Colchester Hospital’s hypnobirthing initiative is officially no more after the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust pulled the plug on the programme.

The free sessions, delivered by midwives working at the Turner Road facility, had been taking place on a weekly basis, most recently over Zoom.

The classes were designed to teach mums-to-be how to use deep-breathing and relaxation techniques to help manage pain during labour and childbirth.

Mums in Clacton and Colchester who have experienced the benefits of hypnobirthing have reacted with disappointment after learning of the decision to axe the scheme.

Family - Hannah Shadbolt with daughters Eliza, 8, and Nora, 5, and partner David Smyth (Image: Public)
Hannah Shadbolt, who has two daughters, Eliza, 8, and Nora, 5, said: “It's so sad to hear the classes have stopped.

“For my first birth I didn't use them and I had a traumatic birth. For my second I was offered them as I was very nervous about going through it again.

“The classes were great and my birth was incredible. I felt in control and completely empowered by the whole experience.

“I always recommend them to expectant mums and it is such a shame these are no longer offered.

“They helped me through one of the most exciting and terrifying experiences you'll ever go through as a mum.”

Love - Kate Tampion with her ten-year-old son and her partner before giving birth to a new baby boy (Image: Public)

Kate Tampion, who has just given birth to a baby boy and also has a ten-year-old son, was enrolled on one of Colchester Hospital’s last hypnobirthing classes.

She said: “The issue is this was the last antenatal class of any sorts offered on the NHS in our area so now there is literally no free in-person education for parents-to-be.

“The hypnobirthing course wasn’t only about managing pain during labour it was pretty educational as an antenatal class in general.

“My husband learned heaps about pregnancy, labour and even female anatomy -private antenatal classes are so expensive too.

“For first time mums who can’t afford to take classes privately and don’t have any other means of support, not having the classes will be really detrimental.

“Pregnancy, labour and parenting in itself can be so scary without proper education.”

As Kate points out, mums-to-be could now find themselves having to pay out hundreds of pounds on pricey classes.

Some private hypnobirthing courses currently available in Colchester, for example, cost as much as £175 for six hour-long one-to-one Zoom calls.

In-person sessions, however, could set mums back as much as £250 for six hours, while group Zoom sessions can cost as much as £50 per 90 minutes.

What does the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust say?

Amanda Price-Davey is the director of midwifery at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital.

She said: “We understand being pregnant and looking forward to the birth of a new baby can be both an exciting and anxious time.

“Our midwifery teams have been working alongside the Local Maternity and Neonatal System to look at different ways we can support people so they can find the right approach for them.

“Shortly, we will be offering a new website focused on pregnancy, birth planning, infant feeding and other postnatal care.

“It will include a series of educational films and virtual tours of the maternity units to help people access evidence-based advice.

“The aim is to provide people with information they can access and discuss with their birth partner at their own convenience, and then discuss with their midwife.

“In line with changes to national practice we are currently reviewing our hypnobirthing service and apologise to anyone who is affected by this.

“We would like to provide assurance we are working hard to provide a tailor-made, expert led service to help support our families during pregnancy and beyond.

“We are hopeful the new online sessions will be available for families within the next few weeks.”