Leading Light – Sally Lomas

But it’s not prescriptive – not about telling parents what they should  do?

No! It’s about helping people to feel that it comes from within them – which it has. That’s what we believe: that birthing, for women, is within us, but has just become a little lost in this day and age. That parenting and our deeper instincts are there, and that just by relaxing, by feeling listened to, by being supported we can bring those out. So, no – we definitely aren’t about telling parents how to do things. And the best preparation is to give lots of ideas – the key ones being the physical aspects of positions and movement and breathing – but also letting go, and relaxing, and believing in oneself.

What is special about Calmababy?

As far as we know, it’s the first centre built specifically for all these offerings – pregnancy, baby yoga, swimming, and with the Birthlight ethos – all under one roof. It’s special also because it’s family run, with Alison’s parents involved, so it feels like family. Of course, it’s run as a successful business, but it’s not set up, as some places are, purely to make money. It comes out of that urge to bring this to people in an affordable, open, friendly way, and anyone who walks in there will immediately feel how relaxed and friendly it is. But very professional, too. It’s very well thought through, from the design of the building to the way the courses run. It’s particularly unusual to put together the yoga and the swimming. That’s the side we’re developing now – the yoga. The swimming is already popular, so we’re wanting to make people more aware of yoga that is completely compatible with that.

Alison has said in the past that classes were not hit at all by the recession…

I have classes in Cambridge, and that’s exactly what we’ve found. People are still having babies, of course, and they want the best for them. It’s heartening! I find that the pregnancy classes are absolutely full, with waiting lists, so we’re very excited to bring that to Calmababy. And I think an important thing is that, yes, it’s yoga for women, but we’re also bringing in partners. That could be dad, but also birth partners – whoever that may be – because we know that women who have supportive partners with them are really helped to have a more positive experience.

What would you say to someone who is wondering whether this is for them?

I think I would probably emphasise the fact that it is to explore what you need – that it’s an individual approach, finding out what would work for you. It’s not about telling you how to give birth, but it can really help you have a positive experience of birth. But also, I’d say, do it for your baby as well as yourself. And just come and try! You don’t even have to book a class. You can just come in and chat, have a cup of tea and some cake, and see what’s on offer. It’s very friendly, very relaxed, open to everyone – an easy, relaxed approach that absolutely works.

ABOUT BIRTHLIGHT FOUNDER FRANÇOISE FREEDMAN

The Founder and Director of Birthlight, Françoise Freedman, is a medical anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, where she does research and teaches as an affiliated lecturer in the Department of Social Anthropology. After spending long periods of fieldwork in Peruvian Amazonia, including two pregnancies and stays with her young family, she was inspired to share the gentle approach to parenting of her Amazonian hosts among friends in the UK. As a trained yoga teacher and therapist, Françoise used the idiom of yoga to create an original programme of movements and nurturing relaxation for mothers-to-be and new mothers with their babies.

In 1998, ten years after the first informal Cambridge classes, Birthlight was set up as a registered charity with an adjunct company Birthlight Training Limited. Birthlight courses have grown exponentially since 2001, with now over 1,500 certified instructors in four major teaching areas, mainly in the UK, but increasingly abroad.

An expert in her field, Françoise is a speaker at international conferences. Her books have now been translated into 11 languages, and she has written articles for numerous yoga journals and pregnancy and baby magazines.

www.birthlight.com

For more information, go to: www.calmababy.com

You can read our Business Moment interview with Calmababy founder Alison Duff at www.themomentmagazine.com