One Born Every Minute

One Born Every Minute is one of my few 'must watch' TV shows. There are some truly inspirational women and others that are just funny until the moment that the baby is handed to them and then suddenly, all the fuss they had been making is forgotten as they become totally lost in the moment of meeting their newborn for the first time. I will invariably feel the prickling of tears and if I happen to be holding one of my own babies, I will hug them a little tighter remembering the special day when they came into the world. I also feel a tiny stab of sadness that I will never again experience first hand that most incredible of journeys.

With five girls of my own (two of them in their twenties), I think it is a given that it is only a matter of time before one of them finds themself with child and has to prepare for that moment when the inevitable happens - labour and birth. I have been wondering what advice I can give them when that day comes and this is it:

Your body is about to do something amazing. Even as it is happening it is hard to visualise exactly what is going on. You have to trust that your body knows what it is doing even if your mind struggles to comprehend.


There is much to fear.  Will you make a fool of yourself? Will you cope with the pain? Will you know what to do? Will the baby be OK?


You must put your fear to one side.


Find a happy place in your mind where you can allow your body to work it's miracle. Feel the joyous hurt and know that tissues are stretching and accommodating and making possible.

Although this seems to last for an unendurable eternity, it is only a tiny moment in time. It will end and when it does, you will be changed forever in ways you never imagined. You will be a mother.

1988

2008

2008

2010