The Second Birth Evening | 21 Oct | York Road, Kings Heath

Second time round is a strange one. You already know what contractions feel like, the corridors, the timing app, the moment your waters go, or what c-section recovery actually takes out of you. What you don't always get is space to actually think about it properly, not with a toddler needing dinner and someone needing picking up from nursery, and feeding and sleep this time round is a whole different kind of figuring out.

This evening is a proper antenatal refresher, built specifically for second and subsequent pregnancies, not a repeat of a first-time class.

What we'll cover

A hypnobirthing refresher, breathing and relaxation techniques, and how to use them if labour looks different this time round. Feeding, including what's changed if you're coming back to breastfeeding after a gap, or feeding two. Sleep, realistic expectations for a newborn alongside an older child, and how to protect some of your own. And time to actually talk through what you'd do differently this time, based on how your last labour went.

What's included

• 90 minutes of antenatal content, in a group of six

Hypnobirthing refresher

🤍 Breathing techniques revisited, and adapted if your last labour didn't go the way breathing alone could carry you through

🤍 How fear and tension interrupt labour hormones, and what that looked like for you last time specifically

🤍 Positions for labour and birth, particularly useful if you were induced, augmented, or ended up on your back last time and want more choice this round

🤍 BRAIN, the questions to ask before agreeing to anything offered, refreshed with your specific history in mind

What's different second time

🤍 Faster labours, and how to recognise you're further along than you think

🤍 Birth partner's changed role, no longer just there for you, also managing logistics at home

🤍 VBAC specifically, if relevant, what the evidence actually says versus what people assume

🤍 Processing a previous birth that didn't go to plan, named plainly rather than skipped past

Feeding

🤍 Coming back to breastfeeding after a gap, if that's relevant

🤍 Feeding two under two, or tandem feeding questions

🤍 What actually changes about early feeding second time round versus first

Sleep

🤍 Realistic expectations for a newborn's sleep alongside an older child's routine

🤍 Protecting some of your own sleep when there's no maternity leave equivalent of "just nap when they nap" anymore

• A downloadable guide afterwards, covering all the hypnobirthing exercises and antenatal activities from the evening, as a refresher you can come back to

• A drink at Grace and James afterwards, included with your booking, alcohol-free options and soft drinks available

• Food available, if required, to order separately from their menu on the night

Who this is for

This session is for mums only, no partners at the session itself, though you're welcome to bring them along to Grace + James afterwards if you'd like. For anyone due from mid-December 2026 onwards.