A creative and embodied way to prepare for the unknown of birth
Birth Art for Pregnancy
A 2½-hour small-group workshop for pregnant women, using guided imagery, art-making, journaling and conversation to explore your own relationship with birth. No artistic experience is needed.
Next Birth Art Gatherings
Saturday 10 October · Thursday 5 November 2026
10:00–12:30 · Schiedam — exact location follows by email
2½ hours · €30 · Small group · English
Everything provided · No art experience needed
Book your place
You don't come to Birth Art to make a picture of the birth you want.
You come to experience making something when you don't already know what it will become.
You begin without knowing exactly what your image will become. You may find yourself moving easily, changing direction, hesitating, surprising yourself or reaching a point where you don't know what to do next.
The invitation is to stay curious about what happens and discover your own next step.
The value isn't in the picture you produce. It is in the experience of making it.
What women say
I attended Irida's Birth Art workshop in April. I didn't have any particular expectations, and I don't consider myself especially artistic or creative, but I'm interested in new experiences and learning about pregnancy and birth. That made me all the more pleasantly surprised by the whole experience, which gave me a sense of calm and trust in myself and the process. Irida's calm and gentle energy, along with her compassionate and non-intrusive approach, certainly contributed to that as well. I would definitely do it again and recommend it to anyone considering it.
There are many ways to prepare for birth
During pregnancy we gather information. We learn about labour, consider our options, make plans and prepare for the practical realities of welcoming a baby.
And there is another kind of preparation too. Birth asks us to enter an experience we cannot fully know in advance. There may be moments when we know exactly what we need and moments when we don't know what comes next.
Birth Art offers a way of exploring this through creative process rather than through more information. Not to reach a particular answer — but to practise meeting not-knowing with curiosity, the way birth itself may ask of you.
What happens in a Birth Art session?
A spacious 2½ hours together
We begin slowly, with tea and time to meet one another and settle into the space. I'll introduce Birth Art and the enquiry we'll be exploring that day.
From there, I'll guide you into a quieter space before you begin making your Birth Art. You don't need to know what you're going to draw before you begin, and there is no right image to create.
After the art-making, you'll have some quiet time to journal about what you noticed during the process.
We then come back together for conversation and reflection, with space to explore what surprised you, what you discovered and anything that feels relevant as you approach birth.
We finish by allowing the experience to settle before returning to the rest of the day.
But I can't draw…
You do not need to be artistic.
Birth Art isn't about learning to draw, and your artwork will not be judged, analysed or interpreted.
You can work with colour, shape, symbols, marks, figures or whatever comes naturally. Your picture doesn't need to be beautiful, recognisable or make sense to anyone else.
The focus remains on your experience of making it and what you notice for yourself along the way.
Each gathering is a little different
Each session begins with a particular enquiry connected with pregnancy, birth or becoming a mother.
We might explore the threshold of approaching birth, the landscape of labour, the world of your baby, or some of the stories and images of birth we carry with us.
Because the enquiry changes, you are welcome to attend Birth Art more than once during your pregnancy.
What might emerge?
Every woman's experience is different.
Birth Art may help you notice something about how you approach uncertainty, recognise a resource you already have, become aware of a question you want to explore, see an assumption about birth differently, or discover something you want to discuss with your partner or midwife.
Sometimes the discovery is quieter than that. There is no particular feeling, insight or kind of image you are expected to leave with.
Looking for birth preparation with your partner?
Birth Art is a reflective and creative space specifically for pregnant women. If you're looking for practical birth preparation together with your birth partner, my one-day Active Birth Prenatal Workshop explores the physiology of labour and birth through movement, positions, breathing, touch and partner support.
Explore the Active Birth Prenatal Workshop
Held by Irida
I'm Irida Hysenbelli, founder of Women's Den, working with the Birth Art approach developed by Pam England. My work with women around pregnancy and birth brings together birth education, embodied practice, creativity and spaces where there is time to listen to what is already present. There is an artistic thread to my work too — I love to paint, and Birth Art brought together something that felt very natural to me: creativity as a way of exploring the feelings, questions and unknowns that can accompany pregnancy and approaching birth.
More about IridaQuestions
Birth Art for Pregnancy
Next gatherings
Sat 10 October or Thu 5 November 2026 · 10:00–12:30 · Schiedam
2½ hours · €30 · Small group · English
Everything provided · No artistic experience needed
Have a question? Get in touch