The pregnancy and birth journey is crowded with decisions about yourself, your baby and your care.

Birth planning is an excellent way for you to communicate preferences about your care during birth to your caregivers.

Pregnancy and birth are a period of immense physical, emotional, spiritual and financial change and for some, this can trigger existing mental health difficulties, whilst others may find themselves experiencing mental health challenges for the first time.

The postnatal period is also known as ‘the fourth trimester’. The time in which your baby is learning how to be a separate entity from you, and the time for you to recover from birth and begin to get to know your new baby.

Birth can be transformative. It can be filled with joy and power, bathing the body with oxytocin and endorphins in readiness for mothering. It can also be disappointing, unpredictable and in some cases traumatic.