Ladies, you are pregnant, so excited, you have so many thoughts running through your hear…..is it a boy or a girl, am I okay, what should I buy?  There is one question that, in the beginning, women seem to overlook and it is one of the most important…………..Natural birth or drugs?

Early on most women are planning for a natural birth; however, as your pregnancy progresses and your tummy grows you wonder how much pain you will be in.  You seek out other women’s stories which are usually horror stories and you start to doubt yourself, doubt your ability and start looking at ways to alleviate your fear……well stop right there!

Consider this, you are a woman, you are strong, you are powerful and you are able to grow your baby therefore you will be able to birth your baby the way you first dreamt of.  You first have to start to look outside the box, start to wonder what type of things make you relaxed and incorporate these measures into your birth plan and journey.

Do you like soft music, massage, touch, water, yoga or meditation?  Any of these methods can be incorporated into a daily routine to practice relaxing and becoming aware of your wonderful and powerful self.  Becoming aware of your ability to birth your baby, creating a belief structure so strong that you become unstoppable in your quest for the natural birth you want.

Here is a question you can now ask your self, “How many natural birth techniques have you considered so far?”  There are so many different techniques that you can learn about and incorporate into your relaxation routine.  You can start by having a read of the list below and click on the method that best suits you.  Each method will take you to a fantastic jam packed information page that will give you the tools to create a truly amazing birth experience. 

• Acupressure and acupuncture
• Hypnobirthing
• Water birth
• Reflexology
• 3 R’s Relaxation, Rhythm and Ritual
• The Bradley Method
• Breathing Techniques 

I have interviewed the founders and educators of each method and they discuss the amazing benefits of choosing a natural birth method that suits you. 

So what you need to do is endeavour to create some time for yourself each day where you relax and reflect on how wonderful your pregnant body is and also reflect on your goal of birthing a beautiful baby calmly and easily.  This will in turn transform your birth experience into the dream you first wanted. 

Good luck and Enjoy your wonderful Birth Journey.

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What a question this is!  There was an article in The Sun titled ‘Home Births - Bad or Good?’  It was a really great article, giving you the pro’s and con’s.  The most sensible comment was that if a woman is healthy and low risk, and she wants a home birth, then why not?  The catch is the money…..will the government come good with their promise or let it slip into the too hard basket?

There are plenty of midwives and other health professionals who are willing to set up a standard of care and could have homebirths up and running in no time.  It is a question of whether the government wants our society to go this way.  I say let it….it is what women are calling for, or should I say begging for!  It is just unfair that women who can’t afford a home birth and really want one don’t get the chance to experience it.  This can change a woman forever…..women have an innate desire to birth and they have a plan in their head.  If this plan has to be based on the income she earns then it can change the course of her life, it can deny her the one empowering moment that forms the basis of who she is and who she wants to become.

As was mentioned in the article, many women feel their labour is going well until they have to go into hospital - then they get stressed and their adrenalin rises and slows down the labour.   This is so true, I experienced this myself and also have seen it as women come into the hospital.  I don’t know what it is but women seem to want to come into hospital as soon as possible, this, I believe, is where all the intervention and agony starts.  Women should be educated in their antenatal classes to stay at home as long as possible, this will give them a chance to feel more comfortable for most of their labour.  Women and partneres come into hospital expecting their baby to born soon, this almost never happens, it takes a woman’s body a good couple of hours to adjust to the change of environment and then labour can resume. 

The very experienced obstetrican comments on the debate, and he has valid points, however, he is coming from a position of high risk.  Midwives have a line that they cannot cross, as a midwife, I know this line and I know when a woman crosses it into high risk territory.  It is our duty of care to constantly assess this line and make a judgement on whether a doctor needs to be called.  It is our responsibility to do this and if we don’t we are liable and can lose our career.  Home birth midwives are so very aware of this and have back up plans.  A home birth midwife would not take on a case that had the potential to put the mother or baby at risk.  The comment made by the obstetrician that it is just too risky is his opinion and good luck to him,  but he shouldn’t put his fear on women who choose this option.  Fear is what makes things go wrong, a woman who is relaxed at home and has great midwives on hand will have an amazing home birth experience. 

I say well done to women who choose this option and I hope the government can see a place for home births to be recognised, not dealt with under the radar.  Bring home birth to the forefront and let women have the choice to bring their baby into a calm, loving environment.

If you want to hear more on this topic and other ways to have a fantastic birth experience, then have a look at my book, it has many options and will give you the confidence to stand up and say how you want your birth to be.  Click on this link child-birth-options and let me know what you think.