Have you thought about your Birth Team yet? Who will be there to support you throughout labour and for your baby’s birth?
In this blog, I’m sharing a short profile of your care providers (aka the medical team) as well as the things that you will want to consider when choosing your Birth Partner(s).
Your Care Providers
Unless you decide to opt for a Freebirth (give birth to your baby without a midwife or doctor present), you will receive support from midwives throughout your pregnancy and for the birth of your child.
The UK maternity system is midwife-led unless your circumstances require additional expertise from an obstetric team. Here is an overview of the profile and role of your medical care providers.
Your Midwives
The word midwife means 'with woman'. Your midwives are the ‘guardians of normality’. They are your ‘what if’ person. Their expertise is – or should be - physiological birth. I know this might sound controversial but unfortunately, these days, undisturbed physiological births are rare, particularly within hospital settings.
Midwives in the UK are autonomous medically qualified professionals. They are highly skilled and trained to deal with all eventualities. The UK is in fact one of the world leading countries in terms of midwifery.
Independent Midwives (IMs)
Independent Midwives have the same level of training. The most obvious difference is that they have left the NHS system to work privately.
Some IMs have more experience in less usual births as parents tend to turn to them if they want independent advice when presented with a variation or a complication in their pregnancy.
Because continuity of care is now extremely rare within the NHS, some parents decide to hire an IM who will provide that continuity of care antenatally, for the birth, and/or postnatally.
Obstetricians
Obstetricians are Doctors with additional training in obstetrics. They are highly qualified and will generally be called when things veer away from normality (surgical or instrumental birth).
Obstetricians are experts is their field but it’s important to bear in mind that their views on birth tend to be medicalised. Research shows that if a healthy woman with a normal pregnancy gives birth attended by an obstetrician, she is four times more likely to have an intervention than if supported by a midwife at home. Many obstetricians have never seen an undisturbed physiological birth – their reality is that it is a medical event.
Your Birth Partner(s)
Now let’s talk about your Dream Team!
There is often an assumption that your Birth Partner should be the other parent. But I think that there should be a deeper reflection on who will be the best person(s) to support you in this very important time of your life. I have listed below six questions that you should be asking yourself when choosing your Birth Team. All of these questions are based on what’s needed to support birth physiology and to give yourself the best chance for a positive experience.
Who is the other expert in YOU? Who knows you better than anyone else?
Who knows best what makes you feel good?
Who will be best able to advocate for your birth preferences and needs?
Who will be best able to be help you feel calm and relaxed?
Who will be best able to protect your birth bubble, so you feel safe and protected?
Who would you like to share the decision-making process with if an intervention is being offered?
Here are the usual suspects:
The partner in life and/ or the other parent
A doula
A family member (mother, sister, aunt, etc.)
A close friend
Now, I recommend that you do the following exercise: copy the table below and add the names of the people who would be best able to support you for each question.
In the examples provided below, the ideal Birth Team would be the Partner, the Mother and a Doula. If you add your Partner's name for all the questions, then your ideal team would be you and you Partner.
Remember that you might feel as you read this that your Partner is not ready for a lot of what’s important in terms of support but you would really like your Team to be the two of you. This is totally fine and most likely achievable if you prepare for the birth together. My Hypnobirthing courses are designed to give them the tools they need to thrive in this important role.
Who is the other expert in YOU? | e.g. Partner |
Who knows best what makes you feel good (cheerful and positive)? | e.g. Partner + Best friend |
Who will be best able to advocate for your birth preferences and needs? | e.g. Doula |
Who will be best able to be help you feel calm and relaxed? | e.g. Mother |
Who will be best able to protect your birth bubble so you feel safe? | e.g. Doula + Partner |
Who would you like to share the decision-making process with if an intervention is being offered? | e.g. Partner |
Photos by Ash Blythe Photography 🌿