My wife Amanda and I came to utilising the wonderful services of Karen / Embracing Birth as we were from Tamworth and due to give birth in Newcastle in August 2016. From the very first contact with Karen, her warmth and caring nature was at the forefront of each pre birth meeting. We were nervous second time parents, following the stillbirth of our son in September 2015 and Karen's services helped to mitigate our nervousness and strategies to aleviate our stresses. We also performed a private ante natal class with Karen and this fully explained things occuring before, during and after birth. When it came time for Amanda to give birth, it was almost midnight and our baby girl came in quite a rush, but no matter the hour, Karen calmly met us at our motel and aided us getting to John Hunter and was present alongside hospital staff to help Amanda to stay calm (even though the labour ended up approx. 50 minutes). During the labour process, all the things which were discussed in tuition with Karen pre birth, came to fruition (breathing techniques, massage and being well informed about the various stages of the labour process) and our Baby girl was born drug/intervention free. We had never heard of a Doula or the services on offer, but could not recommend highly enough Karen for her realistic, affordable and knowledgeable care. Thankyou Karen, with all our hearts. Amanda, Richard, Quinn & Bonnie Johnston

My husband and I welcomed our baby girl, Adelaide, into the world on the 28th of January this year. I was lucky enough to birth through the wonderful Belmont Midwifery Group and the whole experience was incredible. In addition to the superb care I received from the midwife, my husband and I had the privilege and honour of being supported through the pregnancy and labour by Karen - a wonderful doula and genuinely lovely human. We completed our Hypnobirthing course with Karen and she was present during the labour. The skills my husband and I learned from the course were invaluable (truly) and having Karen’s calm, caring and maternal energy in the birthing suite was so reassuring. I’m utterly delighted to say that I really couldn’t have imagined a more amazing birth and Karen’s support and knowledge was an integral part of it. We couldn’t recommend Karen and Embracing Birth more highly. Thank you Karen.

  I attended hypnobirthing classes run by Karen Scanlen with my wife Alissa. I found the classes beneficial as they covered both the traditional antenatal material and hypnobirthing techniques. This course helped me to prepare my wife for birth and helped relieve her anxiety about the process. I felt ready when the time came!

Karen was AMAZING! Not only were we given plenty of information on how to prepare pre birth and after birth, but Karen made me feel much more confident about labour. Suffering from anxiety myself, labour was the one thing I just couldn't read or ask about. When we met Karen, she made labour sound like a wonderful experience and my nerves were calmed. Having someone professional and experienced guide you through what to expect really made a difference! You will not be disappointed by Karen's classes and you will certainly learn plenty about everything baby!! 🙂

  I did Karen’s Hypnobirthing course and it was on of the best things I did. Karen was so informative and I had a great day completing the course. I would highly reccomend.

We attended Karen's class last Saturday, she was very accommodating working around our other commitments. Very informative, she has definately made us feel a lot more prepared for bubs arrival.

My partner Daniel and I had the privilege of completing an antenatal class with Karen. The class was packed with information that was relevant, clear and easy to understand which was really important to me especially being my first. It has left us feeling calm, well prepared and excited to meet our little one! Thank you so much Karen. Highly recommend!!

Karen is fabulous! After hearing about Embracing Birth from a friend, my husband and I decided it sounded like something which would be beneficial to us in preparation for the birth of our second child. Karen helped me pinpoint exactly what I was feeling anxious about and gave both of us practical tools to help relax me and prepare us both for a calm, gentle birth. Karen provided great support and follow up after our class, and definitely contributed to my calmer and happier mindset throughout birth and with our newborn. Highly recommend!

My husband and I attended Karen’s birthing class last weekend and found it very helpful for soon to be first time parents. Her warming personality made us feel comfortable . It certainly was worth the hours drive for !