Welcome to Danielle’s Journal, a mix of real stories and grounded guides for pregnancy, birth and early motherhood.
You’ll find honest reflections and practical posts to help you feel calm, capable and in control – no fluff, no filters, just truth.
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How to Create a Calm Birth Environment (Even in Hospital)
A calm birth environment isn’t about fairy lights or the perfect room. It’s about feeling safe, informed, and in control — even in hospital and even when plans change. This honest, experience-led guide explores what actually creates calm in birth and how you can prepare for it.
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I am not a midwife. I am a teacher
A reflective journal entry on teaching birth, confidence, and why understanding matters. I’m not a midwife – I’m a teacher, and that’s exactly why this work matters.
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The Truth About Hypnobirthing and Pain Relief
Hypnobirthing isn’t about avoiding pain relief — it’s about reducing fear so you can make confident, intentional choices in labour. Here’s how hypnobirthing works alongside gas and air, pethidine, epidurals and more.
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How to Stay Calm at Christmas With a Newborn (From a Mum Who’s Lived Three Completely Different First Christmases)
Christmas with a newborn can feel loud, overwhelming and nothing like the glossy scenes online. This gentle guide shares the truths no one tells you, the small moments that matter, and the practical ways to protect your peace so you can make Christmas work for you, your baby and your little family.
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The Conversation That Broke My Heart (Again)
This was a hard one to write. A conversation in the school playground reminded me just how many women walk away from birth believing hypnobirthing wouldn’t have made any difference. Not because they failed — but because our culture failed them. This reflection is here to offer truth, gentleness, and healing.
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What’s Actually Happening in Each Trimester
From your first midwife appointment to feeling those tiny kicks, pregnancy is full of milestones – but it doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Here’s a calm, trimester-by-trimester guide to what’s happening, when to breathe, and when to start preparing for birth – especially if you’re pregnant in Grimsby.
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When Should I Start Hypnobirthing?
Wondering when to start hypnobirthing? Here’s the truth: it’s never too early. From early pregnancy wobbles to the calm before birth, this guide explains why giving yourself time to prepare makes all the difference and how starting sooner can transform your whole journey.
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What Hypnobirthing Really Is (and Why It’s Not About Whale Music)
I’ll take you back to the moment I first heard the word hypnobirthing — and why I nearly dismissed it completely. This Journal entry shares how my view changed, what I learned about self-hypnosis, and why it transformed every birth that followed.
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What Is Hypnobirthing? And How It Actually Works (Grimsby Edition)
Wondering what hypnobirthing actually is? This Grimsby-based guide explains how mindset, hormones and simple tools work together to create a calmer, more confident birth, with practical insights from The Mama Spring.
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Pregnant after Loss: Finding Hope and Support in Early Pregnancy
Pregnancy after loss isn’t simple. It’s a strange mix of fear and hope, love and protection — all wrapped up together. You might feel torn between wanting to celebrate and needing to stay guarded. This Journal entry is a gentle space for anyone walking that road, a reminder that you’re not alone and you don’t have to rush your joy.
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Why don’t people talk about the pain?
When I was pregnant, I was terrified of pain — not just the physical pain of birth, but the fear and silence that surrounded it. Nobody really talked about it. In this Journal entry, I’m opening that conversation: what pain in labour really is, how control changes everything, and the tools that helped me move from panic to power.
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From Blogs to Journal: A New Chapter
Welcome to The Mama Spring Journal — a space for real reflections, gentle guidance, and local connection.
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Why Feeling in Control of Birth Matters More Than the Perfect Plan
If birth always went to plan, the world would be a very different place. When I think back to my three girls’ births, not one of them looked the way it did in my head. My first was a hospital induction that felt forced. My second was the most healing, empowering home birth with my…
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Why I Created The Mama Spring METHOD
Sometimes, something you’ve been doing your whole life finally clicks into place. That’s how The Mama Spring METHOD came to be. It’s not a business idea I dreamed up in a strategy session. It’s not a catchy acronym I invented and then tried to make fit. It’s the way I’ve always worked — in the…
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The Class I Needed as a New Mum (So I Created It)
I remember one night with my first baby, Paisley. She was about two weeks old. Liam had gone back to work, so I was solo parenting most of the day, and I was completely exhausted. I was sitting in bed, feeding her for what felt like the tenth time that night already. I hadn’t managed…
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Induction Doesn’t Mean You’ve Failed
It Means You’re About to Step Into Your Power You didn’t spend your pregnancy dreaming of a cannula in your hand. You didn’t pin a hormone drip on your vision board. You pictured low lights, calm environment, homely scents, strength in your breath and a birth that felt like you are in control! So if…
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5 Soothing Benefits of a Water Birth
If you’re considering a water birth, or you’ve heard the term but aren’t quite sure what it means, then you’re in the right place. Water births have grown in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. For many women, giving birth in water offers a more comfortable, calm, and positive experience – my own…
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My Top 5 Tips for Creating the Best Birthing Environment
Where Can I Give Birth in Grimsby? First things first, most people reading this will be pregnant in Grimsby, Cleethorpes, or the surrounding areas. So, let’s think about the options for where you can give birth. The most common place is Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, but did you know that you also have the…
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Guest Blog – Top Tips for travelling with a baby
This blog post is by Sam, from LoiCo Properties.Sam is an experienced traveller, having travelled abroad with both of her children numerous times. I asked Sam to give me some top tips for travelling with a baby and WOW, she delivered!! These are fantastic for anyone going away with a newborn – or actually, with…
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Choking or gagging… That is the question!
Let’s face it, watching your little one explore the world of solid foods can be equal parts exciting and terrifying. Between the mashed avocado explosions and the enthusiastic gumming, there’s bound to be a moment (or ten) where you witness a gagging fit. But before you hit panic mode, take a deep breath – it’s…
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How Does Hypnobirthing Work?
You may have heard the word ‘hypnobirthing’ being used, but are you wondering what it actually is or how it works? You may also be wondering ‘is hypnobirthing for me?’.If so, then I hope you will get some answers here… What is Hypnobirthing? Hypnobirthing has evolved over the last few years (even since I did…
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Differences in your 2nd pregnancy
Giving birth is a different experience for everyone and no two births are the same – I can definitely vouch for that! But giving ourselves to reflect on our birth experience after it has happened can definitely help as we prepare for another baby. The Opportunity to Reflect As you start your journey into the…
