Camille: finding confidence before her second birth

Camille had been through childbirth before. She knew what was coming, or rather, she knew what had come before. The stress. The long wait. The feeling that things were happening around her rather than with her. Now, in her third trimester, living away from her home country and family, she was facing it again, and the fear had followed her.

What she was experiencing has a clinical name: tokophobia, a fear of childbirth that is well-documented and significantly more common after a stressful or difficult first birth. But Camille didn't need the label. She knew what she felt. And she knew that generic reassurance wasn't going to help.

What she wanted was someone to go back over her first birth with her, properly. To understand the specific areas she wanted to approach differently this time. To build a real plan, not a one-size-fits-all programme.

Preparation built around her

Camille came to The Motherhood Practice for tailored 1-1 birth preparation sessions at home, alongside her husband. From the start, the focus was her: her history, her concerns, the practical and emotional tools that would actually serve her.

In her own words:

"Clarissa created a real sense of trust from the beginning and made me feel confident and supported throughout. The exercises she shared were very helpful, both physically and mentally, and helped me feel knowledgeable and prepared."

Trust matters enormously when fear is part of the picture. When you trust the person you are working with, the information lands differently. The exercises work. The reassurance is credible because it is grounded in evidence, not reassurance for reassurance's sake.

Still there when it mattered

One of the things Camille valued most was that support didn't stop at the end of the last session. Questions don't arrive on schedule. Doubt tends to surface at inconvenient hours, and Clarissa remained available for exactly that. Camille could message Clarissa on WhatsApp when she got anxious late at night, or the day before labour started, knowing that she'll always get a response from her.

"She made herself available for any doubts before and after I gave birth. Thanks to her, I approached this event with much more confidence."

Knowing there is someone who knows your story, and who will respond when you reach out, reduces the isolation that so often amplifies anxiety.

What changed for Camille

Here is what Camille said about her experience, in full:

"I had the chance to prepare with Clarissa for the birth of my second daughter, and I'm very grateful. I was eager for tailored 1-1 sessions at home to cover in detail my oldest's birth and gain support on some areas I wanted to approach differently. Clarissa created a real sense of trust from the beginning and made me feel confident and supported throughout. The exercises she shared were very helpful, both physically and mentally, and helped me feel knowledgeable and prepared. She made herself available for any doubts before and after I gave birth. Thanks to her, I approached this event with much more confidence. I highly recommend her."

What changed for Camille was not the birth system around her, or the country she was in, or the clinical variables she couldn't control. What changed was her preparation, and the relationship at the centre of it. She arrived at her second birth informed, confident, and supported in a way she hadn't been before. That is what bespoke birth preparation can do.

If you are approaching birth with fear from a previous experience, that fear deserves more than dismissal. It deserves time, information, and a midwife who will take your history seriously and work with you to build a different foundation for what's ahead.

If that's where you are, we'd welcome a conversation. You can book a free 20-minute call with Clarissa to talk about what you're facing and what support might look like for you.