About Me
Magdalena Watling is a midwife, mother, wife and founder of Birth Therapies, specialising in Birth Preparation, Hypnobirthing, helping with fear and anxiety around birth and pregnancy and is one of the first certified Birth Trauma Resolution practitioners in the UK, accredited by the Royal College of Midwives.
​
During her time as a senior midwife, Magdalena has gained varied and valuable experience working in many settings including delivery suite, antenatal and postnatal settings, early pregnancy clinics, screening clinic and maternal medicine clinics working alongside some of the top specialist Consultants in the country. She has attended to hundreds of births and in many cases seen clients from the very beginning through to the birth and beyond. Magdalena has 10 years of experience working within the NHS and 5 years within European medical care settings.
Through her personal and professional experience she has seen a need for unique, personalised support that goes beyond traditional care and attitudes which is successful, fast and effective to truly transform and empower your birth experience.
​
Magdalena has been practicing and witnessing the wonderful effects of hypnobirthing during work on the labour ward in last 10 years and trained as KGH hypnobirthing teacher. She strongly believes in deepening the connection with our unconscious mind. She is passionate about exploring and learning about neuroscience and neurobiology of birth and relationships between mum, dad and baby. This has led to her dedication to create a range of unique and bespoke services that are free from medicalisation, negativity and are truly holistic. The methods and techniques taught and used at Birth Therapies will allow you to have a wonderful, calm and empowering experience of birth.
In addition Magdalena has trained as one of the first Birth Trauma Resolution therapy practitioners in the UK, to provide treatments to free you from past negative feelings, negative memories, traumas, grief or loss and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so you can live life mindfully and be able to experience love for your self, you child and family on a deeper, more connected level.
Change starts with your first step.
Magdalena is committed to continual professional development and study to provide the latest, most trusted and proven methods and techniques at Birth Therapies.​​
​
-
MSc Midwifery Degree, leading to working as a senior midwife working on delivery suite, anteanatal and postnatal wards, first trimester clinic and working in antenatal consultant clinic
-
BSc Health Sciences Degree, practicing with European leads in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and maternal medicine.
-
Dip Hip - KGH Hypnobirthing teacher and practitioner accredited by the Royal College of Midwives
-
Birth Trauma Resolution certified practitioner accredited by the Royal College of Midwives and Human Givens Institute of Psychotherapy
-
Member of the Perinatal Mental Health Network Discussing Group
My Story
I am Magdalena, a mother to a beautiful girl and little boy, wife, midwife and live in Bath.
​
I have been able to guide birthing mums whilst working, using a wide range of relaxation and mindfulness methods and was one of the very few midwives with a broad knowledge of using hypnosis in birth. My personal interest was inspired by Mary Mongan and Katheryn Graves who have been helping women for over two decades. I would often talk about expectant mums' favourite places, holidays or even pets and was able to guide birthing couples into guided visualisations so they can relax and switch off from stresses or worries, be free of fears and be able at the end to “wake up” to be ready to give birth gently and calmly.
​
My interest around hypnobirthing and birth trauma resolution therapy began after experiencing these things first hand. I used hypnosis during the birth of my daughter and I felt it was the most peaceful birth I could imagine and it was the way that was intended for both of us. We also used hypnobirthing for the birth of our second child which was a completely different birth (VBAC home birth) but no less calm and empowering!
​
Despite the calm and relaxed birth, I experienced severe nightmares and flashbacks of a traumatic event which occurred whilst working on labour ward during my first pregnancy. I was trying to push it out of my head, I did not share or talk about it with anyone except my husband who just could love me and listen to me. The GP had no answer besides talking therapies which had no solution for me and just deepened the issue by encouraging me to ruminate over it. I decided to keep it secret as most of us do, until I met Jenny Mullan, BTR founder who helped me to understand my deep-rooted trauma that was just put at “the back of my mind” and treated me using trauma processing techniques in a deep state of relaxation. Since then I feel happier and my parenting is way more relaxed and chilled and my mother- daughter bond even stronger and love/family life improved and the traumatic memory became a normal memory that no long interferes with daily life and I am more calm and positive than ever before. Since this BTR treatment it didn't even enter my mind to doubt or worry about anything during my second pregnancy or daily life. It was truly a life changing experience.
​
I have been listening to hundreds of women whilst working in various clinics, knowing that they have nowhere to turn to and must relive the experiences again and again were so heart breaking that I have decided I need to help them. I did not fully understand how widespread the problem is until talking with close friends who are also mums who have experienced trauma and felt they had nowhere to turn to. The fear of being misunderstood by families, friends and even therapists who often have no previous experience in women’s health and feeling of being judged or stigmatised with mental health issue in these women was disabling and this has driven me to help as many people as possible with Birth Therapies.