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...

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! 

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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. 

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...

First time mum Kristina and her partner Sam share their positive birth experience at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Greenwich (London). 

Key facts:

• 28th September 2023
• 1st baby
• 8lbs 1oz - arrived 4 days early
• 6 hour delivery with no interventions
• Delayed cord clamping and Golden hour
• Minor tea
...

First-time Mum Lucy had an amazing positive birth in Lewisham Birth Centre in Greenwich, exactly as she had planned. Here's Lucy telling her story in her own words:

"I had a sweep on my due date and started having contractions 3 hours later. I was on and off for 24 hours with all of the distraction...

First time Mum Becky was told throughout her pregnancy that her baby was measuring "big". After additional growth scans, she was offered an induction. Read about how Becky confidently made decisions that were right for her and her baby and enjoyed a wonderful positive birth. 

My ‘dream birth’ was a...

I was blessed to have a low-risk and pretty healthy pregnancy, despite suffering with vomiting and nausea for the 9 months, along with hip pain during a certain period. 

 Once I reached 37 weeks pregnant, I was experiencing braxton hicks often. They would come at random times and of varying intensi...