Birth is one of the most memorable experiences in a parent’s life. We feel truly privileged to celebrate motherhood in Aotearoa with the stories of incredible women who have generously shared their birth journeys with us through interviews and raw but beautiful photography.
Here I was, strangely serene, lying in bed on this beautiful Monday morning having had intermittent contractions for the past few hours. I’d sworn off having babies after number three was born at a whopping 10’4” and I nearly bled out. Never again, I said
At 36 weeks pregnant, I was told that I would be induced the following week as our little man was estimated to grow to be 13 pounds at 40 weeks.
Woody Allen once said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Anyone who knows me knows I like to make people laugh, so in 2013 I did exactly as Woody Allen said
When my husband Martin and I first started dating, I told him in no uncertain terms that I didn’t want children. I was so afraid of the pain of childbirth
Nearly two weeks had passed since my due date, and at this point it felt like I had been pregnant for 100 years and was quite possibly going to continue to be pregnant for the rest of my life
After a difficult labour and birth which didn’t go as planned, one mum counts her blessings.
Here’s what we’re looking for in a story. Tell us in your own words 1. What the lead-up was like
Our pregnancy was a total surprise, but a welcome surprise! We didn’t know we were expecting until just about three months had passed, so we only had six short months to prepare to be first-time parents
Pregnancy complications meant that I was always going to have a C-section – but even my planned C-section didn’t go to plan
At 6am on a Saturday, I woke up to the first period-like pain I’d felt in 10 months. I was hardly sleeping anyway, due to being so huge
From the “pop” of my waters breaking to Jake being born, it was only four hours – and I was five days overdue!
When people ask me about my birth story, I always tell them not to let other people’s horror stories put them off
