get that time away, she actually felt more creative and it was an opportunity for her to be the best that she could be. 

"The thought of it was harder than the reality" 

I'd watch the online videos, taking notes whilst feeding my daughter or whilst she was sleeping. It was amazing to learn and do something productive instead of watching reality TV all the time. It was frustrating at times not always being able to finish watching the videos when my daughter needed me but that's something I got used to. 

Benefits of training to become a Hypnobirthing teacher whilst on maternity leave:

Molly tells us that she had time in the day to create posts and work on her business which she wouldn't have had if she was teaching in school. Molly felt that she could be kinder to herself if there were busy moments and just posted less at that time because she already felt a great sense of achievement by just 'doing it'.  If she had been training whilst working her day job, she says she wouldn't have known what to focus on and felt overwhelmed. 

Molly's advice to anyone who is thinking of training as a Hypnobirthing teacher whilst on maternity leave is to take the leap as it's a huge creative and powerful outlet for your brain as well as being a mother.

You can find out more about Molly over on her website here or follow her on Instagram @confidentbirths_

Meet Ruth Wookey - "I needed that intellectual stimulation and so I was glad of it."

Ruth was already a Hypnobirthing Teacher when she came across us at LYB, she was a confident teacher at the time but felt that she had lots to learn about running a business and knew that Abby could help her. The already done for her resources that LYB provides was a huge bonus for her as she didn't need to create anything new herself. 

Initially, Ruth was just curious about Hypnobirthing and would read countless books and blogs and listen to podcasts on my commute to work whilst pregnant. After the birth of her baby she couldn't stop reading birth books and banging on about how amazing hypnobirthing was to anyone who would listen.

She was worried that perhaps she should be using her maternity leave to relax but she really loved learning something new and working on her business. 

'I needed that intellectual stimulation and so I was glad of it. I absolutely love learning new things'

So, when her baby was just a few weeks old she signed up to the training.

Ruth made the decision that she would run her hypnobirthing business as side hustle but when her baby was 10 months old she handed in her notice at her day job and decided to give her hypnobirthing business a 'proper go' as she describes it. 

'I completed all of my training during nap times'

Ruth says that thankful her second born did nap, so she would use every second to work on her business! Her daughter would fall asleep in her pram on the school run and Ruth would wheel her in, tip-toe over to her laptop and start working on her business. 

Ruth was also great at shouting about her business from the rooftops during maternity leave

'I also used my maternity leave to shout about what I was doing to anyone who asked how my day was or what I was doing later! I was at baby classes and in the school playground, surrounded by people who may have another baby or almost certainly know someone who will, so I figured I may as well use my time to spread the word!'

Benefits of starting a new business whilst on maternity leave:

Ruth tells us that being away from her day job allowed her the time to dream about what she really wanted to do, it cleared up so much space in her head. She talks about how she was a busy Mum of two but it was a great time to start a business as there was no pressure to get things up and running quickly, she could do it in her own time. 

'I also think that maternity leave is a great time to start a baby or birth business because you're constantly around other mums and so you can tell people what you do and spread the word quite organically.'

Ruth's advice for anyone who is thinking of training to become a Hypnobirthing Teacher whilst on maternity leave would be to enjoy the process and be kind to yourself. 'Work on your business as much as makes you happy' 

We here at Love Your Birth also had to include the drawing the Ruth's little one did for her. Her children show so much interest and pride in her business. "Once I came home from watching a class to find my 4year old had made some posters ‘for mummy’s business’ and stuck them up all over our house! I felt so proud that day I’ll never forget it."

You can find out more about Ruth by heading to her website here or following her on Instagram @pea_in_the_pod_hypnobirthing

Find out if teaching hypnobirthing is for by taking our free quiz here