British Birthing Stories

E77 · 13 Oct 2026 · 48 minNew

Alex: Two Births, Fast Premature Hospital Birth and Planned Induction with Ventouse Delivery

Two completely different births, one five weeks early and one planned down to the day. Alex works for a small legal firm and has two little boys under three, and she's on the pod today to share both. Her first labour crept up on her. She lost her mucus plug, then spent a day unsure whether her waters had actually gone, baking wedding cupcakes and packing up the house because she genuinely didn't believe she was in labour at thirty five weeks. By the time she reached hospital, a doctor examined her and told her flatly that her cervix was completely closed. Two hours later she was eight…

E76 · 8 Oct 2026 · 43 min

Lisa: Second and Third Births, Two Positive NHS Home Births, Birth Before Arrival (BBA), Water Birth, Fetal Ejection Reflex, Physiological Birth, Home Birth After Third Degree Tear, Previous Postpartum Haemorrhage, TENS Machine, Doula

Today on the show, Lisa is back to share her second and third births: two positive NHS home births after a first birth that ended in forceps, a third degree tear and a haemorrhage. Going into her second pregnancy, Lisa was high risk on paper. Instead of the glucose tolerance test, she used her old meter to check her own blood sugars four times a day and controlled them with diet. She declined the consultant appointments, protected her due date with an early scan, and was taken on by a home birth midwife called Maria, who told her she was there to support whatever she chose. After a long,…

E75 · 6 Oct 2026 · 54 min

Lisa: First Birth, NHS Hospital Induction at 42 Weeks, Gestational Diabetes, Oxytocin Drip, Pethidine, Epidural, Failed Ventouse, Forceps Delivery, Episiotomy, Third Degree Tear, Postpartum Haemorrhage, Doula

I spoke with Lisa, a birth doula and mum of three from Wimbledon, who shares the first of her three births: an NHS hospital induction at 42 weeks after a late gestational diabetes diagnosis. Lisa was planning a home birth when a glucose tolerance test at 34 weeks came back positive for gestational diabetes. She controlled her blood sugars with diet and a scan showed a normal sized baby, but she was removed from the home birth team and told she'd be induced at 40 weeks. At 36 weeks a consultant underlined the risk of stillbirth in her notes. Lisa asked for the research behind it, and neither…

E74 · 1 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 8 min

Chloe: Two Births, Emergency Caesarean and Planned NHS Home Birth After Caesarean (HBAC) Born in an Ambulance, Induction, Membrane Sweep, Pethidine, Syntocinon, Failed Spinal, Consultant Led Care, Doula, Meconium, Fetal Ejection Reflex, Third Degree Tear

Today on the show Chloe shares both of her births. The first was an induction that ended in an emergency caesarean at Liverpool Women's. The second was a planned NHS home birth after caesarean that ended with her daughter being born in the back of an ambulance. Chloe was 23 and hadn't done any birth prep when she booked her induction. A pessary and a sweep she wasn't told about got things started, and after two nights on a busy induction ward she moved to the labour ward at 3cm. Then came pethidine, the hormone drip and contractions with no break in between. Her epidural took several…

E73 · 29 Sep 2026 · 55 min

Erin: Second Birth, Positive NHS Hospital VBAC, Spontaneous Labour, Midwife Led Unit, Birth Pool with Wireless CTG, Back Labour, Breech Baby Turned, Reduced Fetal Movements, Anterior Placenta, TENS Machine, Gas and Air, 3A Tear

I had Erin back on the pod to share the birth of her daughter, her second baby and her VBAC. Erin lives in Glasgow with her husband, their two little ones and their dogs. Her son was born by emergency C section after a 71 hour induction. This time she wanted to see what her body could do if labour started on its own. She asked to move to the NHS home birth team at her eight week booking appointment, then chose the hospital's midwife led unit when a home birth stopped feeling right. Along the way there were two episodes of reduced fetal movements, a sonographer who explained why an anterior…

E72 · 24 Sep 2026 · 38 min

Nicole: First Birth, IVF Conception, Ghost Pregnancy, Positive NHS Hospital Induction, Failed Epidural, Ventouse Delivery, Episiotomy, Breastfeeding Challenges, Hospital Readmission

Nicole is an Australian mum living in the UK who welcomed her daughter Rosemary after a long IVF journey. Her pregnancy was smooth until a late scan flagged Rosemary as measuring small, and Nicole was booked in for an induction at nearly thirty seven weeks. She leaned hard on hypnobirthing and a strict no contact with the outside world rule to stay calm through days of waiting in hospital before anything even started. Everything changed when Rosemary would not come down and Nicole ended up pushing alone for almost an hour before a doctor, who happened to be an old family friend, stepped in…

E71 · 22 Sep 2026 · 39 min

Steph: First Birth, NHS Hospital Birth, Preeclampsia, Gestational Diabetes, Induction, Failed Epidural, Dural Puncture, Failed Pushing, Emergency C-Section, Postpartum Haemorrhage, C-Section Infection, Birth Trauma

Steph is a first time mum from South Devon who spent her pregnancy hypnobirthing and hoping for a straightforward delivery. Instead she got appendicitis at fifteen weeks, gestational diabetes at twenty six weeks, and preeclampsia at twenty eight weeks. She was induced at thirty six weeks, and what followed was, in her own words, hell on earth. The turning point came hours into pushing, when a doctor and a midwife came in to examine her and realised she was not the nine or ten centimetres she had been coached to believe. She was eight, and her baby was stuck in the birth canal. What followed…

E70 · 17 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

Georgie: First Birth, NHS Hospital Induction, Coarctation of the Aorta Diagnosed at 12 Week Scan, High Risk Pregnancy, CVS Test, One Sided Epidural, NICU, Open Heart Surgery at 7 Days Old

At her twelve week scan, Georgie was told there was a problem with her baby's heart. The tests that followed gave her daughter a one to two percent chance of surviving the pregnancy. Georgie is a mum of two from London who shares her first birth story. Her pregnancy started with severe nausea that kept her housebound for weeks. Then at her twelve week scan, everything changed when the sonographer found signs of a heart condition. What followed was months of uncertainty, scans and waiting. The turning point came when specialists confirmed her daughter had a rare heart condition with a…

E69 · 15 Sep 2026 · 57 min

Gigi: First Birth, NHS Hospital Birth, Precipitous 3 Hour Labour, Pethidine, Ventouse Delivery, Gender Disappointment, Delayed Bonding

Gigi's labour moved so fast her body started pushing before anyone realised what was happening. Then the pethidine kicked in, and she was left alone in the room, unable to call out for help. Gigi is a mum of two from London, and this is the story of her first birth, her son Rupert. After an early miscarriage, her second pregnancy came quickly, though the nine months that followed were not easy. She had planned to ease gently into labour with hypnobirthing, but when it arrived the night before her booked induction, everything happened much faster than she expected. Contractions came every two…

E68 · 10 Sep 2026 · 39 min

India: Second Birth, Positive NHS Midwife Led Unit Birth, Four Hour Labour, 37 Weeks, Shoulder Dystocia, Healing Birth After Trauma

Four hours. That is all it took from her first contraction to holding her son in her arms. India is a yoga teacher, outdoor enthusiast and mum of two from the Kent coast. Her first birth left her with a 40 hour labour, a forceps delivery, and months of physical and emotional trauma to recover from. When she fell pregnant with her son on her very first attempt at trying again, she felt joy and fear in equal measure. This time she did things differently. She saw an osteopath and had weekly pelvic floor therapy before he was even born, working through tension her body was still holding from her…

E67 · 8 Sep 2026 · 54 min

India: First Birth, Hospital Birth After Miscarriage, Planned Water Birth, COVID Restrictions and Forceps Delivery

She had planned a calm hospital water birth after miscarriage, but gave birth during COVID restrictions with no birth pool, continuous monitoring, an epidural, forceps delivery, episiotomy, and a postpartum recovery that took far longer than she expected. India is a mum of two from Kent who shares her first birth with her daughter Maloo. After a miscarriage during lockdown, she fell pregnant again quickly and carried the anxiety of pregnancy after loss into a healthy pregnancy. She had prepared for birth with hypnobirthing, movement, breathwork and trust in her body, hoping for a hospital…

E66 · 3 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

Jazz: Second Birth, Positive NHS Birth Centre Birth, Home Labour, 12 Days Overdue, Low BMI, Self Advocacy, Membrane Sweep, Oral Morphine, Natural Tear

Jazz is a content creator and mum of two who shares her honest, informed take on birth. In this episode she shares the birth of her son Drew, a second positive birth in an NHS birth centre that started with hours of labouring at home. Twelve days overdue and booked in for another induction, Jazz went in ready to push back and buy her body more time. She never needed to. Her contractions started spontaneously the night before, and she laboured at home with her partner and his dad in the next room before heading to hospital already three centimetres dilated. This time she also knew how to…

E65 · 1 Sep 2026 · 52 min

Jazz: First Birth, Positive NHS Birth Centre Birth, 13 Days Overdue, Membrane Sweep, Full Labour Ward, Pethidine, Waters Broken, Birth Centre Transfer, Natural Tear

Jazz is a content creator and mum of two who has been sharing her life online for sixteen years. In this episode she shares the birth of her daughter Bluebell, a positive birth in an NHS birth centre after thirteen days overdue and a booked induction that never actually happened. She went into hospital ready to be induced, only to be told twice that there was no room on the labour ward. She stayed both nights anyway. When a consultant finally offered her a third membrane sweep, her body took over on its own. She went on to labour for hours in the water, get transferred to the birth centre,…

E64 · 27 Aug 2026 · 55 min

Kirsten: Second Birth, Planned NHS Home Birth, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Fast Labour, Physiological Water Birth, Fetal Ejection Reflex, Physiological Third Stage, No Stitches, Healing Birth After Difficult First Experience

She had been awake for hours, then asleep for two, when she woke up to the strongest contraction she had ever felt. Her waters broke. She looked at the clock. It was 4am, exactly when she had known it would be. Kirsten is an independent midwife who shares her second birth, a home water birth that gave her everything her first had not. Her second pregnancy brought hyperemesis again, a baby measuring on the 97th centile who turned out to be 6 pounds 12, and weeks of prodromal labour that stopped every single night just before she thought it was finally happening. When labour did come for real,…

E63 · 25 Aug 2026 · 53 min

Kirsten: First Birth, Planned NHS Home Birth, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Fast Labour, Hospital Transfer, Ventouse Delivery, Episiotomy Without Consent, Episiotomy Breakdown, Autism and ADHD

She planned a home birth and got one. Right up until she didn't. And what happened at the hospital, at the hands of a registrar who did not ask her permission, is something she eventually made a formal complaint about. Kirsten is an independent midwife, mum of two boys, and half Dutch, growing up in a culture where home birth is simply normal. Her first pregnancy was dominated by hyperemesis gravidarum so severe she lost 10 kilos and lived on potatoes and crisps for months. Nobody mentioned HG to her until she was 36 weeks, when a patient she was treating spotted it first. Labour began…

E62 · 20 Aug 2026 · 44 min

Rhianna: First Birth, Positive NHS Midwife Led Unit Water Birth, Gestational Diabetes, Five Hour Fast Labour, Guided Pushing, Early at 38 Weeks

Rhianna is a first time mum who shares a fast and positive NHS midwife led unit water birth. She was diagnosed with gestational diabetes late in pregnancy but stayed diet controlled throughout, with no concerns for her or baby Teddy. She spent months preparing with hypnobirthing, antenatal classes and online birth communities, hoping for a water birth with as little intervention as possible. When labour arrived two weeks early, it moved faster than anyone expected. Within fifteen minutes of calling the midwives, her contractions went from nothing to intense. By the time she reached hospital…

E61 · 18 Aug 2026 · 58 min

Bonnie: Two Births, Forceps Delivery, Missed Third Degree Tear, Postpartum Haemorrhage and NHS Birth Centre Water Birth with Gestational Diabetes

Bonnie went into her first birth with a detailed plan for a water birth. She left theatre with forceps, a missed third degree tear and a hemorrhage that was still waiting to happen at home two weeks later. Bonnie is a certified babywearing consultant, mum of two and originally from Hong Kong. Her first birth started with real promise. Contractions kicked off the day before her due date and progressed fast. But the hospital was too busy to admit her, so she spent hours pacing a corridor in established labour with nothing but paracetamol, only to be checked and found eight centimetres dilated.…

E60 · 13 Aug 2026 · 48 min

Lana: Two Births, First Birth NHS Hospital Birth, Meconium, Syntocinon Drip, One Sided Epidural, Baby Born Unresponsive, Retained Placenta, Postpartum Haemorrhage, Postnatal Depression, Second Birth Elective C-Section

Lana is a mum of two, a content creator and coach, who joins Georgia to share both of her birth stories. Her first labour with her son began with her waters breaking at forty weeks and three days, and what followed was thirty six hours that changed how she felt about birth completely. Meconium in her waters. A syntocinon drip that made the pain unmanageable. An epidural that only worked on one side. A baby born unresponsive after her pushing stage. Then a retained placenta that led to emergency theatre and a blood transfusion. It was the start of a postnatal depression that took months to…

E59 · 11 Aug 2026 · 53 min

Rebecca: Third Birth, Positive Home Birth, Ruptured Ovarian Cyst in Early Pregnancy, Over Ten Hour Labour, Cord Wrapped Around Neck, Managed Third Stage, Postpartum Constipation

Rebecca is back to share her third birth, another planned home birth in Devon after two positive home births before this one. She prepared exactly as she had before: hypnobirthing, positive birth stories, a supportive home birth team. Everyone told her a third baby would come quickly. It didn't. Labour lasted more than ten hours, far longer than either of her previous births, and nothing about it felt familiar. She needed her husband beside her in a way she never had before, had to change position to help her baby turn, and reconsidered pain relief she'd planned to avoid. When her son…

E58 · 6 Aug 2026 · 50 min

Rebecca: Two Births, First Birth Unplanned Home Birth, Sent Home at 2cm, Fetal Ejection Reflex, Retained Placenta, Second Birth Planned Home Birth at 42 Weeks, Declined Induction, Physiological Birth

Rebecca is a mum of three from Devon, and in this episode she shares the first two of her birth stories. She had planned a calm water birth at her local birth centre, complete with a hypnobirthing course and a positive mindset. Her waters broke at 39 weeks after an evening walk home from a prayer meeting, and what followed was a labour that moved far faster than anyone expected. Examined at two to three centimetres, she was sent home from hospital with instructions to come back for an induction that night. Within hours she needed to push, could not reach the midwives on the phone, and gave…

E57 · 4 Aug 2026 · 50 min

Jess: First Birth, Planned NHS Home Birth, Hospital Transfer, Meconium, Lost Fetal Heartbeat, Category 1 Emergency C-Section, Suspected Placenta Abruption

Jess is a first time mum from Cardiff who planned a home birth from the moment she found out she was pregnant. She did hypnobirthing, joined antenatal classes, and built a relationship with the midwife who ended up attending her labour. Contractions started at 40 weeks and 5 days, and she laboured calmly at home through the night with a birth pool, gas and air, and a TENS machine. After hours stuck at 5cm with a swollen cervix, she was transferred to hospital by blue light ambulance. Her waters broke naturally with thick meconium, and then her baby's heartbeat disappeared from the monitor.…

E56 · 30 Jul 2026 · 49 min

Erin: First Birth, NHS Hospital Birth, Induction, Reduced Fetal Movements, Malposition, Fetal Blood Sample, Emergency C-Section, Missed Miscarriage, Birth Trauma

Erin is a first time mum and veterinary nurse whose son's birth started with an induction at 37 weeks after two episodes of reduced movement, and ended up somewhere none of them expected. Days of gel pessaries barely moved things along, and once her waters were broken and a hormone drip started, her body reacted badly, bleeding heavily and sending her blood pressure spiking. Once that settled, her son turned out to be lying the wrong way, with staff losing his heartbeat on the monitor more than once, which led to a tense wait for a fetal blood sample before Erin went in for an emergency C…

E55 · 28 Jul 2026 · 31 min

Tash: Second Birth, Positive NHS Hospital Birth, Precipitous Labour, Waters Breaking at Home, Fetal Ejection Reflex, No Pain Relief, Born in 13 Minutes

Tash shares her second birth story, a precipitous NHS hospital birth that started with her waters breaking at midnight and ended just thirteen minutes after she walked through the doors. Tash is a mum of two. Her first birth with her daughter Betty was a positive NHS hospital birth with an epidural, though panic during her first contraction sent her hypnobirthing prep out the window. With her son Leo, her waters broke unexpectedly at midnight, days before a planned induction, and contractions came three minutes apart with no gaps from the very start. She talks about: A precipitous second…

E54 · 23 Jul 2026 · 34 min

Gabby: Third Birth, NHS Precipitous Vaginal Birth After Emergency C-section and VBAC, Postpartum Haemorrhage, Manual Removal of Clots

Gabby is an American mum of three living near Cambridge who comes back to share her third birth, after an emergency C-section with her first and a successful VBAC with her second. Labour started fast, in the shower, and she nearly gave birth in the car on the way to the Rosie Hospital. Her daughter arrived within minutes of arriving, but minutes later Gabby began to haemorrhage, losing nearly two litres of blood and needing a manual removal of clots, fully unmedicated. She was discharged the same day, without iron tablets. She talks about: A precipitous labour that went from the shower to…

E53 · 21 Jul 2026 · 48 min

Gabby: First and Second Births, US Emergency C-section After Failure to Engage, Miscarriage, Successful NHS VBAC, Hypnobirthing

Gabby is an American mum of three living near Cambridge. Her first daughter was born in Tampa, Florida after hours of pushing with no progress, ending in an unplanned C-section. After moving to the UK, she went through a miscarriage before falling pregnant again with her second daughter, throwing herself into hypnobirthing and Spinning Babies to prepare for a VBAC. When her waters broke in hospital, her daughter arrived in three pushes, completely unmedicated. She talks about: The US maternity system, a big baby, and being told her body might not manage a vaginal birth Miscarrying at home…

E52 · 16 Jul 2026 · 54 min

Rebecca: First Birth, Positive NHS Hospital Planned C Section, Maternal Request, Large Baby Worries, Consultant Midwife Support, Tongue Tie, Delayed Milk Coming In

Rebecca is a first time mum to Harry, and she chose a planned C section for her first birth. She had lived with health anxiety for years before she even got pregnant, and a family history of shoulder dystocia made the idea of a natural labour feel frightening rather than exciting. By her twenty week scan, doctors kept telling her the baby was measuring big, and that fear only grew from there. At twenty eight weeks she told her midwife what she wanted. The midwife questioned her. Everything changed when Rebecca met a consultant midwife called Hannah. She gave Rebecca two hours of pure…

E51 · 14 Jul 2026 · 1 hr

Jess: Two NHS Hospital Water Births, Miscarriage Journey, Hyperemesis, Stuck Coil, Episiotomy, TENS Machine, Retained Placenta, Second Degree Tear, Gender Disappointment

She had wanted a water birth from the beginning. She had worked with families around birth for 13 years. She thought she knew what to expect. And then labour actually started, and she learned what it really feels like to be in it. Jess is a mum of two boys from the Midlands who had two positive NHS hospital water births. Her first was a long one. She laboured through the night at home, got sent back from hospital at 1cm, returned a few hours later, and eventually got into the pool. She pushed for an hour before needing an episiotomy she had not seen coming. Her son shot out so fast the…

E50 · 9 Jul 2026 · 55 min

Jo: First Birth, Unexplained Infertility, Adoption Journey, Epilepsy and Chronic Kidney Disease, Consultant-Led NHS Hospital Induction, Five-Day Induction, Labour Stopped Twice, Forceps Delivery in Theatre, Episiotomy, Birth Trauma

Jo had been trying to conceive for years. She was told she had unexplained infertility. She decided not to do IVF. She decided to adopt. And then, completely out of nowhere, she got pregnant. Jo is a mum of two girls from the North of England who shares a story unlike any other on the podcast. Her family came to her in two completely different ways. Her eldest daughter was adopted at 11 months old. Her youngest arrived as a total shock pregnancy two years later, after years of being told pregnancy was unlikely. Because of her epilepsy and chronic kidney disease, Jo was in consultant-led care…

E49 · 7 Jul 2026 · 58 min

Monika: Two Births, First Hospital Birth, Birth Trauma and PTSD, Planned NHS Home Birth, Precipitous Labour, Born Before Arrival in the Shower, No Midwife or Doula Present, Husband Caught Baby

Monika is a mum of two from Bedfordshire who shares two very different birth stories. Her first was a hospital birth that left her diagnosed with PTSD. A midwife from out of area who had never been to the unit before, waters broken accidentally during an internal examination, hours of pain with no support, and a postnatal period full of flashbacks. She knew before she left the hospital that she would need help to process it. So second time around she did things completely differently. She hired a doula at six weeks pregnant. She researched home birth until it stopped feeling scary. She…

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Stephanie: Two Births, Emergency Caesarean and Positive NHS Hospital VBAC, Induction at 41 Weeks, Epidural, Back to Back Baby, Birth Trauma, Consultant Led VBAC, Labouring at Home, TENS Machine, Forceps, Episiotomy

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