An afternoon filming + a great reminder that equipping yourself for parenting is not an indulgence..

So this afternoon Laura and I spent a genuinely lovely afternoon chatting & laughing with Danielle & Chloe (more about who & why later!). After the initial stiltedness that always comes in front of the camera, we settled into filming segments about why we set up The Good Birth Practice, Hypnobirthing, writing Birth Plans that work, why you might choose a birth doula, and how post-natal doulas are different to nannies.

We drank tea, made funny faces at babies and laughed. And I was reminded how important it is for us to get out there and talk to people.

Danielle and Chloe both have young babies, and so their experience of pregnancy, birth & new-motherhood is super fresh - the highs as well as the lows. Seeing them light up when we talked about how important it is to be empowered to be flexible, to write birth plans that release you to make the right decisions on the day (rather than fixing you to a particular idea of your 'perfect birth') was just so inspiring. I was reminded that no matter how many times you've been a mother before, no matter how bright, independent, self-confident & bold you are, motherhood is full of complexity and anxiety.

It was a good reminder to me not to fall into my own little bubble. On the socials I follow all manner of positive birth-ers & lots of my time is spent with either birth workers or women who are making sure they get better than is currently on offer. Today was a good reminder that not everyone has access to all this inspiring positivity, and so it's really important that Ruth, Laura and I keep talking, keep posting, keep offering free meetings (Positive Birth Movement, anyone?) and sharing all the practicality, positivity & Top Tips we have at our finger tips.

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