Kate Middleton took a number of private parenting lessons from various experts before the birth of Prince George, one of which was an obstetric physiotherapist.
- Before the birth of her first child, Kate Middleton reportedly spent time with a number of parenting experts to prepare for the birth and first years of parenting.
- The Princess of Wales learnt from an obstetric physiotherapist who teaches labour and birthing classes for new parents.
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Kate Middleton and Prince William may now be one of the UK's most watched parenting teams, often being praised for their child-led parenting style, the fun traditions they involve their three youngsters in, and their strong family 'bond' which can be seen each and every time they step out in public, but once upon a time they were just new parents who had the same worries as every couple about to have their first child.
Ahead of Prince George's birth in 2013, Kate Middleton reportedly took lessons with a number of different birthing and parenting experts to prepare for both giving birth to and raising the heir to the throne who held an incredibly prestigious position in the royal line of succession from the second he was born.
One of those experts was the late obstetric physiotherapist, Christine Hill, who passed away last year.
Obstetric physiotherapy, also known as maternity physiotherapy, according to the NHS, is a type of physiotherapy that focuses on treating people during and after their pregnancy. This treatment can include help in treating common symptoms during pregnancy like pelvic pain and in treating issues that arise shortly after delivery. The care can also include antenatal physiotherapeutic care and the giving of antenatal classes for both the pregnant person and their partner.
OK! Magazine reports that Kate's antenatal teacher, Christine Hill, gave the soon to be parents a variety of lessons ahead of George's birth in the privacy of her conservatory at her West London home.
Kate reportedly took a number of these lessons and Prince William was present for just one of them.
The teacher previously spoke to The Telegraph about her time with William and Kate. She revealed, "Kate is a delightful girl, what you see is what you get."
She also praised the couple, saying that they are 'a very strong team.'
While it is unknown exactly what these lessons entailed, Kate has previously opened up about her struggles with hyperemesis gravidarum, a form of morning sickness that can see pregnant women be sick multiple times a day and suffer from more extreme symptoms than are usually associated with morning sickness.
She revealed that following the morning sickness, she was introduced to hypnobirthing which allowed her to realise 'the power of the mind over the body.'
It could have been in these classes that the Princess found her way to hypnobirthing. This would also explain Prince William's absence from the lessons as Kate revealed that the technique wasn't something she involved William in. She told Giovanna Fletcher while appearing on her podcast Happy Mum Happy Baby, "I didn't even ask him [William] about it [hypnobirthing], but it was just something I wanted to do for myself."
Following George's birth, it wasn't just experts who were giving the new parents support, but also Kate's family.
During his first few days on life, Prince George and his parents stayed with Carole and Michael Middleton at their home in Berkshire. This proved to be a good choice as new grandad Michael made sure to keep the couple and their new addition out of the public eye.
But while they had the support in place, many outlets reported that William and Kate were keen to do everything themselves when it came to looking after George but quickly found the challenge a little too daunting.
The young prince would reportedly wake up more than six times every single night, something that William struggled with as he continued to balance parenthood with his important royal duties. But, following an important conversation with the late Queen, the couple realised that they couldn't continue being both full-time royals and raise their baby single-handedly.
In True Royalty’s documentary, Kate Middleton: Heir We Go Again, royal expert Katie Nicholl revealed, “Kate was having a conversation with the Queen in which she confided that she had found being with George on her own, and not having a full-time nanny or a maternity nurse, very hard."
This conversation has been credited as one of the main reasons that William and Kate hired a nanny, with the Queen letting the couple know that it was a good option. Nicholl added, "William and Kate wanted to be hands-on parents, and they did it until September and then they recruited a nanny.”
