Are water births easier?They can be. 'Water helps you stay relaxed,' says midwife Louise Adams. 'It triggers your natural painkillers and helps you get into the best position for your baby to descend into the birth canal.A Swiss study in 2000 found you are less likely to require ...

How can hypnotherapy help you cope with labour?'Hypnotherapy can help with the birth experience on a number of different levels. It can teach and help the expectant mother how to distress and relax. It can boost her confidence levels and dispel any

There’s no denying that a vaginal birth will leave you sore and swollen. But the reality is rarely as bad as you imagine, and the good news is there’s a lot you can do to help the healing process.BLEEDINGPost-birth bleeding, or lochia, normally lasts for around four weeks, becomi...

Tracy-Anne tells her birth story: On Monday December 8th I called the hospital as I had not had any movement for a few days. I had a flu virus for over a month and was feeling really poorly and had been wetting myself with the coughing.I was told that my waters had gone some time...

You may be wondering how to approach your next birth more positively after a bad labour experience the first time.There is no reason why a second birth cannot be far more positive.If you feel traumatized becuase of medical problems during the first

have a normal vaginal birth. Think about labour positions you are happy with and make sure your birth team understands your limitations. Write a detailed birth plan and make sure your birth partner will speak up for you once you are in labour

the third stage of labour - delivery of the placenta. Natural delivery of the placenta is generally not recommended with a multiple birth because of the increased risk of bleeding with a larger placenta. An injection of Syntometrine will contract the uterus

Almost a third of women say their experience of childbirth is ‘traumatic’, and as many as 15,000 mums develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childbirth every year. If you found your baby’s birth difficult or shocking, you may have been told that you should be gla...

of any infection to my baby due to my waters breaking early.This and being monitored, made it difficult for me to move around and Alfie was actually back to back which made my labour really uncomfortable. About 2am, I just couldn't cope with just gas

, Melissa revealed that the labour process never gets easier: “There is no easy way to bring a baby into this world."However, this time around her musician husband, Mark Wilkerson, played a larger role in the delivery room: “This birth was very exciting