Terms & Conditions

These terms apply across the birth-hood services and products offered through this website — doula support, hypnobirthing, yoga and digital resources. The exact package or class booking will always set out any additional service-specific information.

1. About these terms

birth-hood is an independent perinatal education, doula and wellbeing service run by Leanne. These terms explain how bookings, payments, cancellations, classes, courses, digital resources and support work.

2. Booking & contract

A booking is confirmed when birth-hood has accepted the booking and the required payment or deposit has been received. For services with a separate client agreement, that agreement forms part of the contract and the package-specific wording will apply to the booking.

You will be given a reasonable opportunity to read the relevant terms before committing to a booking. Nothing in these terms removes or limits your statutory consumer rights.

3. Payments

Prices are those shown at the time of booking unless otherwise agreed in writing. Payment plans, deposits and balance dates will be stated on the relevant booking page or agreement.

For doula packages, the package fee covers the professional service as a whole, including preparation, expertise, communication, resources, reserved availability, on-call commitment and support before, during and after birth.

4. Doula services

birth-hood provides non-clinical emotional, physical, practical and informational support. I do not diagnose, prescribe, provide clinical monitoring, interpret clinical results as a clinician, perform clinical procedures or replace your maternity or healthcare team.

All doula packages include support through changes of plan, including induction, transfer, assisted birth and caesarean birth. Hospital and theatre access is always subject to local policy, clinical circumstances, infection-control requirements and capacity.

During a formal on-call period I will make every effort to attend labour and birth. Outside a formal on-call period I will make reasonable efforts to attend if requested. Attendance cannot be guaranteed in every circumstance, including rapid or premature labour, emergency, illness, another birth, severe travel disruption, hospital restrictions or other circumstances outside my reasonable control.

5. Travel & attendance

When you contact me in labour, we will discuss when you would like me to come and I will give you an estimated arrival time. Travel time depends on distance, traffic, road conditions, my location, childcare or other arrangements and circumstances outside my reasonable control. As a general guide, please allow a minimum of 60 minutes if you are local to me and 90 minutes or more if you are further away. This is an estimate, not a guaranteed arrival time.

If I offer to attend and you tell me not yet, I will rely on that instruction until you contact me again. Rapid labour may mean I am unable to reach you before birth.

6. Hypnobirthing

Hypnobirthing is a birth-preparation and education service using evidence-informed education, breathing, relaxation, visualisation, affirmations, mindset work and practical coping tools. It is designed to help you feel informed, prepared, calm and more confident.

Hypnobirthing does not guarantee a particular labour, birth method, pain level, clinical outcome or experience. Birth can change unexpectedly and the techniques taught are tools, not promises.

Hypnobirthing does not replace antenatal care, medical advice, midwifery care or emergency care. If you have questions about whether a technique is suitable for you or your pregnancy, discuss this with your maternity or healthcare professional.

Course materials, recordings, workbooks, MP3s, affirmations and digital resources supplied by birth-hood are for the purchasing participant's personal use unless otherwise agreed. They must not be copied, shared, resold, uploaded, distributed, recorded or reproduced without written permission.

7. Pregnancy yoga

Pregnancy yoga classes are movement, relaxation and birth-preparation classes designed for pregnancy. Classes may include yoga, breathing, relaxation, birth preparation themes, positioning and other pregnancy-appropriate activities.

You are responsible for telling birth-hood about relevant health information, pregnancy complications, injuries, pain, changes in your pregnancy or any advice from your maternity or healthcare team that may affect your participation.

You should work within your own comfort and ability and stop or modify an activity if it does not feel right. I may adapt, modify or stop an activity where I consider this appropriate.

Pregnancy yoga is not medical treatment or individual clinical assessment. If you are unsure whether a class is suitable for you, seek advice from your maternity or healthcare professional before attending.

8. Parent & baby yoga

Parent and baby yoga combines gentle postnatal movement, baby-appropriate activities, relaxation and social time. Suitability depends on your stage of recovery and your baby's age, development and individual circumstances.

As a general guide, birth-hood's current parent and baby classes are intended for parents from around 6 weeks after an uncomplicated vaginal birth and around 12 weeks after caesarean or instrumental birth or significant tears, but individual recovery varies. Please get in touch before attending if you are unsure whether the class is suitable.

You remain responsible for supervising your baby during the session and for following any medical or postnatal advice you have been given.

9. Class bookings, missed sessions & changes

Class and course places are reserved for the person who booked them and are subject to the booking terms shown at the time of purchase. Missed sessions are not normally refundable or transferable unless the relevant booking terms say otherwise.

If birth-hood has to cancel or materially change a class or course, I will offer an appropriate alternative where reasonably possible, such as a replacement session, transfer or refund for the affected service, depending on the circumstances.

Where a course has already started, any refund or transfer will take account of sessions and resources already supplied and the circumstances of cancellation, subject to your statutory rights.

10. Digital products

Digital products such as MP3s, workbooks, guides, recordings and downloadable resources are supplied for personal use. Digital content will be supplied as described and subject to the statutory rights that apply to digital content.

Where digital content is supplied immediately at your request before any applicable cancellation period has expired, the checkout process will explain the effect of that request and any applicable loss of cancellation rights.

11. Cancellation & refunds

Cancellation terms will be stated clearly for the service or product you are buying. Where a cancellation charge applies, it is intended to reflect the service already provided, costs incurred and/or the reasonable loss caused by the cancellation rather than operate as a penalty.

For doula packages, specific cancellation and reserved on-call terms are set out in the relevant client agreement. From 34 weeks, a package cancellation will normally require payment of the agreed package fee, subject to applicable consumer law and consideration of the services already provided, costs incurred, savings made and whether the booking can reasonably be replaced.

Nothing in these terms prevents you exercising a statutory cancellation, refund or other consumer right where one applies.

12. Health, safety & medical responsibility

birth-hood is not a medical service. You remain responsible for seeking appropriate medical or maternity care and for following urgent medical advice. birth-hood cannot be responsible for clinical decisions, clinical outcomes, complications, birth mode, hospital policy or the actions of healthcare providers.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

13. Illness & events outside my control

I may occasionally need to change or cancel a service because of illness, emergency, unsafe travel, venue problems, another birth, hospital restrictions or other circumstances outside my reasonable control. I will communicate as soon as reasonably possible and take reasonable steps to minimise the impact.

14. Intellectual property

birth-hood course materials, workbooks, guides, recordings, branding, written content and digital resources remain the intellectual property of birth-hood or the relevant rights holder. Your purchase gives you a personal licence to use the material for your own learning and preparation; it does not transfer ownership.

15. Privacy & communication

Personal information will be handled in accordance with birth-hood's privacy information. Please use appropriate channels for confidential or sensitive information and understand that WhatsApp, email and similar platforms may have their own privacy and security limitations.

16. Complaints

If you are unhappy with a service, please get in touch first so that we can try to resolve the issue. I will consider complaints fairly and respond within a reasonable time.

17. Consumer rights

birth-hood services will be provided with reasonable care and skill. These terms are intended to be fair and transparent and nothing in them removes or limits statutory consumer rights or any liability that cannot legally be excluded.

18. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, subject to your statutory consumer rights.

19. Contact

If you have any questions about these terms, or would like to discuss anything relating to your booking, please get in touch. These terms may be updated from time to time; the current version will always be on this page.