Meet The Teachers

Meet The antenatal experts

Meet The Teachers

Hello from Sian Verney, Ann Roberts and Lauren Birch; trained, highly experienced dedicated antenatal teachers. We pride ourselves with providing an outstanding level of childbirth education and care to expectant parents across Norfolk and North Suffolk.

All About Birth and Babies teachers completed the robust three year antenatal teacher training programme with the NCT. Between us, we also have additional qualifications in biomechanics for birth, hypnobirthing, breastfeeding and sleep coaching. As conscientious practitioners, we carry out Continuous Professional Development to ensure we remain up to date and provide courses that are fun, relevant, research based and promote informed decision making.

Our comprehensive childbirth preparation courses provide all you need to know about birth as well as caring for and feeding a newborn. They reflect modern-day co-parenting and provide specific local information. Our facilitation skills mean that no two courses are exactly the same as we start with a framework of core topics that are always included and build on that as we identify and discuss what’s important to the pregnant women and birth partners on each individual course. We don’t follow a prescribed list; every course is tailored to the needs of the small groups we work with.

You have loads of questions? Great! We will encourage you to ask away!

Sian was superb. Not only did she convey information in a palatable and memorable way, but we also found the sessions very enjoyable.

Sian shares a wealth of knowledge in an engaging & inclusive manner and made us all feel a lot more relaxed about the impending birth and life as new parents.

She presented all the available choices around childbirth without bias and prepared us for the road ahead and the decisions we would have to make together.

We would highly recommend booking an antenatal course with Sian.

Paul & Mary, Norwich

As specially trained antenatal teachers you can be assured we have the knowledge and expertise to discuss topics related to early pregnancy through labour and birth and into early parenthood. Carrying out Continuous Professional Development ensures we are providing up to date information but we won’t pretend we know everything so where appropriate, we will refer to other carefully selected local birth and baby specialists when we feel you and/or your baby would benefit from some further support.

We live in Norfolk and have established relationships with midwives and other health professionals in the area. Our extensive specialist training combined with decades of experience and an excellent knowledge of the local maternity service, ensures our knowledge is current and in line with local practice.

We’re well-known and (yep we’re going to say it!) well-loved. Previous clients and midwives regularly recommend us, we’ve received dozens of 5* reviews and won a number of awards including ’Best Antenatal Course in Norfolk’ twice (sadly no longer running since Covid). The team are (nearly!) always available via phone, email or in-person for support and reassurance.

Sian Verney

About Birth and Babies Owner, Antenatal Teacher, Hypnobirthing Teacher, Gentle Sleep Practitioner, Breastfeeding Peer Supporter, Maternity Voices Partnership Service User Representative

I have been facilitating antenatal classes for 16 years having completed the comprehensive antenatal teacher training programme with the NCT in 2008. Having facilitated NCT antenatal classes in Norwich for many years, I stopped teaching locally for them when I set up About Birth and Babies in 2015. My aim was to offer expectant parents in Norfolk and north Suffolk a more flexible, modern antenatal course where I had the freedom to discuss topics that were important to each individual group, refer to other support when I felt that would be beneficial and ensure private antenatal education was accessible to more people.

In 2018, I completed the KGHypnobirthing diploma thus qualifying me to combine hypnobirthing with traditional antenatal education.

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Teaching about breastfeeding and providing breastfeeding support is very important to me, having experienced challenges myself when feeding my daughter. I am a registered breastfeeding peer supporter and volunteer with the NHS and have been been privileged to attend the Unicef Breastfeeding Initiative Training Programme.

My Biomechanics for Birth certification qualifies me to discuss and demonstrate movements to aid an easier birth.

We all need our sleep and one of the biggest concerns about having a new baby is how to cope with sleep deprivation. As an accredited Gentle Sleep Practitioner, I can provide you with reassurance and an understanding of sleep biology in infants.

I’m married and have two young adult children, both of whom were born at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Expectant parents regularly express how overwhelmed they feel, bombarded with information, particularly via the internet and social media. I aim to help clients funnel this information by supplying unbiased, evidence-based information so that you feel more confident, reassured and able to make decisions throughout your individual experiences. There is, of course, no right or wrong way to birth, however, I would like all parents to have a positive birth experience.

I’m an active member of the Maternity Voices Partnership and have long established relationships with health professionals. Should you require the services of other antenatal and postnatal services available in the area, I am very familiar with these and feel confident to signpost to carefully selected individuals and organisations.

It has been an honour to have supported thousands of parents over the past 16 years and I very much look forward to supporting you along your journey.

Ann Roberts

Antenatal Teacher, Antenatal Teacher Tutor, Antenatal Teacher Assessor

I am married to Neil, mother of four grown up children, aunt to many, and we have recently increased our tally of grandchildren to six. Having had the opportunity to experience pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenting at very close hand with my children has been a pleasure – they also keep me up to date with some of the challenges expectant parents face.

I am delighted to be able to offer independent antenatal education courses through About Birth and Babies. Many areas of …

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…Norfolk and North Suffolk need more individual, flexible courses, at accessible prices, than those offered by other organisations. Having lived in South Norfolk for over 25 years, I know the local area well.

My career as an antenatal teacher started over 30 years ago! Shortly after the birth of my fourth baby, I decided to train with the NCT and have been facilitating classes for them and About Birth and Babies ever since. In addition to teaching, I am an Assessor and Tutor of Antenatal Education and hold a BA in Educational Studies.

It is a privilege and a pleasure to work with parents at this very special time in their lives. I love my work and look forward to more years of spending time with parents and babies at this exciting time – hoping to help them along in some small way.

Ann Roberts

Antenatal Teacher, Antenatal Teacher Tutor, Antenatal Teacher Assessor

I am married to Neil, mother of four grown up children, aunt to many, and we have recently increased our tally of grandchildren to five. It’s been a pleasure to have had the opportunity to experience pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenting at very close hand with my children – they also keep me up to date.

I am delighted to be able to offer independent antenatal education courses through About Birth and Babies. I feel that many areas of …

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…Norfolk and North Suffolk need more individual, flexible courses, at accessible prices, than those offered by other organisations. I have lived in South Norfolk for over 25 years and know the local area well.

My career as an antenatal teacher started nearly 30 years ago shortly after the birth of my fourth baby. I trained with the NCT and have been facilitating classes for them and About Birth and Babies ever since. I am also an Assessor and Tutor of Antenatal Education and hold a BA in Educational Studies.

It is a privilege and a pleasure to work with parents at this very special time in their lives. I love my work and look forward to more years of spending time with parents and babies at this exciting time – hoping to help them along in some small way.

Lauren Birch

Antenatal Teacher

Having had a variety of birth experiences with each of my own three babies, I found a passion to help parents-to-be and decided to train as an antenatal teacher with the NCT. I became a qualified antenatal teacher in 2010.

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Over the past 14 years, I’ve been delighted to have met so many expecting parents through my antenatal classes and guided them through their pregnancy and birth journey. Several years ago I was very privileged to support a mother throughout her labour and the birth of her beautiful son, which gave me a greater understanding of what mothers specifically need and the importance of a supportive birth partner.

I see my main role as helping expectant parents to make informed decisions and to be at peace with how their birth experience went, knowing they made the best decisions at the time.

Parents need to be prepared for caring for a baby. They don’t come with an instruction manual! Sometimes, just a few small tips can transform the early days with a newborn.

Attending an antenatal course also gives parents a vital peer support group and I work hard to create bonds within my classes, so that parents can support each other in the future.

I always look forward to meeting, supporting, and guiding new parents in this exciting new stage of their lives.

     Excellent  
     Based on 93 reviews 
    
 
 
   
 
 
        
   Kelly Butler 
 2024-03-21
 
 
  Me and my partner were so pleased we booked onto this class, we learnt SO much!! It was reassuring and nice to be with other parents to be who had the same worries and questions. Sian was a brilliant teacher with so much experience and knowledge to pass on, she made us feel so much more prepared and excited for our new arrival😊 Would highly recommend this course to all.
  
 
       
   goneforsix 
 2024-03-11
 
 
  Extremely knowledgeable, Sian guides you through the birthing experience, and care of your baby in a friendly and informative way. Plenty of opportunities to discuss things as a group, ask questions and review topics if needed. I particularly enjoyed the practical elements.
  
 
       
   Gemma White 
 2024-03-05
 
 
  My husband and I have just attended this course with Sian. She provided a wealth of practice examples and information and we would definately recommend her.
  
 
       
   Harpreet Mandair 
 2024-01-29
 
 
  100% recommend for any parents who have plenty of questions and want to be as prepared as possible.

We both learnt a lot about pain management options during labour as well as the important roll your birthing partner plays. My husband definitely felt more confident and prepared about what was to come and so did I.

Met some lovely people who were due around the same time as us. So glad we  made the decision to attend these antenatal classes.
  
 
       
   Catherine Fitchew 
 2024-01-29
 
 
  Sian is so knowledgeable. We learnt so much during our antenatal classes and really enjoyed every minute. We would highly recommend About birth and babies antenatal classes. Thank-you Sian! X
  
 
       
   R W 
 2024-01-29
 
 
  Just finished the Full Antenatal Class with Sian. Found it so helpful and learnt loads about pregnancy, labour and baby care. Sian is excellent and incredibly knowledgeable. Was a great chance to meet other parents too. Would recommend this class to any new parent as we are feeling so much more prepared and confident now!
  
 
       
   Sally Passmore 
 2024-01-29
 
 
  Incredible course, we learnt so much!
  
 
       
   Beth Moore 
 2024-01-10
 
 
  Sian was amazing, friendly, knowledgeable and delivered fun and interactive sessions
Would highly recommend
  
 
       
   Mina Khezrian 
 2023-12-27
 
 
  Great classes for learning a lot of very useful information and tips about labor, breastfeeding and taking care of a newborn baby! both Sian and Lauren are very experienced instructors and the sessions are very engaging.