When mom based in southern London and certified teacher Hypnobirtthing Shannon Santangelo started Birth by youIt was the result of a deeply personal and transformative experience – the birth of her first child, Gabe. What started as an attempt to better understand the birth has turned into a passion to help other expected parents feel up to date, calm and authorized. After an unexpected but deeply positive birth at home, he was trained as a bedroom and prenatal teacher, he pledged to guide other parents to a positive birth experience. Through private lessons, group lessons and relaxation sessions, it now supports families to approach birth with confidence, connection and trust in their own power. Here she talks to Natural Parent magazine about the inspiration behind what she does, how she balances work and family, the advantages and disadvantages of her business and her hopes and dreams for the future.
Passion: What inspired you to adjust your business?
My son’s birth, Gabe, was the catalyst for me to go from the first mom who really had no significant knowledge of birth, to be passionate about providing other renewed parents to prepare for a positive and empowering birth experience.
This unexpected journey is why I am now a certified Hypnobirthering teacher and birth preparation.
During my pregnancy, I immersed myself in birth resources – books, podcasts, whatever I could find – and continued to meet this term: “hypnobirthering”. I instinctively knew that I wanted to use it, but I had no idea what was really involved in practice, so my husband and I decided to dive in a private path of hypnobirthering in our home.
The lesson has completely changed our understanding and expectations of birth – and without it, my birth experience would not be possible. On paper, the story of my birth could read as traumatic, but it was beyond the magic – one of the most empowering experiences of my life so far.
My work was very fast – under 4 hours from start to finish, and we never reached the intended birth position, resulting in an unplanned birth at home. We were essentially on our own. Doula arrived just in time to catch Gabe, my husband was waiting for 999, waiting for a full 8 minutes before our dog responded, and Toby, was watching his foot in the bathtub. It sounds chaotic, but the reality was incredibly calm. I was never scared because I had diligently practicing any hypnobirthering technique throughout my pregnancy.
After this experience, I felt undefeated – as I could conquer anything! When I later met with other moms for the first time in my area, I was surprised by how many common traumatic birth stories. I almost felt guilty of sharing my positive experience, worrying that they would believe that they were not sensitive to their birth trip.
Statistics are disappointing: 45% of birth people in the United Kingdom report traumatic births, often referring to fear and lack of control as key factors. Everyone says, “It’s just a day, and a healthy baby is all that matters.” But that day stays with you forever. Every birth man can discover his experience as happened yesterday. You deserve both – a healthy baby and an authorized birth experience that lets you feel supported and positive.
I never imagined birth would become my passion, or that I would change the career to help others prepare for their positive birth experience. But for a whole year, I kept thinking about my trip with Gabe, I wonder if I could help others experience the same positivity and empowerment.
So I took the jump, I finished my education, I won my certification as a professor of hypnotic and prenatal education and was born to you!
The launch: How did you start at first?
I guess my beginning was deliberately slow, measured and deliberate. The balancing of the new motherhood with part -time work when completing my hypnobirthering certification has created a beautiful chaos that demanded quite balancing.
After I have completed my certification, I register Birth by you immediately. The business name had penetrated my mind for a while. I wanted something that put “you” – the person who gave birth – in the ultimate center.
A positive birth seems and feels completely different for everyone and I was determined to create a personalized approach for each expected parent and their partner.
My first client was actually family: my sister and her husband. As a family increased my desire to deliver the “perfect order”, but after spending two whole days that were making a private hypnobirthering course at their home, I knew I would find my call. He didn’t feel like a job. I felt like a purpose. They absorbed so much during our time together and seeing their trust growing up was so rewarding.
My next client was a couple preparing for their second baby, a completely different momentum that brought rich knowledge of their first birth experience. By the end of the year, I made the bold decision to leave my previous job almost eight to continue Birth by you full -time.
Leaving employment security for entrepreneurship probably feels a bit like what I would imagine would feel going bungee jumping … scary but fascinating? But my passion for preparing people to have a positive and empowering birth continued to pull me forward.
At the beginning of 2025 it brought many changes. Our family was transferred from north to southern London, we waited for our second baby and I was recently self -employed, building Birth by you from the ground.
Until May, I had expanded, teaching private lessons, starting a weekly pregnancy relaxation class at my local Community center and teach my first hypnotism team. Every step forward confirmed that I was exactly where I wanted (and I needed) to be.
Innovation: What was the biggest discovery for you with your business?
I think maybe one of my biggest discoveries was to tame the perfectionist inside me. I had to admit that waiting for everything to be perfect, especially my site, would keep me from my real purpose: working directly with the expected parents. I chose to prioritize the provision of great experiences for my clients and not forever to polish my presence on the internet.
Another aggressive awareness was the power of Community connection. Putting myself out there in my new neighborhood and building relationships with other local businesses, both pregnancy -related pregnancy and otherwise opened incredible doors. The local business community and our local Community center hugged me wholeheartedly, offering support and encouragement as I established myself by helping pregnant women in the area.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I have always been “a person of limbs” I guess. For example, whether I train for the London Marathon or I don’t really go at all! The job is completely consumed because I felt obliged to give my whole whole.
But by becoming self -employed, I was determined not to go back to this pattern of all or nothing. The risk is even greater when it is “your own thing” and you act as a person’s broadcast.
I try to stay grounded with the memory of “why”: helping people prepare for one of the deepest moments of life while cultivating my own family. We have created a rhythm that works: Gabe attends the Kindergarten School from Monday to Wednesday. In these mornings, my husband, Nick, walks the adorable Welsh Terier, Toby, while I’m ready. Nick falls gabe in kindergarten on his way to work, giving me a dedicated time to focus Birth by youHousehold duties and life manager. Toby and I always enjoy our afternoon walks before collecting Gabe and going to our evening routine – dinner, bathroom, pajamas, books and sleep.
Thursdays and Fridays bring flexibility with gabe home from kindergarten. We spend those days exploring museums, visiting parks or meeting friends – balancing my work commitments with quality family time.
When I teach lessons, Nick adjusts his program without hesitation to support what I have grown up to love. It’s really my biggest cheerleader and I wouldn’t be where I am today without his steadfast support, love and faith in me.
