Getting To Know Calmbirth Educator Ruth Lees

Ruth is a registered midwife and child birth educator working in Hobart. She is passionate about inspiring and empowering women during their pregnancy and childbirth journey.

“My wish for you is to learn to trust your body’s own innate wisdom and support you to birth your baby without fear.

“I have been supporting women to birth in hospitals, birth centres and at home for over a decade, and I believe birth is the most profound experience in a woman’s life. With knowledge, preparation, and support, it can be an incredibly joyful, empowering, and transformative journey.

“My own Calmbirth journey began when I attended a Calmbirth weekend as a new pregnant mother to be, weeks away from the birth of my first child. I walked away from the course feeling that all woman and their partners should be offered this kind of birthing education. Now only a few years later, with two little humans in tow, I am so excited to be able to pass this knowledge on, to teach women to honour their bodies and trust their inner resources so that they can meet birth with awareness and confidence.

“The Calmbirth workshop offers a safe space for couples to explore feelings and beliefs around birth and to disperse fears. Through guided meditation, breathing and visualisation techniques and an understanding of the physiological process of labour and birth, women are empowered to birth their babies with calmness and confidence, no matter their birth journey.”

My name…Ruth Lees.

I work at…The Royal Hobart Hospital in Tassie (but I’m currently on maternity leave).

My life in five words…It’s all about the babies!

The best thing about where I live…The open skies, the wild wilderness, the ever-changing seasons and the close-knit community.

What I do to relax when I’m not working…Cuddle my babies, get out in nature, soak in the tub.

I can’t live without…My hot water bottle (it has seen me through many cold winters, countless periods, two pregnancies and labours and a few other emergencies)!

The person or traits I most admire is…The person I admire most is my grandmother. She is 94 years old and has lived a tough life, yet she is the kindest, most generous and courageous woman I know. I admire her commitment to love and the simple pleasures in life.

What I love most about being a Calmbirth educator...Everything, I love sharing my knowledge, supporting people to believe in their own body and their own power. I love seeing couples transform together into parents. I love being around growing bellies, I love babies and the unfolding journeys in between.

If I had to describe my own birth experiences in 3 words…Intense, beautiful, Out-of-this-world!

The 3 essential things you need to take with you into labour are…Love, trust and a hot water bottle

My most memorable moment as Calmbirth® educator…The giggles coming from my class when they realised my ‘knitted uterus’ was really my hot water bottle cover!!

As I said at the time, in labour (and motherhood), we must learn to be creative and resourceful and use what we have at hand (my grandma hadn’t finished knitting it yet)!

A favourite quote…“We must understand that childbirth is fundamentally a spiritual, as well as physical, achievement… the birth of a child is the ultimate perfection of human love.”

-Grantly Dick-Read

If I had to describe how seeing a baby being born makes me feel...There are really no words for it, but if I must..  I feel incredibly grateful to be able to witness such absolute wonder! I feel deeply moved and I am forever inspired by the power of women in birth.

You can follow me at…

@calmbirthwithruth

My next Calmbirth courses are:

July: Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd
August: Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th
September: Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th