Early on in my third trimester, my husband and I decided that we would like to plan for a home birth. We discussed with the community midwives and they were so supportive of our choice. A community midwife came to our home at 35 weeks to talk through the process / their guidelines etc. 

From 39+4 I...

On the Saturday night through to Sunday morning I was ill with an upset stomach and sickness. By Sunday morning it had eased off but I was getting random period-style cramps but I felt so weak from the night before I remember really hoping that it wasn’t the start of labour as at this point I was 40...

✨“Estrela” was playing when you were born.

When we found out you were coming, not even in my wildest and most beautiful dreams did I imagine it would be like this - that this would be the way you’d arrive.

My “painful” contractions began at 3:30 a.m. on June 23rd, although in the days leading up t...

At 40 + 5, I had a midwife appointment where we discussed doing a membrane sweep. During the examination, I wasnʼt yet dilated, so we agreed to book another appointment at 41 weeks, just a week before my scheduled induction. I really wanted to give my body a chance to go into labour naturally.

At 4...

I loved my third pregnancy. Life was loud and chaotic with our two boys (aged 4 and 2) but our house was always filled with love and lots of laughter, which I figured are perfect conditions to grow a baby in!

Our two sons had been born prematurely (34 weeks and 36 weeks), so we figured our third ba...

Our little surprise at 34 weeks…….as told by first time parents Rebecca and Laurence:

I got home late Friday evening, about 11pm after work. Technically my last full day of work before taking leave (she knew..!) I went upstairs to brush my teeth and wait for Laurence to come home who was in London ...

After a difficult birth for her first baby, I’m so happy that Tanya got her dream waterbirth. She advocated for herself and her baby like a superwoman, and worked with the midwives at Darent Valley to make it happen!

Congratulations Tanya, and thank you for sharing your birth story! 

 ------------...

First time parents Katie and Felix live in Taiwan where the maternity system is very different to the UK. In Taiwan, highly medicalised birth is the norm, with most women giving birth on their back in stirrups, and there is also high rates of Caesarean which is often seen as the preferred option. 

When I found out I was pregnant and completing my self referral to the hospital maternity services, they ask where you would like to give birth and all my instincts told me I wanted to have a home birth. 

This was my first birth and after listening to friends and family who had given birth and the ...

For my first baby I’d taken a general antenatal class but unfortunately not had the birth experience that I’d wanted (baby 1 was taking his time at 42 weeks, and although I resisted repeated pressure to have an induction, I was refused entry to the birth centre because of his ‘overdue’ status and ha...

Second time mum Anna took the decision to have a home birth for her second baby. In this gorgeous waterbirth story you can read her rationale for her decision to have a homebirth and how everything went on the day when she met her baby boy for the first time in a birth pool in her lounge.

You can r...

I was so honoured to be at this birth and see this strong determined mama bring her baby girl into this world. I am still in awe. Here's Japnoor's birth story, as told by her incredible mummy Kiran:

-----------

My first pregnancy was during the Covid lockdown in 2020. I was working from home and w...