British Birthing Stories

Georgia McGivern
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Kids & Family
  • Updated Weekly

A weekly podcast sharing real stories of childbirth in the UK, from labour and delivery to postpartum recovery. Mothers across the UK talk openly about their personal birth experiences, created to educate, inform, and empower women preparing for birth and the early weeks of motherhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1d ago

    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

    Steph’s first birth ended in an emergency caesarean after she’d pushed all the way to 10cm. Two years later she had the healing NHS VBAC she’d been quietly preparing for since before she was even pregnant again. Her first pregnancy was straightforward, but at 41 weeks she felt more and more pressure to be induced and eventually agreed. Labour started quickly after the pessary, then stalled once she had an epidural. By the evening she was pushing when her baby started to struggle and a consultant found he was back to back, with his forehead coming first. He was so low that the caesarean was difficult. Her incision tore, she lost a lot of blood and she was vomiting the whole way through. It was two and a half hours before she could hold him. Second time round she was consultant led and expecting a fight. She took the NICE guidelines and her old notes to her first appointment, and her consultant stopped her halfway through to say it sounded wonderful. Her waters went at 38 weeks, she laboured at home through the night with a TENS machine, and she arrived at hospital on all fours at 8cm. Her son was born an hour and a half later with forceps and an episiotomy, and went straight onto her chest for over an hour of skin to skin. In this episode we talk about: How pressure to be induced at 41 weeks and an epidural that stalled her labour shaped Steph’s first birthWhat a back to back baby meant for her emergency caesarean at 10cm, and the blood loss and infection that followedBeing consultant led for a VBAC on the NHS and why her consultant became her biggest championHind waters breaking at 38 weeks, labouring at home and arriving at hospital at 8cmWhy forceps and an episiotomy took nothing away from her healing VBAC The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. 3d ago

    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 centimetres and pushing. Her son was born weighing six pounds six ounces, and what followed was eleven days in hospital for jaundice and a really difficult start to breastfeeding, until a retired health visitor finally showed her and her partner what they'd been missing. Second time around, Alex went in with a plan. After reading about the ARRIVE trial, she and her partner chose a planned induction at thirty nine weeks so they'd have family lined up for childcare and he could be with her the whole way through. It still didn't go entirely to script. Her midwife wanted to start a hormone drip after two hours and Alex said no. Labour then stalled on an anterior lip, her baby's heart rate dipped, and an obstetrician stepped in with a ventouse. He was born six minutes later, weighing eight pounds eight ounces, with no tearing at all. In this episode we talk about: - What a precipitous, premature labour can actually feel like when you don't realise you're in it - The ARRIVE trial and why Alex chose a planned induction at thirty nine weeks - Saying no to a hormone drip and trusting her own body - What an anterior lip is and how it led to a ventouse delivery - Getting breastfeeding support right the second time, including tongue tie that never caused an issue The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Oct 8

    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, restless early labour, Lisa had 45 minutes of almost constant contractions, got in the pool, and her body pushed her daughter out in about five minutes. The midwife didn't make it and her husband called 999. Lisa believes she experienced the fetal ejection reflex. Her third labour started over a coffee with a friend and carried on quietly through church and a family dinner. She laboured downstairs on her own overnight and in the pool in the morning, then called out to the midwives as they arrived. Her daughter was born four minutes later, with no tear and a slow, rested recovery. In this episode we talk about: Declining the glucose tolerance test and monitoring her own blood sugars through pregnancyPlanning an NHS home birth after a third degree tear and a postpartum haemorrhageHow one home birth midwife and continuity of care changed everythingA birth before arrival in the pool, the fetal ejection reflex and a 999 callA calm third birth at home, no tear, and why she stayed in bed for a week afterwards The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. You can get in touch with Lisa and work with her here: Lisa runs a free monthly positive birth group in Wimbledon and anyone pregnant in South West London is always so welcome to join us (details on her website) https://www.doulaforyou.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/lisaharrisdoula/ British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Oct 6

    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 trial she was given showed that risk for diet controlled gestational diabetes. She moved hospitals and agreed a plan with a supervisor of midwives to use the midwife led unit until 42 weeks. After weeks of sweeps, monitoring and being told she was putting her baby at risk, she agreed to be induced at 42 weeks on paper. A pessary, her waters broken, then the oxytocin drip. When the drip was turned up she had pethidine and an epidural. After an hour of pushing on her back, a ventouse cup came off twice and her son was born with forceps. She had a third degree tear, three second degree tears, lost 1.2 litres of blood and was taken to theatre without her baby. In this episode we talk about: Being diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 34 weeks and what it meant for her home birth planA coercive consultant appointment, asking for the research, and finding a consultant midwife who listenedHow a due date moved forward by five days changed everything at 42 weeksWhat an NHS induction involved step by step, from the pessary to the drip, ventouse and forcepsA third degree tear, postpartum haemorrhage, no aftercare advice, and why she says she wasn't traumatised The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. You can get in touch with Lisa and work with her here: Lisa runs a free monthly positive birth group in Wimbledon and anyone pregnant in South West London is always so welcome to join us (details on her website) https://www.doulaforyou.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/lisaharrisdoula/ British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Oct 1

    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 Tea

    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 attempts because her back was so muscly. After three days with barely any sleep she went from 6cm back to 4cm, and she chose a caesarean. The spinal wouldn't go in, and rather than be put to sleep she told the team she couldn't feel anything on her right side. She could. Second time round Chloe spent ten months researching. She stayed with the Liverpool Women's home birth team, said no to an induction and a repeat caesarean, and laboured at her mum's house with her mum, her sister and her doula. Her waters broke over the birth ball with meconium in them. The midwife on call was stuck at another birth, so paramedics came instead. After two hours of her body pushing on its own in the pool, she was helped into an ambulance and her daughter was born round the corner in one go. A fetal ejection reflex, a 3C tear, and a baby who needed her airways clearing, which Chloe did herself. In this episode we talk about: Why induction felt like the norm at 23 and what Chloe wishes she'd questionedPethidine, a failed spinal and what it's like to feel part of your emergency caesareanPlanning an NHS home birth after caesarean (HBAC) under consultant led care, and saying no to induction and a repeat caesareanMeconium in the waters, paramedics instead of midwives and a fetal ejection reflex in the back of an ambulanceRecovering from a third degree tear and why Chloe found it harder than healing from her caesarean The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Sep 29

    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 placenta doesn't account for reduced movements, consultant appointments about continuous monitoring, and a breech scan at 30 weeks that hit her much harder than she expected. By 32 weeks her daughter had turned head down. Labour crept in over New Year. Three days of cramps, then back pain through the night after the bells, then contractions she only ever felt in her back. She got to triage at 5cm and laboured in the pool with a wireless CTG monitor. At 8cm, in transition, she was asking for a C section. While she waited for an epidural on Labour Ward, her body started pushing on its own and her daughter was born on the next contraction. Erin lifted her straight onto her chest, exactly the moment she'd pictured all pregnancy. In this episode we talk about: Planning a VBAC on the NHS after an emergency C section, and moving from the home birth team to a midwife led unitWhy an anterior placenta doesn't explain reduced fetal movementsUsing the birth pool with wireless CTG monitoring during a VBACBack labour, transition and asking for a C section at 8cmBirth reviews, accessing your maternity notes, and a 3A tear repaired in theatre The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Sep 24

    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 with a ventouse delivery and an episiotomy. What followed was an exhausting recovery, a battle to breastfeed that ended in an official complaint, and a terrifying moment days later when Rosemary was readmitted to hospital because she was not putting weight back on. In this episode we talk about: What it is really like to be induced and spend days waiting for a bed on the wardThe strange experience of a ghost pregnancy before her successful IVF transferPushing for nearly an hour before a doctor stepped in with a ventouse deliveryWhy she made an official complaint after her breastfeeding support fell shortBeing readmitted to hospital just a week after birth and what caused it This episode is for anyone who has ever felt dismissed while trying to feed their baby, or who is heading into an induction and wondering how on earth to stay calm. The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care. British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Sep 22

    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 was an emergency C-section where Steph could feel everything, a dural puncture from a failed epidural that left her unable to sit up or hold her own baby for days, and a birth so far from the one she had planned that it took her years, and a second birth, to make peace with.   In this episode we talk about: Getting an endometriosis diagnosis after years of being told her symptoms were normal, and conceiving naturally after being told she would need helpEmergency appendix surgery at fifteen weeks pregnant and being told what would happen to her and her baby if she did not have itBeing induced with gestational diabetes and preeclampsia and what the hormone drip really felt likeA failed epidural, a dural puncture, and the blood patch procedure that finally fixed it three days laterWhy there was no golden hour after everything she had been through, and how she turned her bitterness about the birth she did not get into research and advocacy  This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like their birth spiralled completely out of their control. Steph's story is proof that you can come through it and come out the other side an advocate for yourself and for other women. The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care.   British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery. These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Follow us on social: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube Want to come on the podcast? Get in touch and share your story here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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About

A weekly podcast sharing real stories of childbirth in the UK, from labour and delivery to postpartum recovery. Mothers across the UK talk openly about their personal birth experiences, created to educate, inform, and empower women preparing for birth and the early weeks of motherhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Georgia McGivern
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    79
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © British Birthing Stories
  • Show Website
    British Birthing Stories

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