Quick Summary: A new study finds if childbirth is viewed as a natural process, women need less pain medication, are less likely to need a C-section, and have a more positive experience after birth. Weeks later, the mothers had lower levels of depression or post-traumatic stress. Want to find out…

Quick Summary: A new study finds if preterm babies receive higher quantities of breast milk whilst in neonatal intensive care, this was associated with reduced developmental and learning problems associated with being born preterm. In other words, very simply, human milk boosts brain development in preterm infants. Want to know more about the science of human milk? Come to our…

QUICK SUMMARY: A new systematic review of 6 randomised control trials found that compared to giving birth “on land”, women who have a waterbirth experience less pain, are less likely to need epidural or spinal anaesthesia, have shorter labour and overall, women were more satisfied with their birth. But how…

QUICK SUMMARY: A new study looking at the experience of 141 Irish women who gave birth both at home and also in hospital found that women scored their overall experience of home birth (9.7/10) much higher than hospital birth (5.5/10). In this blog-article, I explain why this matters for the…

Why do doulas, midwives, childbirth educators and other birth or breastfeeding professionals need to talk to expectant parents about the microbiome? Watch the replay of this training on this link >>> https://microbirth.teachable.com/p/23Feb — -> The science of the microbiome supports expectant mothers being microbiome-mindful during pregnancy, plus vaginal birth (when…

QUICK SUMMARY: A new study published in Nature reveals 8 amazing nuggets of knowledge about the gut microbiome, including this one: When you are 85 years old, you will still have strains of gut bacteria inherited from your mum. A new study reveals 8 fascinating things about the microbiome that…

Analysis from 46 leading experts finds that the foetus develops in a sterile environment. This means, there is a new consensus of scientific opinion that the initial colonisation of the infant gut microbiome STARTS during birth and in early post-natal life. In recent years, there has been endless debate in…

PARENTING: In this blog-post, Toni Harman asks are we routinely intervening in birth too early and too often? This was inspired by a new paper comparing gestational age and time of day women are most likely to give birth in 3 countries: the US, the Netherlands and England. What time…