Highly recommend

I am so grateful and happy that I decided to attend Chitra’s hypnobirthing class together with my partner. We loved Chitra, she is a very knowledgeable professional with a kind and warm heart, a rare combination to find. She was very supportive during the sessions, always willing to help and answer questions regarding every stage of the pregnancy. I found it very useful that she was following up with an email summary of what we discussed during every session, extra tips and many other useful links. I would highly highly recommend this class, especially for expats.

Anastasia Biska

Great Course

My partner and I highly recommend Chitra’s class! We’ve been very busy during my pregnancy with work, hospital appointments, home renovation, moving house et cetera, and doing the course has helped us to psychologically prepare for the baby coming. Chitra packs a lot into the 4 session course, from scientifically informing parents about everything birth related, to practical information and advice, to considering the emotional impact of having a baby together. The course is really empowering for parents. Chitra is an amazing person and whilst ensuring she covers all of the essentials, she listens to each individual in the class and gives specific advice for different scenarios. Also one more thing – Chitra has a great sense of humour and the course was also really fun, and a chance to meet other parents.

Helen Semple

Highly recommend Chitra

Chitra is an amazing birth educator, we thoroughly enjoyed attending her classes. With her joy, care and attention to each and every participant, she made late, dark, rainy Friday nights exciting, uplifting, relaxing and incredible helpful and educational. With detail and compassion, Chitra shared a plethora of knowledge and insight into the Dutch healthcare system, practical breathing and relaxation exercises, and all ins and outs around labour preparation, rigorous research-driven knowledge about the labour process and possible interventions, as well as insights into the first phase of postpartum care. She added detailed and useful summaries (and homework ;)) after each session and went above and beyond to answer additional questions and queries. We highly recommend Chitra and are immensely grateful for her warmth, generosity and care.

Anika Marschall

Highly recommend it to expectant parents

We discovered Chitra’s childbirth course through Access NL. The course itself covered a broad range of topics, including giving birth in the Netherlands, breathing techniques, pain relief, and the role of the birthing partner, among others.

Chitra is extremely knowledgeable, approachable, and kind. She provided us with additional resources and answered all of our questions. Chitra knows how to make participants feel at ease and allows ample time for questions and practical exercises, such as breathing techniques and birthing positions. I firmly believe that my positive childbirth experience was primarily due to taking Chitra’s course. I highly recommend it to expectant parents.

Eleri Aedmaa

We couldn’t have been in better hands!

Chitra gives a realistic idea about giving birth but with a lot of options for moms to have beautiful and unique experience. The first lesson truly helped me to understand how women body are naturally ready for this moment. My partner also got more involved in the gestation and more aware of his responsibilities during the labour.
5 big stars to Chitra.
Maria Mesquita

A must do course

I started the ACCESS childbirth preparation course feeling apprehensive about giving birth but thanks to Chitra’s teaching, I felt so much calmer and confident. My husband and I both learned so much including lots of practical techniques for the various stages of birth. Chitra’s course should be essential for all expectant parents. Thank you, Chitra.

Josephine van Willigenburg

Great Course

Me and my partner warmly recommend the HypnoBirthing course from Akriti by Chitra. The best part about the classes was being in a cozy and safe atmosphere getting a lot of factual information about everything related to birthing. Chitra is very knowledgeable but also a bubbly and warm personality, which helps in making the classes into a supportive mini community.
Heidi Toivonen

Highly recommend

I highly recommend preparing for your birth with one of Chitra’s classes.
Me and my partner attended the ACCESS course. Chitra is an amazing teacher: knowledgeable, passionate, empathetic and kind.
We didn’t know anything about birth and postpartum before, but we ended up the course having a good overview of all the alternatives and most importantly, knowing exactly what we wanted for our birth.
It was an empowering experience that had an immense impact on our birth experience.
Thanks Chitra for giving us all the tools to deal with one of the most powerful moments of our lives!
Vittoria Piro

Fantastic Course

We are extremely grateful for finding Chitra and her hypnobirthing course. Really, no words can describe what we feel after the wonderful home water birth of our son. And we really thank Chitra for her support, knowledge and birth preparation. We had an idea of giving birth in the hospital then birthing center, but Chitra gave us confidence for home birth just after first class. She is so kind, so supportive, so resourceful. We were prepared to the fullest for the most wonderful, intimate, peaceful home water birth, but also for unexpected afterbirth complications that we took calmly and with full trust. We’re also feeling well prepared for parenting.

Chitra, Thanks to you and your course we can say that we could explore and experience the most miraculous and beautiful birth we could imagine. Thank you!
Joanna & Iacer

Great Course

Our full-day childbirth preparation course with Chitra was great, we felt very comfortable and learned a lot throughout the day. We really enjoyed the more scientific approach she brought, the explanation of what is going on inside the body once labour starts; the breathing techniques and the different positions with the partner were very valuable to learn and also to try practically. Chitra is very skilled and you can tell she loves her job! She managed to answer all our questions about childbirth and is just such a lovely person to talk to – and has had such an interesting life! – we felt relaxed with her and we highly recommend her course to anyone who wishes to prepare for childbirth.
Thanks again, Chitra
Anne-Sophie Capard

Life Changing

Last summer, our lives changed, when our daughter joined us and we found ourselves starting our journey of becoming her parents. 12 weeks before that day, on a Friday evening at 19:00, after a long day of working behind the computer in the covid reality, 30 weeks pregnant, we logged in to Zoom to join the first session together with 5 other couples, all of us with bellies that fill up the screen, red eyes, low on energy, and – truly want to prepare well for this thing that you cannot prepare for.

Because that is the truth, pregnancy and giving birth are chapters in life that are full of uncertainty.  As Chitra kept on telling us – it is not your ‘due date’ it is your ‘expected date of birth’ and it is not your ‘birth plan’, it is your ’birth wishes’. Every Friday evening Chitra would show up with mountains of knowledge, care, patience, and most of all – presence. We got above and beyond what we ever expected, not only during the course but also in the following weeks, when the pressure started to build up and questions started popping. Chitra was there with answers, ideas, and tips. She opened our eyes to what is possible and mainly helped us remember that we got this and that it will all work out well in the end. And it did.

So the truth is you cannot prepare for this, giving birth or becoming a parent for the first time. But, having Chitra on your side, is the closest that you can get. Thank you Chitra, from all of us.

T, F & Z

Highly Recommended

My wife & I  attended the hypnobirthing childbirth sessions. It helped us stay calm under unexpected circumstances during the all phases of pregnancy. We were aware about the options available to us and could chose the option we felt right. We were also provided with postpartum tips in our sessions.  My wife gave birth to our child in natural way and this course played a big role in this achievement. Highly recommend this course for the new parents
Thank you Chitra for all the help and support
Vishnu

Very informative

Chitra is so knowledgeable. Listening to her and learning from her has given me and my partner a better understanding of the amazing things that happen in my body but also how the medical system works and everything related to prenatal and postpartum. After finishing this course we feel prepared, empowered and looking forward to receiving our child more than ever.
We deeply thank you!
Salvy & Rogier

Great Course

We are so glad we took Chitra’s Hypnobirthing course. Even for someone like me who is self-preparing through lots of reading and research, the course drew together a lot of information about bodily processes, feelings, the Dutch health system, and what to expect on multiple levels. I also loved that my partner was invited to participate equally in the preparation and to learn much more about his supporting role. My partner and I now feel empowered to approach the daunting and exciting event of childbirth loaded with information and tools that will help us to have the best experience possible. Further, Chitra is a great teacher and warm, generous person and we feel welcome to follow up with questions if needed. The benefits will last far beyond the end of the course. Thank you, Chitra!
Emily & Pierre

Highly recommended

Chitra’s class was super helpful in understanding what happens in birth and when interventions are truly necessary.
By the end of the course, I felt prepared and confident about my first time experience giving birth. It also helped me ask the right questions during midwife appointments. Apart from the knowledge aspect – she is genuinely a warm and generous person, who makes herself available inside and outside of the classroom. Highly recommended!
Missy Green

Very Informative

I’d like to thank Chitra for a very informative, well structured and useful course on HypnoBirthing. I appreciated that there was no ‘one right way’ to do things, but rather well informed suggestions and guidance, with strong focus on how mother feels, what she thinks is the best way for her to go on about birth. My husband also found the classes very useful from day one. I would thoroughly recommend joining classes with Chitra, it was time well spent!

Yulia Kozak

Great Course

I can highly recommend the HypnoBirthing preparation course with Chitra. You get a lot of information and with that understanding about what happens at birth and also in the postpartum period. I find it extremely good that all sessions were together with my partner so he also had all this information and feels now also much more empowered to play an active part in supporting me in labor. It was very nice to have this period of 5 Sundays to consciously take time and connect with the pregnancy and the baby together. Thank you Chitra!

Lena Ropert

Thank you

We came across the hypnobirthing course with Chitra through a friend’s recommendation and we could not have made a better decision! The course was extremely informative, it helps you to be aware of all the options available, pros and cons of everything making it very reassuring and understanding of what’s the journey of a mother and child during birth. I arrived at the course with fear of the birth and I finished the course with a very empowering feeling and at peace. The course was a very open space where everyone was able to openly share, ask any questions and discuss as a group.  We also appreciated very much that it is a course for both partners, which supports the connection of the partner with the birth and how best to support the mother and also feel involved in the process. Chitra takes the time to connect with everyone and is always open to supporting them with their journey, even outside the hours of the course. I can’t recommend her enough.

Gaby & Francisco

Successful VBAC

My partner and I did the Hypnobirthing class with Chitra. The course was very informative about my options & rights, understanding the Dutch medical system (given that we’re expats in NL) and breathing & relaxation techniques.
It helped my partner and me be prepared and confident for a VBAC for our second baby. Chitra makes the classes so welcoming with her warm, lovely personality. She also continues to stay in touch post the classes, with a lot of support in decision making. We are very glad that we decided to do the classes with Chitra and highly recommend it to all mums-to-be!
Maya & Gaurav

Highly Recommended

I would highly recommend enrolling in Chitra’s Hypnobirthing class. The content of the course itself was very detailed and offered all the info necessary to understand the birthing process, as well as the various relaxation and practical techniques (positioning, breathing, etc). Participating in this class with my partner was key – we felt so prepared and confident on the day my son was born thanks to what we learned. Chitra is an incredibly warm teacher who spent plenty of time customising the teachings on exactly what each of us in the class wanted to know. She taught us to be empowered and confident in our birth preferences. Thank you, Chitra! My husband and I appreciated the opportunity to meet other expecting (& English speaking) parents in this process.

I Highly recommend the course!

Emily

Highly Recommended

“We got to meet Chitra following the ACCESS child preparation course for expats. What a wonderful person to guide you through the process of mentally and physically preparing for labor (but also for the weeks right before and after). We had the chance to discuss all of our questions and had very interesting conversations with her and the other participants, something you can’t have by just reading a birth preparation book. Chitra is a very positive person that is really on top of her field. What we appreciated the most is that she gave us info and guidance for all sorts of birth scenarios, without any bias towards a certain approach. She also provided us with all sorts of material to study further after the course. Definitely a recommended experience!”

Sofia & Bas

Thank you

 I just wanted to reach out to you to say thank you so much for your support around our birth. I had hoped that Lennart and I would be able to share our experience and our gratitude with you in person – but that will have to wait a little longer!
Our birth experience did not follow the path that we had hoped for. However, because of your course, and your support, we felt educated and prepared to consider our options, ask the right questions and make decisions that were right for us. Throughout it all I was able to remain relaxed, peaceful and focussed – which was all down to my breathing and meditation. I really understand now how hypnobirthing practice is so helpful in all birth situations!
Our labouring and birth took place at home, in the Geboortehuis Utrecht (including the birthing pool! :-)) and in the medical ward at Diakonessenhuis – so i really feel like I had the full spectrum of birth experience! It was about 35 hours from the start of surges until Pippa was born, so it was also a marathon! My midwife, the staff at Geboortehuis Utrecht and Diakonessenhuis were amazing and so supportive. I felt like I was in safe hands at every step.
I hope that we will get to catch up with you and the other couples in our group and meet all the beautiful bubs soon!
Marie, Lennart & Baby Pippa

Highly recommended

We attended Akriti’s 5-week hypnobirthing birth preparation course, and we were very happy with everything we learned in it. The instructor, Chitra, obviously loves her job, she is very knowledgable, experienced, supportive, and warm. We got much more than we expected from every class, all of our questions were answered, and Chitra also reached out outside classes and after the course to check if any of the couples needed her support with anything, or had any questions. The course itself is great, and it helped us look forward to the birth of our baby without fear. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in pursuing natural birth with as few interventions as possible.

Dunja & Erwin

Great Course

We did the english speaking ACCESS birth preparation course with Chitra. We learned a lot and got a lot of info and reassurance about pregnancy, birth and the dutch healthcare system surrounding pregnancy. Chitra is a lovely person who is really supportive and always approachable for help and support. She is very experienced and knowledgeable and shares great tips and resources. I would definitely recommend the course!

Barbara & Serdar

Highly Recommended

I took a 4week ACCESS childbirth course (online, due to Covid-19) from Chitra. I now feel much more empowered to make meaningful choices in my birth plan. I love her positive attitude towards birth and postpartum. She goes out of her way to help you prepare for your upcoming birth.

Elisa

A must do workshop

As a pregnant mother i wanted to know about hypnomothering and  how  hyponmothering can benefit me once my child is born. I liked the session a lot and it met the expectation tremendously. The breathing techniques to go into relaxation. The best part of the workshop is your lovely voice which makes me always to go into relaxation mode. The session was very relaxing and much needed. I really like the way you teach and make everyone comfortable in a group.
Thank you so much again Chitra for the wonderful session
Sonika Jain

Highly Recommended

Chitra is one of those people you meet as an expecting or new mother and you immediately feel like everything is going to be ok.  Without even following a course or workshop, there’s just something about the energy she radiates, the way she listens to your concerns and the free advice she provides in casual conversation that eases tensions and makes it better.
Then there’s, of course, the HypnoMothering course itself. Too often with pregnancy, especially with your first child, one is so tied up with the pregnancy itself and then the birth, that we neglect to prepare ourselves for the intensity that is motherhood. Don’t get me wrong, motherhood is without a doubt the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but it doesn’t come without its own challenges and trying times – sleepless nights, medical issues, fear of this and fear of that – especially in the current COVID-19 pandemic times.
The HypnoMothering workshop provided me with two main things. Firstly, it gave me the tools to calm myself during the stresses of motherhood through a series of breath meditations (as I interpreted them). It may sound simple, but when you’re going for months on end without proper sleep, any tools you can have that allow you to quickly fall asleep, or power rest during a baby nap is worth embracing. Secondly, the workshop itself is just a wonderful moment to leave the child with another carer and take some time to reconnect with your mind and body.
Highly recommended!
Anne Veinberg

Great Session – HypnoMothering

As I’ve already had a crash course on birthing with Chitra just before delivering my baby last year, I was quite confident that I should do my best to attend the session on Hypnomothering. My expectation was that it would help me to get a bit more grounded and back in touch with myself and my body, the same way it happened after the birthing session.
My expectation was most certainly met. Not only have I reconnected with myself, I also was surprised to find myself happy and content about connecting and reconnecting with other participants. To be honest, I almost skipped the workshop just because I feel overwhelmed these days from too much online communication and was a bit scared to go into yet another online group experience. I’m so glad I found strength to go online anyway. And grateful that my baby and the rest of the family cooperated and supported me in having these 2 hours fully to myself.
We started with simple breathing exercises, and it was nice, like a light meditation. However it was when we got to do a version of a body scan very gently and carefully guided by Chitra that I felt real joy! This was definitely the most enjoyable and break-through point of a session to me. For the first time in over 4 months since I’ve given birth I was able to really connect to every part of my body, feel the energy and happiness and being proud of what this body accomplished, in a way, fully feeling myself whole again for the first time after the baby delivery! It was like a moment of inner celebration. When we got back into a group and discussed the experience, I also realised that it felt like a timely and soft end of a so-called “fourth trimester”, a really freeing sensation. And this all happened just through a 2-hour online session, unbelievable!
For all these reasons I would highly recommend Chitra’s HypnoMothering Workshop both to expectant and new mothers. It is gentle, knowledgeable, safe, comprehensive and professional.
Thank you!
Yulia Komo

Great course

Chitra knows her subject very detailed, passionate to tell about and explains the background of the things very well. This helps us to remember why and how the things are the way they are. Also her way of sending the summarised notes and other important tips was very useful. We enjoyed the course very much! Thanks.

Ezgi & Mark

Very informative

We are extremely happy to have attended this course. As first timers this was a much needed one. Chitra is a very good trainer and provided us with a lot of useful information, guided us to looking forward for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The exercises are indeed very useful. Amidst the corona virus we did miss the social interaction and attending the course in person, but very happy to have completed the course online. Overall , we are pleased with the course.

Shiyona & Vinai

Wonderful course

We very much enjoyed the concept and content of the course. It was very informative on all aspects around what to expect when you are pregnant as well as practical steps one can take to prepare for the birth of your child. Overall it was a wonderful experience and we would recommend it to our friends.

Rene & Theanen

Very informative & great content

I found this course very informative and it gave me and my husband a nice refresher about pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum phase. Chitra was very open for questions and provided us with a lot of materials which was extra to the course.

Anh & Thomas

Exceeded our expectations

I heard a lot of good feedbacks from friends about this course and it indeed exceeded our expectations.  For the practice, we had to move from face to face classes to online session due to Corona Virus situation.  We feel now more prepared and we know what to “expect” from the labor/ delivery/postpartum period. I feel more comfortable doing this birth in the Netherlands and we now have all the means to handle it. The breathing technique, positions/massages exercise, all the different steps and how the body is reacting. So a big thank you to Chitra for her help and kindness during these sessions.

Clem & Nico

Highly Recommended

As soon as we found out that I was pregnant we started thinking about how we would prepare for the birth. I have never been scared of labour as my mom always told me labour was beautiful and natural. Still, we wanted to know what to expect and learn how to best achieve a calm birth for our first child.
A friend told me about her experience with Hypnobirthing and although the ‘Hypno’ part didn’t initially appeal to me she was very down to earth and her birth sounded so serene. I found Chitra’s website and Chitra really took her time to call me and explain the course. It felt right for us from the start.

 

 

Maria & Tim

Caring, compassionate and highly qualified

Chitra is a caring, compassionate and highly qualified childbirth professional. I attended her 5-week hypnobirthing course, which helped me to have a relaxed and truly enjoyable birth experience. Chitra’s course provided essential information about the basic physiological processes of childbirth and what to expect during delivery, while providing a nurturing and supportive environment in which she taught us to understand and work with those processes in a calm and relaxed way, to manage discomfort and reduce stress, to care for ourselves and to support each other.

 

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Beth & Jacco

I would recommend a HypnoBirthing class to everyone

A friend of mine talked to me about this very nice and enthusiastic person preparing women for birth. I therefore contacted Chitra and she sent me some material. I have to admit that the name, “hypno-birthing”, sounded a bit too hippy at the beginning, then, when I read about the main concept of following mother Nature and your own body predisposition to give birth, I thought that was the way I wanted to go. I then discussed with my partner and he agreed that following a natural method based mostly on self-relaxation, which was a good way to bring our child into the world.

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Zoraide & Helmuth

I could trust my body

Chitra came recommended by my friend and I was very happy with her course – she is a warm person, makes you feel very comfortable and whole course is intimate, personal and enjoyable. What is more important, she delivers information about the birth so I knew what to expect and how to deal with it – even my husband who knew nothing about labor felt very confident afterwards. That what I value the most – at the end, I was no longer scared, I had no doubts, I learned through the course that I could trust my body – at the end my birth experience is really beautiful one!

Kamila & Peter

What an empowering experience

Chitra helped me and my partner prepare for the biggest unknown so far – the birth of our first child. During her Hypnobirthing course, we understood what will be happening during birthing and got our preferences for the process crystal clear. That took a lot of pressure of the unknown away. Furthermore, we understood how can my partner help me when the birthing comes – we became a team.

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Neza & Geert

Informative and a must do

Chitra’s Hypnobirthing classes are informative, eye opening and a must do for every mum and their partner. Only Because of her classes I could remain calm through what was later classified as a very difficult labor.. she goes through various scenarios and teaches you all the possibilities (best to less ideal) to handle unexpected situations .. my husband because of the classes could help me in ways he would never have thought of on his own … her classes give you a lot of confidence in yourself and your abilities. Her classes can turn labour from a medical event in your life to a very personal experience that you share with your partner.

Stan & Sushil

Hypnobirthing