Why Held Midwifery?

The Story of our name...

This business has fad a few name changes over the years. We started out as Adelaide Hypnobirthing when it was just Hannah offering hypnobirthing classes, then a few years later we changed to Hannah Willsmore Midwife.

The decision to change to my name as the business worked well for two reasons - firstly, it was just me (we didn't have a team back then), and also I regularly received enquiries saying 'is this the hypnobirthing classes with Hannah Willsmore?' as it wasn't immediately obvious in our name.

This name felt so aligned for years, and gave me the flexibility to add more qualifications and services to our offerings easily. But as with all good things, as our team expanded the Hannah Willsmore Midwife name didn't feel right anymore, and I wanted something that aligned with our values.

Why Held Midwifery?

Hours and hours of brainstorming, going back to our original ethos, and really getting clear on how we wanted to support families led to the decision on our new name. We spoke with our midwives, our clients and trusted brith professionals to ensure the name fit.

The name 'Held Midwifery' was inspired by a beautiful poem by Danielle Sherman-Lazar which is all about holding the new mother, not the baby. A mother is the epicentre of the family, and a baby's whole world. By nourishing and holding the mother, we support her and her family to thrive.

I wanted something simple, bold and clear that truly encompassed all that we do. It was also important to me to have the words 'midwifery' or 'midwife' in the name. The term midwife traditionally means ‘with woman’. Midwifery is woven throughout all of our services and is at its core, what we do.

Don't get me wrong - of course we are also passionate about supporting babies - but you know what babies really need? A healthy, thriving and supported mother. The rest can fall into place from there.

Over the past 9 years running this business we’ve grown in both size, but also with our services offered. What hasn’t changed though, is our determination to provide excellence in our midwifery care and education courses and I hope you’ll see this reflected in our new logo and website design.

Held Midwifery is all about supporting you through this incredible journey. Everyone wants to hold the baby, but we are here to hold you!

The poem that inspired us...

Hold the mother, not the baby.

Because the baby's being taken care of-fed, snuggled, and given all the love in the world-by not only the mother, but her partner, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and friends.

But the mother,

may have gaps in her mind from lack of sleep, may be mechanical in her motions as she's healing, may feel more like a mess than a mother, may be sitting in bed, crying, feeling overwhelmed in her body and life, may be full of mom guilt because in her mind, "she's not good enough,"

and she's bleeding, wincing in pain, swollen and emotional.

And the mother's that baby's whole world and needs to be seen, so she doesn't disappear into that postpartum fog.

So, hold the mother, not the baby.

A mother agrees that her baby matters more.

But she's hurting, while she's the person behind the baby,

in the background, making it all happen: feeding her baby at all hours,,

snuggling her baby close to comfort newborn cries,

and being that baby's everything.

So, it's the mother who needs your love.

And a mother will remember who held her up.

So instead of "I'm coming to see the baby," try saying, "I'm coming to see you and meet the baby, too."

Because the mother needs to be held more.

- Danielle Sherman-Lazar

Why Held Midwifery?

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This business has fad a few name changes over the years. We started out as Adelaide Hypnobirthing when it was just Hannah offering hypnobirthing classes, then a few years later we changed to Hannah Willsmore Midwife.

The decision to change to my name as the business worked well for two reasons - firstly, it was just me (we didn't have a team back then), and also I regularly received enquiries saying 'is this the hypnobirthing classes with Hannah Willsmore?' as it wasn't immediately obvious in our name.

​

This name felt so aligned for years, and gave me the flexibility to add more qualifications and services to our offerings easily. But as with all good things, as our team expanded the Hannah Willsmore Midwife name didn't feel right anymore, and I wanted something that aligned with our values.

​

​

Why Held Midwifery?

Hours and hours of brainstorming, going back to our original ethos, and really getting clear on how we wanted to support families led to the decision on our new name. We spoke with our midwives, our clients and trusted brith professionals to ensure the name fit.

The name 'Held Midwifery' was inspired by a beautiful poem by Danielle Sherman-Lazar which is all about holding the new mother, not the baby. A mother is the epicentre of the family, and a baby's whole world. By nourishing and holding the mother, we support her and her family to thrive.

​

Don't get me wrong - of course we are also passionate about supporting babies - but you know what babies really need? A healthy, thriving and supported mother. The rest can fall into place from there.

​

Hold the mother, not the baby.

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