Simon is a first time dad to baby Pip, and he tells the story of her birth. 

We get to hear about trying to conceive, supporting his wife Sammy through extra hospital appointments, falling asleep whilst timing contractions, dealing with tricky doctors, and the joyful moment that his daughter was born. 

He gives a lot of great insight into the first time birth process, and shares resources that he used. 

Carly is a doula, ante-natal educator and pregnancy yoga teacher. She has three children, one born in hospital, one in the birth centre and one at home. We have the pleasure of hearing from this experienced mum and birth educator about the birth of her third baby, Asa. She also gives her tips for a calm and positive birth experience, even if it all happens in fifty minutes flat! 

Hanny had a home birth with her first baby, daughter Sophs. For her second baby, baby Aidan, she felt she wanted to listen to her own intuition as a woman and a mother, which was telling her to free birth her baby. This is the story of how she made her choices, her research and the lovely winding birth of her son. Her doula Lauren tells the story from a different perspective, and we get to hear Aidan's birth story from the person birthing and the person observing. 

Statistically, doulas have been shown to lower the instances of cesarean sections, increase the instances of spontaneous vaginal birth, and shorten labours (statistics taken from Evidence Based Birth).

But what does a doula actually do, and how do you find one if you want to work with one? Mars Lord is a doula and activist, and joins the Birth Stories Podcast to help answer all doula related questions. 

Mars also talks about her birth activism, supporting Black and Asian women.  

(This podcast contains discussion of maternal death and stillbirth, very sensitively handled, but it may be a trigger for some listening.) 

Aurora tells us the story of her first baby, Rocco. Aurora lives in Denver, Colorado, but is originally from the UK. She met her husband and moved to Denver, where she got pregnant. She tells us the empowering story of her hospital birth, and navigating the ins and outs of the American system.