According to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) healthy women should be provided with the necessary information to choose where they want to give birth, because the often stressful environment of hospitals are no safer for them than their own homes or a midwife-led unit would be. All four possible options for giving birth should be pointed out to them: hospital care, midwifery units in hospitals, midwifery units based in the community and at home. We’d like to hear from anyone who has recently given birth in the UK, either at home or in a hospital unit, and share with us what your quality of care was like. If you are giving birth in the next few months, we’d like to hear about how your care has been so far, and what kind of birth you are planning.
Do you feel you received enough information about the birth options available to you at an early stage? If you opted for a home birth, were there enough resources at your disposal? Alternatively what was your overall experience like if giving birth in a UK hospital unit, from the early stages to the aftercare? What kind of pain relief did you receive? Did you have an epidural or undergo a medical intervention like a caesarean? Whether you have recently given birth, or are due to give birth in the next few months, share your experiences about your care, both good or bad, with us. We will feature some of you stories in our reporting.
If you’d like to share your stories, fill in the form below. You don’t need to supply your real name, but please do leave contact details if you’re happy for us to get in touch.
