Pregnancy and Birth

Choosing who to support you at your birth is crucial to creating your best birth experience. You may want only your romantic partner beside you. Or you may want your mother, sisters, aunts, and friends present. Here are some ways to choose who will support you during birth.

For the rest of your life, your birth will remain in your memory. Your experience and your feelings about it in the future will be greatly influenced by the people who are by your side, offering love, support, and encouragement. It's crucial to give careful thought to the identity you wish to embody at birth. How to pick the ideal doula for you is explained here.

Postnatal depression – which affects a minority of both mothers and fathers to newborns – is still under-recognised and under-researched, while Britain’s crumbling healthcare system means more people aren’t getting the help they need. Eloise Hendy speaks to many on the frontline fighting for change.