Polly Williams, In Style, September 2004

There is one woman on every pregnant celebrity’s speed dial – Dr Gowri Motha, the mother of all pregnancy gurus. So when Elle Macpherson hosted a party at Cecconi’s in London, to launch Dr Motha’s book Gentle Birth Method, the restaurant was swamped with grateful A-list mums and their babies. Guest including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Donna Air and novelist Santa Montefiore drank tea and picked at wheat-free sandwiches, muffins and cakes decorated with some of Dr Motha’s self-hypnosis mantras, such as “think elastic” (that’s the cervix she’s referring to). Her approach, about training the mind and the body, helps women have short, natural labours.

Paltrow said the holistic Ayurvedic method worked for her partly because of “the reflexology. That knocked me out completely. Gowri’s so intuitive”. Macpherson added, “She’s so reassuring. She was like the mother I didn’t have, as mine was in Australia.”

Santa Montefiore: “It’s really weird meeting up with all the mothers again, seeing the babies out, not in. I think Dr Motha is the best-kept word of mouth secret, until now.”

Donna Air: “I didn’t diet after I gave birth. I got my figure back so quickly just by running around after my little girl. It’s really knackering.”

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