Natality

Essential websites 

Association for Improvements in Maternity Services

AIMS are a campaigning group, well worth reading the website and joining them if you can. A fantastically well-informed, passionate group of individuals.

National Childbirth Trust

Biggest birth and parenting charity in the UK. They have excellent childbirth classes and free breastfeeding counsellor suppport. I have to declare a bias here as I work and volunteer for them but JOIN THEM they are great. Doing NCT classes and becoming a volunteer and then a specialist worker changed my life.

Waterbirth Pool Hire

I'm not being paid for this link, I include it because Amy who owns and started the firm is a fellow antenatal teacher and she is FANTASTIC. Like me, she wants everyone to have the best birth that they can have and so she's on a campaign to make waterbirth affordable for every woman.

Birth Pool in a Box

The sister company to The Good Birth Company, these guys went out and got a custom made pool designed and made for people who want water birth but as cheaply as possible.

Homebirth Reference

This is brilliant, should be declared a national treasure. Angela Horn is a brilliant researcher and the things she has collected and analysed here are worth a fortune but all free to you. There's a freat email support group you can access from here too.

Association of Radical Midwives

This is the website full of the wisdom of wonderful, passionate midwives. People who do the job because they believe in birth not to draw a pay cheque. The archives are fantastic too - read what the best in the business think and learn about best practice. Another one with a really good email list attached to it - where else can you talk to the creme of the midwifery profession for nothing?

Independent Midwives Association

I actually believe that the finest quality midwifery care, one to one and with the same person for the whole of pregnancy and beyond, is a basic human right. So do all of these people. Sadly, the NHS doesn't allow them to practice this way. Even if you think you can't afford it, have a good like at this site. We couldn't afford one either but actually, when push came to shove (groan!) I decided that my mental and physical health didn't have a price tag.

One Mother, One Midwife

This is a campaign that deserves much more publicity than its currently getting. Mothers and midwives uniting to campaign for what the research shows every woman needs.

VBAC and Caesarean Info

Written by Gina and Debbie, my fellow VBAC support co-ordinators, a well researched, motherfriendly website. Has fantastic support group too, these guys got me through my VBA3C.