Justine Sipprell

I have recently moved back to Brighton from having lived and worked in Toronto since 2013. I am excited to bring my new understandings back to the UK.

I am a mother of two that was literally blown away 17 years ago by the effectiveness of Shiatsu during my first 36 hour labour.  I wanted every pregnant women alive to receive massage and Shiatsu and most of all to receive acupressure during each contraction.

I worked as a Shiatsu practitioner for Brighton Body Positive for a couple of years, until I gave birth to my second child, left the UK and moved to Spain. While living there I met an amazing group of women and helped establish a birthing group called Da-a-Luz. I have since returned to Spain to teach Shiatsu techniques to other birth practitioners from all over Europe.

In 2002 I discovered Suzanne and Wellmother. I was so excited to find someone who was teaching Shiatsu specific to pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. I completed my teacher training with Suzanne in 2007 and started to run courses and even a ‘retreat’ for midwives and doulas. From 2002 to the present I have used shiatsu at the births I have attended and have always had fantastic feedback. However the birth turns out, Shiatsu supports the pregnant women to take ownership and feel in control of HER birth.

I moved to Toronto in August of 2013 and there I supported the development of the Well Mother  approach. The way women are giving birth in this city is rapidly changing. The first birthing centre was opened in Feb. 2014 and more and more women are choosing midwives over OB’s. The home birth rate is also on the rise and post natal care is being seen as necessary rather than important.

In Toronto I was teaching monthly birth prep class for couples and courses for Toronto’s doula’s of which there are many.