Why I Stopped Writing Birth Plans

One mum shares why she stopped writing birth plans and just went with the flow.

When our obstetrician or midwife suggests we develop a birth plan, it’s not exactly like we’re planning for world domination. However, it is not far off considering the overall task is not for the weak. It is indeed a mammoth feat. No army would go into frontline battle without a clearly defined strategy, and so it makes perfect sense to detail a plan of action before bringing that freshly baked bun out of the oven. It’s our last chance for control before we meet with the new boss of the household.

A Relaxed Birth

8 / 15 / 178 / 4 / 17

One mum shares how we can trust our bodies to offer a relaxed birth experience.

I had already previously given birth to two children. My daughter, six, was a natural birth that took six hours, and my son, four, took 90 minutes. I was getting the hang of this thing. This time I had my husband with me. He wasn’t the father of my other two and had never seen a natural birth, as both his boys from a previous marriage had been born by Caesarean.

Getting Induced

8 / 3 / 177 / 26 / 17

Editor Flick Frankish shares her story on getting induced.

I was a bundle of nerves waking up on what I knew would be our daughter’s birthday. Once I checked the clock and saw it was morning (5am to be exact), I knew that all hope of sleep was gone. I was going to meet my precious little bundle in a matter of hours, all that stood in my way was labour.

How To Be A Birth Support

10 / 13 / 1610 / 5 / 16

Ever wondered what it is like being present at a friends’ birth? Amy from The Handbag Mafia shares her tips for how to be a birth support.

In addition to the births of my own babies, I have been fortunate enough to attend the births of five other children.

Birth Photography

4 / 4 / 166 / 6 / 16

Holly Priddis provides an insight into her role in the delivery suite, and share some of her beautiful birth photography images with us.

From the first time I picked up a camera, my focus was to become a maternity, birth and newborn photographer. As a midwife, my entire career is based around this, so it was a logical progression for me. I wanted to represent the true miracle of birth through images and had my first chance just over five years ago when I was invited to attend a birth as birth support. During the birth I took photos for the family. These photos were shared by the mother among the midwifery community and have been used quite extensively in maternity education. This is how I got into birth photography.

Birth Skills

3 / 28 / 156 / 15 / 16

Felicity Frankish shares how Juju Sundin’s book on birth skills helped her in the lead up to labour.

I hadn’t even thought about it. My mind was so preoccupied with beautiful ultrasound scans and tiny babies that I tuned out how I was going to get from one to the other. I had no birth plan and that’s exactly what I told people when they asked. I am a person who loves being in control, and from everything I have been told – birth is something you have very little control over. I knew if I created a birth plan and wasn’t able to stick to it, I wouldn’t cope. So I opted out.