Listed here are invaluable contacts and organisations connected to childbirth. If you can't see an organisation that you think should be on this site please email me your link.
Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (AIMS)
An amazing organisation that has campaigned for better maternity services in the UK for over 40 years. Their website is a fantastic source of information which covers virtually every aspect of childbirth. If you don't want to trawl through the online articles individually to find specific information, please scroll to the bottom of the home page and use the google search engine.
AIMS also helps women who are experiencing problems with their local maternity services, so if you've encountered dificulties in any shape or form (a lack of service? a nasty midwife / obstetrician? bullying? misinformation? etc etc) please get in touch via the link above & receive some fantastic support & excellent advice immediately. (NB the Chair of AIMS, Beverley Beech, gives some of the best no-nonsense, practical advice I've ever heard & should be your first port-of-call if you uncover any kind of shoddy service).
Janet Balaskas is one of the most famous writers & supporters of normal birth in the UK. Janet's Active Birth involves yoga, movement and breathing techiques which can help you achieve the best positioning to enable your baby to pass through the birth canal. Janet Balaskas has also written a brilliant book on water birth - The Water Birth Book - which is the best source of information you can get your hands on if you were planning on labouring or giving birth in water. This website also gives you info on your nearest active birth class.
Association of Radical Midwives (ARM)
An organisation run by midwives committed to improving maternity care within the NHS. Good source of info.
Want to know the latest horror stats of intervention at your local hospital? Then click here - a great way to compare data from all the maternity and obstetric units in your area.
The Birth Trauma Association (BTA) was established in 2004 to support women suffering from Post Natal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or birth trauma. They are not trained counsellors or therapists or medical professionals. They are mothers who wish to support other women who have suffered difficult births and they aim to offer advice and support to all women who are finding it hard to cope with their childbirth experience.
Caesarean Birth and VBAC Information
Everything you've ever wanted to know about VBACs (vaginal birth after caesarean) & caesareans - researched based information to arm yourself with for your next appointment with your friendly Obstetrician.
The Cronkster! Legendarily famous & well-respected midwife who's birthed over 1,600 babies in her time. Left the NHS to set up Independent Practice in Chichester "because it was becoming increasingly difficult to practice woman-centred midwifery". Has written lots of articles & does lots of talks - she possesses a truly vast wealth of experience.
For Midwives, pregnancy & parenting & products. Brilliant website full of info & resources & even a free 'ask a midwife' service for all sorts of queries you may have connected to your pregnancy & birth.
Find a Doula here - research has proven that mothers & babies have better outcomes if their carers are people they know & trust. If you can't guarantee that you'll know the midwife who will attend you during labour, a Doula might be a good solution to the support problem.
Dr William Sears & Martha Sears RN
A lovely married couple who are parents to 8 children & believe in attachment parenting. It's not for everyone, but their relaxed attitude to babies & childrearing is a welcome breath of fresh air in the harsh days of Gina 'baby's day starts at 7am' Ford. Their philosophy is that you read their advice, then use your own common sense & take away whichever chunks fit in with your own style. The Baby Book also has fantastic sections on what to look out for in your child's development from 0 - 2 years & great safety & medical advice. They've written lots of other great books about breastfeeding & pregnancy - see their website or amazon for details.
The Grand-Daddio of normal childbirth - a visionary Obstetrician in the 1920s - 1950s who wrote an infamous book called 'Childbirth Without Fear', much of which is still relevant today (I've read it - it's absolutely fantastic). His basic premise is that fear and tension cause the labour pains in approximately 95 percent of birthing women. He termed this phenomenon "the fear-tension-pain syndrome of childbirth," and he believed that by eliminating the fear, women could return the uterus to its normal function, thereby eliminating the pain. Food for thought indeed, especially his strange name..
Everything you've ever wanted to know about Home Birth & normal birth compiled on one fantastic website.
HypnoBirthing - The Mongan Method
Hypnobirthing is a way of training your mind & body to cope easily with birth & is based on the works of Grantly Dick Read (see above). Marie Mongan is the lady behind it & many people who practice Hypnobirthing say they experience very little, if no pain whatsoever. Hypnobirthing is a method of birthing in its own right & although other hypnotherapy practitioners offer help with your birth, they shouldn't be confused with the specially trained & registered Hypnobirthing therapists. A course usually involves around 12 hours with your Hypnobirthing Practitioner (split over 4 or 5 sessions or an intenstive weekend), a book, a CD & daily practice.
Hippy Midwife in the US who wrote a very famous book - Spiritual Midwifery - back in the 1970s, which had a huge influence on women who wanted to birth outside of the hospital model norm. International Campaigner & Founder of The Farm, a birth centre in Tennessee. Big mates with (Lord) Marsden Wagner & had a birth position named after her - The Gaskin Manoeuveur, used when a baby gets stuck in the birth canal with shoulder dystocia. Kaftan wearing advised before you enter her sites. She's a good woman.
Independent Midwives Association (IMA)
Website for private Midwives who operate outside the confines of the NHS. This means you have to pay for their services, however, if you can afford it, they are an excellent choice to help ensure you get the birth you want. Includes a contact list of Independent Midwives in your area.
Maternity Services Liaison Committee
Local committees that act as a go-between with the general public, medical profession & NHS Trust to try to resolve maternity issues specific to most areas in Britain. Best do a Google search to find one in your area.
The Odent - his legendary status is up there with The Wagner, The Gaskin, The Kitzinger, The Cronk & The Dick-Read. For several decades Michel Odent has been instrumental in influencing the history of childbirth and health research. As a practitioner he developed the maternity unit at Pithiviers Hospital in France in the 1960s and '70s. He is familiarly known as the obstetrician who introduced the concept of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms. After his hospital career he practiced home birth. As a researcher he founded the Primal Health Research Center in London (UK), which focuses upon the long term consequences of early experiences. *** I know it's shameful, but I have only JUST got around to reading Odent's Primal Health book (June 06) & just want to say OH. MY. GOD. Every woman should read this before they even conceive - the first chapter's pretty heavy-going on the biology, but stick with it as it all makes perfect sense. WHY ARE HIS THEORIES NOT THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY AMONGST ALL MATERNITY STAFF & INDEED THE WESTERN WORLD??????????***
Provides support & information for people who have experienced a miscarriage.
Maggie Howell has produced some excellent hypnotherapy birthing CDs which can help enormously
throughout you pregnancy & labour - I highly recommend them.
National Childbirth Trust Pregnancy & Babycare
Includes details of your nearest branch.
For any medical queries relating to either yourself or your baby.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council is an organisation set up by Parliament to protect the public by ensuring that nurses and midwives provide high standards of care to their patients and clients. They govern the conduct, performance & ethics of midwives & are THE body to approach if you have any grievance against your midwifery care.
An excellent campaign trying to get the IMA's Community Midwifery Model into practice in the UK. Please go to this site & sign the petition if you want maternity care for all women in the UK to change for the better.
Another heroine of mine. She's a Californian midwife with huge dollops of wisdom & mountains of researched advice. I wish she could be my midwife.......
Royal College of Midwives (RCM)
The RCM is the only trade union and professional organisation run by midwives for midwives. It is the voice of midwifery, providing excellence in professional leadership, education, influence and representation for and on behalf of midwives. Good source of info about midwifery issues.
A group of Scottish doulas who have banded together to form their own network. If you'd like to hire the services of a doula, I advise you contact them as early as you can in your pregnancy as they're a rare breed in Scotland whose expertise in birth is in great demand! They currently cover Inverness, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Dumfriess & Galloway & their immediate surrounding areas.
Another legend in the world of normal birth. Frankly, what this woman doesn't know about birth, isn't worth knowing....I highly recommend all her books - see the reading page.
Twins & Multiple Births Association - support for parents of twins or more.
A site run by 2 midwives for women, midwives & anyone interested in creative birth & birth choices.
Very famous leading Obstetrician at 'Johnny & Lizzie's' or the hospital of St John & St Elizabeth's in London & author of 'Birth & Beyond'. Big mate of Balaskas & the Active Birth movement.