Birthing & Beyond

Today we celebrated 10 years of Birthing and Beyonders with our Cake in the Park event, and what a truly special day it was ❤️

Seeing so many familiar faces, catching up with families, hearing your kind words, and meeting the newest little arrival at just 9 days old, alongside the oldest child at 9 years old - was incredibly emotional. It was a beautiful reminder of everything we've built together over the last decade.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came along to celebrate with us, and to everyone who helped make today so special. We couldn't have done it without you 🙏

We may be a small business, but we have a big heart. Every class, every conversation, every friendship helps create the little villages that every family deserves. Thank you for letting us be part of yours. ❤️

Here's to the next 10 years of supporting, connecting and growing our village together

Weather is looking lovely and sunny for Saturdays Cake in the Park celebrations! Am up to my elbows in flour baking in preparation, so would really love to know numbers please. Who's coming along? 2-4pm xx

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/your-world/birthing-and-beyond-celebrates-10-years-of-supporting-more-than-800-families-across-east-sussex-8792587

Birthing and Beyond celebrates 10 years of supporting more than 800 families See the latest news from Your World at https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/your-world

Another couple of lovely reviews from some past customers....

I joined the antenatal classes just as Covid started!! We had 1 face to face session and then was told we couldn’t do that anymore. As gutting as it was Marie was amazing!! Considering we were in very uncertain times, Marie made videos for us every single week still and sent them round to us to watch! We could not thank her enough for doing that for us, so we didn’t miss out on the classes. I am very grateful for the effort made.
I took a lot from the classes which put me more at ease when it came to the birth or my first son. I know what to expect and what drugs were available to me too! I have nieces and nephew myself so thought I knew everything! But I did not!!
I would highly recommend these classes to everyone esp for new parents.
Our group all stayed in touch with each other, we still have the same wats app group and see each other when we can do. We all have 2/3 kids now so it’s been lovely to stay in touch. My son is now best friends with another antenatal friends son. They go to the same school! If I never came to these classes that bond between them would never off happened!
Congratulations to 10 years! Keep doing what you do best ladies. You’re all incredible!
Many thanks, Tracey Pal

And from Natasha & Craig Chapman...
My husband and I attended your antenatal classes back in 2020 during lockdown. We found the classes so welcoming and helpful in preparing us as best as possible for our first little girl Luna. The classes were nice and small and I am still in contact with two of the other mums from the course and we used to meet up regularly as well as go to other baby and toddler classes together before I moved to Scotland a couple of years ago. We can't thank you enough for always being so lovely and willing to answer any questions we had as well as setting up the mum group for us. We felt so supported and listened to. I had gestational diabetes and really appreciated you sending on more information to me and about hand expressing. Fortunately, I did start hand expressing at 37 weeks as Luna came at 38 weeks and had to go to intensive care, then transferred to Great Ormond Street hospital at 3 days old for a rare medical condition. Due to this she had to be NG tube for feeding and I was lucky that I was able to express all the milk for her. This then also prepared me for my second little girl who came early at 32 + 6 days and needed to be tube fed. She was also transferred to another hospital Brighton NICU due to concerns. The classes helped to prepare us in becoming first time parents and what we may experience, it couldn't prepare us for our girls health conditions but definitely supported us through. The friendships build from the classes were so precious and meant we were able to be there for each other and know we weren't alone, especially during lockdown which was very isolating.
Thank you so much for everything you did and continue to do. It meant more to us than you know. I have attached some photos for you of my girls and friends' little ones together from the classes (Laura and Kirsty).
Kind regards, Natasha and Craig Chapman.

From Sarah Taylor and the Group of Spring 2019.....

"We were one of the April/May/June 2019 baby groups, and we're incredibly proud to say that we all still meet up!
We spent the best part of those first four years navigating breastfeeding, sleepless nights, weaning, potty training, and even COVID together. Along the way, we had the privilege of watching all our little ones grow up side by side, celebrating every milestone together. It's amazing to look back and see how far they've all come.
These days we mostly catch up during the school holidays, but the children still share a friendship that's just as special as the one the mums have. And over the years, we've welcomed plenty more siblings into the original gang too!
I think we'd all agree that the classes were some of the best money we ever spent. You brought together a wonderful group of women and babies who, in any other circumstance, would probably never have met. The lifelong friendships that have come from that make the experience even more special.
The weekly sessions helped ease so many of those first-time nerves and anxieties. While no one can prepare you for every possible birth or parenting experience, you gave us the confidence to make informed choices, speak up for what we wanted, and feel prepared for the many different paths birth and those first daunting—but incredibly special—weeks could take.
The group WhatsApp quickly became a lifeline too. Knowing that someone else was awake at 2am going through exactly the same thing made those long nights feel so much less lonely, and there was always someone ready with reassurance, advice, or simply to let you know you weren't the only one.
You were all so supportive, knowledgeable, and reassuring throughout. And, of course, the weekly cakes were a very welcome bonus!
Thank you for bringing us together. Seven years on, we're still making memories because of those classes, and we'll always be grateful for that.
I’ve attached some pictures of the mums and babies as we’ve grown up! We love our first pregnant photo together. We stood in order of due date and the actual due dates were very different
Here's to the next 10 years!"

Another incredible memory shared below....

On behalf of the April/May/June 2019 due date group we would like to say a huge congratulations on 10 successful years!!! We are still meeting up now (our babies have all just turned 7!!!).

Your group was an incredible introduction for us all, admittedly all a bit clueless about all things pregnancy/birth/newborns - and it definitely put us at ease over the course. Not to mention the great lifelong friends we have made. We are very grateful.

We enjoyed the thorough insight into all different birth outcomes (personally particularly the c section walk through as it was the only session my husband could attend and my birth turned into an emergency c - so we knew exactly what to expect!). The midwives were incredibly knowledgeable.

Thank you for passing on your knowledge to us, and for creating a wonderful group of friends we were lucky to share the experience with.

Some photos attached which we are happy for you to share of our annual Christmas party which we throw for the ‘babies’

Kind regards, Francesca Cottrell

A lovely memory shared from one of our Mama's that waas pregnant during Covid....

"Phoenix was born in June 2020. We were one of your first antenatal classes online. This was a new experience for us all. Even though we were unable to meet as a group until our babies were born it was still a lovely part of our journey. Phoenix, now 6, continues to be best friends with Joshua who was in his antenatal group. They go to different schools but still have a beautiful friendship. I have formed a lovely friendship with his mum too and we go for mum meals as well as meet up regularly with the boys. They recently ran the ST Wilfs Colour run together, with some of their run holding hands!

I met Katie, a few months after having Phoenix in 2020, at Banatynes Gym during a fitness class. I suppose in some ways this was a lovely random end to an antenatal journey. It was lovely to meet her.

All I can say is thank you for the support and knowledge that you gave to me, as a first time mum, during a very strange time in all of our lives where people couldn’t hold, visit or see our babies. Thank you for all of the vital information you gave myself and my husband that supported us in our parenting journey."

Sending lots of love, Katie Ho**er

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary this month, we've been looking back at all the incredible families who've been part of our antenatal classes over the years. It's amazing to think of all the babies who've been born since those first sessions—and what an honour it's been to play a small part in so many families' journeys into parenthood.

To celebrate this milestone, we'd love to hear from some of you😍

If our classes made a difference to you, we'd be so grateful if you could share a few words about your experience. We'd love to hear things like:

What you found most valuable about the classes.
How they helped you feel more prepared or confident for birth and becoming parents.

❤️ Any memorable moments from your time with us.
🎂 Whether you've stayed in touch with people you met during the classes or formed lasting friendships.
💕Anything else you'd like to share about your journey since then.

Whether it's a sentence or two or a longer story, or even photo's - every message means so much to us.

Thank you for being part of our community over the past 10 years. We genuinely couldn't have reached this milestone without the wonderful families who've trusted us at such a special time in their lives.

We can't wait to hear your stories, see your photos and celebrate with you 💕

🎉 We're Celebrating 10 Years in Business! 🎉

This July marks 10 wonderful years of supporting first-time parents on their journey through birth and beyond. And to celebrate and say thank you, we're offering:

✨ 10% OFF all antenatal classes booked during July ✨

For 10 years we've had the ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE of helping over 800 hundred families prepare for one of life's biggest adventures, and making life-long friendships on the way!

✔ Realities of Labour & Birth
✔ Newborn care essentials
✔ Feeding information
✔ Meet other local expectant parents
✔ Homemade cakes every session🍰

Book during July and receive 10% off any course - Use code: 10YEARS

📅 Offer valid on all courses booked between 1st–31st July.
🌐 www.birthingandbeyond.co.uk (online booking form)
📧 [email protected]
📍 Eastbourne, Polegate, Hailsham & surrounding areas

Celebrating 10 years of supporting local parents-to-be. Thank you for being part of our journey. ❤️