The day you read this, 31 babies will be born at home in England and Wales. This is a small number compared with the 1,767 who will be born in hospital. But it is very likely that to have had a home birth will have meant the parents have struggled to achieve their choice of where to have their baby.
That’s why we are launching our first ever Home Birth Awards to raise awareness and honour it as a serious birth option for mums today. So, tell us your stories and there are lots of prizes to be won for midwives and mums!
About the awards
When
we decided to launch these unique awards our first port of call was to
a very special midwife who believes passionately in the advantages of
home birth and has delivered thousands of babies (celebrity births she
has attended include; Davina McCall, Stella Tennant, Doon MacKichan).
Caroline Flint, pictured right, said “I am so glad babyworld has thought
of this imaginative way to encourage home births. It’s so
important for women to have a choice during this most exciting adventure
in their lives, these awards will underline the importance of home births
and highlight the fact that there is another place to give birth – and
that’s at home.”
Caroline Flint has worked tirelessly for choice, continuity of care and
to create that special relationship between midwife and mum through her
work as founder of the first Birth Centre in the UK and in her capacity
as President of the Royal College of Midwives.
babyworld’s own home
birth forum is always humming with discussion about how to tackle
the professionals who often put obstacles in the way.
Lonnie Fletcher, the home birth forums moderator, is also passionate
about home birth having had two herself, she says, ” I moderate home birth
because I believe that people should have support to get the sort of birth
they want and far to often that doesn’t happen. And I like showing them
how to be assertive and where they can get the facts to stand strong against
the people who are supposedly meant to be helping them but are not in
fact doing so.”
So, why is a home birth worth fighting for? For a mother and a midwife
the power of having a home birth in which the rhythms of a woman’s body
in labour are honoured and waited on, and where birth is focused on the
people instead of the mechanical processes, is an intense experience that
brings life-long satisfaction.
However, our confidence in the normality of birth has been slowly eroded
and the majority of women give birth in hospital. Even the government
is now challenging the assumption that the safest place to give birth
is in hospital. The Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, announced in May
that “doctors will be told to offer all pregnant women the chance to deliver
their baby at home with the help of a midwife and their own choice of
pain relief.”
For the few who experience home birth it can be literally life-changing
for mum and midwife, as midwife Nicky Menzie, said after she experienced
home birth for the first time “I re-learnt the skill to trust and follow
the mother’s instincts and rediscovered my love for my profession. Things
could never be the same again!”
In launching our first ever Home birth awards we want to increase
awareness of home birth and honour it as a serious birth option for mums
today.
The result of these awards will be to open it up to all to see that women
who choose a home birth are not airheads who want to dance in the meadows
with daisies in their hair! They are normal parents like you and me. They
accept that birth can be difficult or easy, painful or pain-free, long
drawn out or swift but it need not be a medical event.
Central to the success of a home birth is the midwife, which is why the
focus will be on the midwives who have made this intense experience so
special for many families. She can bring to women and their partners the
very best experience they can possibly have during their pregnancy and
labour by ensuring that she is in tune with the needs of the mother and
her partner.
As one babyworld mother put it “the midwife you have can make
an enormous difference to your experience of birth.”
Our panel of judges :
Caroline Flint is founder and Director of the first private Birth
Centre in the UK
She is the past President of the Royal College of Midwives, and has been
a midwife for 28 years. Caroline is the author of five books for midwives
and she has written over 300 published articles. She is regularly called
upon by the media and government to comment on midwifery issues. She is
an Honorary Professor at Thames Valley University.
Steph Neuman Editorial Director babyworld.co.uk has launched and
edited magazines and websites for parents and parents-to-be for the last
20 years. She is also a registered nurse.
The Prizes
For mum and midwife
Champneys
2 night stay with treatments for two people
You and your guest could win two nights of spa heaven at any one
of our resorts. The lucky winner and their guest will have two nights
of luxurious accommodation, all meals, unlimited use of facilities and
a Champneys Body massage and a relaxing facial each!
Champneys Health Resorts offers a selection of the premier health resorts
across the United Kingdom. A visit to any of our resorts provides relaxing
treatments, healthy cuisine, exceptional spa facilities and our famous
friendly service. Champneys wealth of experience from our dedicated staff
to the latest spa innovations have created a collection of resorts unrivalled
in luxury and beauty. Choose from the modern Champneys Springs in Leicestershire,
the enchanting Champneys Forest Mere in Hampshire or the cosy Champneys
Henlow in Bedfordshire. For more information about Champneys contact 08703
300 300 or visit www.champneys.com 
- £50 Laura Ashley voucher
A lovely opportunity to browse round Laura Ashley and choose something
for yourself! Click
here to locate your local LA. - Laura Ashley scented candle worth £8
Boxed candle with fresh and fruity fragrances: winners will receive
one of the following scented candles:
Wild fig and pear
Lavender basil
Rhubarb and vanilla
Baby blooms silk socks bouquet
Luxuriously soft ladies silk trouser socks, subtly woven with butterfly
logos. Creatively formed into the shape of a flower bud and presented
with velvet leaves to resemble long stemmed rosebuds. Presented in a
satin lined silver roe box which is tied with silver ribbon, making
a stunning gift which is also practical and extremely comfortable.
For mum:
Bedroom
in a box
£300 towards bespoke children’s nursery furnishings.Create
a beautiful bedroom with the help of a specialist from Bedroom-in-a-box.Find out more at www.bedroominabox.co.uk
- £50 Laura Ashley voucher
- Laura Ashley scented candle
- Baby blooms silk socks bouquet
For mum and midwife
Midwife:
- £25 Laura Ashley voucher
- Laura Ashley scented candle
- Baby blooms silk socks bouquet
Mum:
- £25 Laura Ashley voucher
- Laura Ashley scented candle
- Baby blooms silk socks bouquet
5 Runners-up
Midwife:
- £25 Laura Ashley voucher
- Laura Ashley scented candle
Mum:
- £25 Laura Ashley voucher
- Laura Ashley scented candles
PLUS
First 100 entries will get a Laura Ashley scented candle
How to enter
Families may nominate an individual midwife or a team. The synergy between
the mother, her family and midwife is paramount, midwives can make an
enormous difference to a birth and it is this special relationship that
we are looking to celebrate that can leave lasting and special memories.
Tell us about your home birth and why you think your midwife or midwifery
team deserves this award in around 500 words. Email your story to homebirthawards@babyworld.co.uk
Key points that the judges will be looking for in your stories:
- How secure and happy the mum-to-be is
- The special relationship between midwife and mum
- The relationship between midwife and other members of the family
- How the partner is involved
- How siblings, if any, are involved
NB Please ensure you include contact details with your story : Your
full name, address and contact phone number, the midwife’s name and place
of work to homebirthawards@babyworld.co.uk
Closing date for entries is 5th November 2006
By sending us your story you are giving babyworld permission to publish
it on the babyworld website and for other potential publicity without
prior notification.
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