I’d woken up at 2am with what I thought were really bad cramps and got straight in the shower to ease it. They soon intensified and became very close together so Aaron called Wallingford who said to come in for 4am. When we arrived I was examined and was already 6cm dilated. I asked for the pool to be filled and Aaron played one of the mp3 tracks from the course. The water made me feel weightless. The whole time I was completely focussed on my breathing and tried to shut ever

Emma dictated her birth story for me to type up, but I felt the audio captured the essence of her experiences so I have included it here. This is truely a beautiful birth story- but get the tissues ready it's emotional- in the best way! Enjoy listening!

My darling boy you are now one but I remember the moment you were born fondly. It is something you and I did together in a beautiful calm and relaxed way. I had been having contractions at night every evening for a month. I had been drinking raspberry leaf tea daily. I felt big and I was ready for you to arrive. I knew you would probably be a week past the NHS due date due to the way my cycle works and I was correct. Some nights leading up to the night you were born I asked y

Ridley’s Birth Story 18.3.16 12 hour labour Water pool No pain relief My husband, George and I were incredibly excited leading up to the birth of our baby, partly because we felt ready for the birth but mostly because we were going to meet our little person for the first time. We had been given an overwhelming amount of negative advice leading up to the birth and even more horror stories; “You’re never ready for parenting” “It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do” “You’re lif

It was a long and hot pregnancy, pretty sure the hottest summer we’ve had on record- in my lifetime any way. I was 40+ weeks pregnant, pelvic girdle pain throughout, feeling massive and feeling hot. 40+6 pregnant and my contractions started mid afternoon driving over to a friends house. Being a midwife I knew id be in safe hands with her but decided to head home to make sure Ridley (our eldest son of 2) could be looked after and arrangements made for George to finish work.