birth and recovery

Where do you start when thinking about planning for your birth? as midwives we recommend you start thinking about your birth from 24 weeks, there are many things you need to think about:

• Ask questions - understanding what your choices are for your maternity care means that you can tailor your care to your specific liking or needs which can lead to a better experience for you
• Research into antenatal classes, and find the best experienced teacher who can help develop you and your partners knowledge and learning (normally start classes around beginning of the third trimester)
• Researching how to build a birth plan and what to include can help you prepare both physically and mentally, and can include things like types of pain relief, types of birth, birth positions, and so on.
• If you are having an elective C-section you can also plan for this too to tailor your needs but most importantly prepare for your recovery which can take longer than a vaginal birth recovery. Visit our how to prepare and recover from a C-section page to learn more.
• Prioritising your recovery, our midwives are passionate advocates for making time to recover as it can help you both physically and mentally through those early days and weeks.

The foundation for optimising your maternity care is to prepare for everything about labour, birth, life with a newborn and your recovery. There is so much information available, but where do you start? Starting to research antenatal classes from week 24 will give you plenty of time to find one that gives you the best evidence and advice. Part of your planning may also include building a birth plan and understanding what your choices are. Our midwives have created and collated lots of information and tips that will help you start thinking about what is right for you.

Its recommended that your antenatal classes are completed by week 36 of pregnancy.

With My Expert Midwife antenatal education and webinars you will be able to pick and choose what is right for you, from as little at £5 for a 60 minute webinar.

Preparing for the birth of your baby, especially your first, can be a confusing time. With so many different products on the market it’s difficult to know what you really need. So Lesley Gilchrist Co-Founder and Registered Midwife has put together her ‘expert hospital bag hacks’.

At My Expert Midwife, we have a collective 40+ years experience of pregnancy and birth, we know exactly what you’ll need for your labour and birth; and not just for you, but for your partner too. Let’s start with the practicalities. In labour you don’t want to have to think about anything other than your labour, so all our hacks make sure that it’s as easy as possible.

We recommend you hospital bag is packed by 37 weeks, this mini guide to packing your hospital bag will make sure you only take the things you need, why not also download our printable hospital bag checklist too.

For even more information on how to pack your hospital bag visit our dedicated resource page.

We often hear about how hard things can be physically and emotionally after childbirth, so we want to help you prepare for the realities of your postnatal recovery. Looking after yourself well post- birth will promote the recovery process. Regardless of the type of birth you have had, your body has done something amazing, but strenuous and now needs you to take extra care to help with the healing process. Your emotional wellbeing should also be nurtured by taking things more gently.

Here are some top tips and blogs written by our team of in-house midwives to help you prepare and recover.

Planning 30 minutes a day just for you will help:

• Build this time into your daily routine from the start.
• Ask your partner or a family member to spend a regular 30-minute time slot with baby.
• Take yourself for a lie down/ warm bath/shower or short walk - whatever helps you to relax best.
• Stick to this routine so you, your baby and your family expect it each day.

to learn more visit our 'how to prioritise your recovery' page

Preparing your perineum before birth can help stretch the skin and muscle and so reducing the risk of tearing or need for an episiotomy. Here are some tips on perineal massage that will help you get prepared for your baby’s birth:

• Start perineal massage at week 34 of pregnancy
• Find a perineal massage oil. You can use one specially blended and designed for perineal massage or an oil such as almond oil
• Make time to do this 3 or 4 times a week
• If you struggle to do this yourself, you can ask your partner to help
• For more information on why and how to do perineal massage visit our perineal massage page