Well, this might just be the first time I'm really impressed by the UK’s NHS technology. Today I was sent a link to some new pregnancy software called the Pregnancy Desktop, which on the face of it looks pretty good. There's so much in the press at the moment about the poor state of IT projects within the NHS, that this little gem has been released completely under the radar of most news sources.

The new interactive Pregnancy Desktop application looks simple to use and allows you to follow your pregnancy week by week. The benefit of using this over and above similar facilities on other websites is that you don't get bombarded by adverts and sensationalised stories at the same time. Also, being a government initiative, the content will have been signed off in triplicate so you can be sure that it's the accurate NHS position on various topics.

The software covers antenatal care, finding out what to expect at the maternity unit, seeing what's happening in your body at every stage of your pregnancy and common health problems.

Hopefully this will help pregnant UK couples become more familiar with the processes and approach they will experience within the NHS and I hope too that this goes some way to the NHS standing by their current motto "Your health, your choices".

Once upon a time, pregnant women were revered as goddesses bringing the gift of life to a family and community. Statues of pregnant women were created, and women gave birth in Temples surrounded by caring female relations together with women who had already given birth. The woman felt supported, nurtured, cared for, relaxed and excited about her birth. Birth was considered a natural, beautiful and spiritual journey to motherhood. It's often talked about how far away we are from that now, but I've certainly started to feel as though a supportive community is beginning to grow. This community is online and it's called Twitter. Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows you answer the question, "What are you doing?" by sending short text messages 140 characters in length, called "tweets", to your friends, or "followers."

Unlike other online resources, when you sign up to Twitter you can choose who to follow. This is incredibly important and it is the key to creating your own personal community as you can control the type of people you surround yourself with. Compare this to magazines you may have been reading which document head turning, heart stopping stories which are more about sales that about truly supporting and nurturing a pregnant lady. On Twitter in comparison, as you jot down day by day what you are doing, any concerns you have and what you are feeling, you will receive supportive responses from people who have already given birth plus support from the countless experienced Doulas and Midwives who freely give advice. I too have responded to concerns posted by pregnant people both with advice and by recording downloads and posting them free on my website all available within a matter of days.

Why not also join me on Twittermoms, again, you can choose which communities you join and take part as much as you want too. They have some great communities on there both for when you are pregnant and afterwards, for example you could join the "Calm and Gentle Birth" community and read stories from women who have had great birth experiences. Once you have given birth you could join the "Potty Training" community and the popular wine tasting community where they actually have scheduled wine tasting events.

You could even take this one step further and blog about your pregnancy alongside using Twitter, a great example of this is the blog at www.hisboyscanswim.com "Tarzan" and "Jane" are both completely anonymous in their blog and on Twitter, they are sharing their pregnancy experiences and receive a huge amount of support from their followers (466 replies to their blog posts in 40 days and 4052 followers in Twitter!).

You may think that supporting someone remotely is somehow "less than" supporting them in person, but I can assure you that certainly form the supporter side I feel just as close as if they were in my living room. I've celebrated with people, laughed with people, lay awake at night thinking about how I can help people and also shed a few tears. This is exactly as it should be and although they may have to be virtual rose petals being thrown at the pregnant ladies feet, the sense of being supported and nurtured is as real as it gets.

To get you started, here's the link to Twitter and 10 great people to begin following:

1. Birthdownload (me!)
2. Savvydoula
3. Doulamama
4. LaMamaNaturale
5. Twittermoms
6. Crunchygoddess
7. AngEngland
8. Birthgoddess
9. Doulasurround
10. PeacefulDoulaAK

There are plenty more people you can add to your community, check out who I'm following or search for "Doula" for example.

I look forward to meeting you on Twitter.

Today I have had the wonderful opportunity of including Sheri Menelli’s wonderful eBook entitled : Journey into Motherhood: Inspirational Stories of Natural Birth into The Psychology Of Giving Birth Programme.

The aim of the Programme is to reframe peoples views of what birth can be like and this ebook completely supports that goal. It provides both inspiration and education. This guide to natural childbirth offers 48 personal accounts of labor and delivery without medication. Revealing the many options women have beyond birthing location, the testimonials offer insight into the joys, concerns, and realities of natural birth. From delivering at home with a midwife and hearing the right words from a hospital nurse at just the right moment to describing a combination of the Bradley method and acupuncture at a birthing center and discussing a child's birth at home in warm water, this resource combines personal insight with referential information. A glossary of terms and a resource guide to books, magazines, websites, videos, and CDs, and listings of childbirth classes and instructors nationwide are also included.

Here are some of the reviews of the book:

"...I highly recommend it." -- Gurmukh, Director, Golden Bridge Yoga and Author

"...these inspiring stories of natural childbirth show that childbirth can and should be safe, empowering and beautiful." -- Penny Simkin, founder of DONA and co-author of When Survivors Give Birth: Understanding and Healing the Effects of Early Sexual Abuse on Childbearing Women

"women and girls need to hear these stories and know that natural birth is full of magnificent, life-changing wisdom." -- Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

The book is currently on Amazon for a price of $13.46, but you get is absolutely free with The Psychology of Giving Birth Programme which is only $47.00 anyway!

Sheri has allowed me to include this ebook as she is committed to getting the message out there about how birth can be so different to a lot of people’s views. Thank you Sheri, firstly for writing the book and secondly for joining with me on the unique crusade to make a difference to birth days.

Generally, the reasons for being induced are based on medical grounds, such as being overdue (according to your estimated due date), waters breaking but no onset of labour, or a planned timing of labour due to complications. If being induced is suggested due to risks to mum or baby then I don't think anyone would argue, however stats from a Scottish audit of 17,000 births show that in 28% of cases, the reason for being induced remained unexplained.

In the UK, the commonest method of induction is the use of a gel containing prostaglandins to bring on contractions and start the labour process and although it is often not explained, the procedure is associated with an increased likelihood of further medical interventions, such as caesarean section. Being induced can result in contractions being alot stronger and this can cause women to be more tired as they progress thorugh labour, also if baby isnt ready to emerge, then labour can be prolonged. Saying that however, I have had quite a few ladies who have worked with me and been induced and through managing their breathing, supported by visualisations, they have managed to deliver naturally without any further intervention.

It is so important for mum and birth companion to be fully informed when making decisions about intervention. Only by asking the right questions and understanding the answers can you feel fully in control. The Birth Companion Guide (which I give away free when you sign up to my newsletter) has some really useful and simple tips on how to ask the right questions, also having a Doula present who knows exactly what you want can also really help.

I remember when I was 40 weeks and 1 day, I had an appointment just for a standard check up with my midwife. Now, based on me being a first time mum (and being particularly poor at being able to work out my EDD) I knew that it was likely that I would deliver a lot later than 40 weeks, but the welcome got from my midwife on that day surprised me. Before I had even had any checks she said "so now you're overdue, shall we do a sweep today?". I politely declined, but could see that as I continued to be overdue that further questions about intervention would continue to be asked of me. I decided that instead of choosing intervention at that point, I would give my body and baby the best possible chance of delivering at a time of their choosing. Your care provider will be able to give you plenty of suggestions for bringing on labour naturally, but the key thing I did was force myself to truely relax and visualise my birth so I knew I was completely prepared, with no physical or mental barriers outstanding.

If you would like to read more about the research which took place, please see this link to the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7833058.stm

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I absolutely love this video from Monty Python.

The interesting thing is that when this was produced back in the 1980's they were spot on in so many ways. One interaction in particular was very insightful of them:

MRS. MOORE:
What do I do?

DOCTOR SPENSER:
Nothing, dear. You're not qualified!

OBSTETRICIAN:
Leave it to us!

MRS. MOORE:
What's that for?

OBSTETRICIAN:
That's the machine that goes 'ping'.
[ping]

It can really help to see some level of humour in things which cause us anxiety and this short video clip is a great one if you have any fears of giving birth. I remember when my home birth turned into a hospital birth and I had to try and get into the back of our very small car that I really did find it amusing. We live opposite a hotel and it was a Bank Holiday so there was a line of people eating breakfast watching my attempts. Thinking of how it must have looked from their angle did make me laugh, I bet they are still talking about it too.

Changing what you are seeing into something which is amusing can have a huge impact on how we deal with a situation, whether it's imagining that spider wearing clogs and a top hat, the nasty teacher being on the toilet, or a hospital visit as a Monty Python sketch. By changing your experience in this way you are more in control, the experience will be reframed in your mind and your anxiety will be reduced.

Is there something which you are anxious about at the moment? When you think of it try adding a bit of comedy, speed it up so everyone voices go funny, make it go backwards and add a soundtrack. Really play with being in control of that experience. If you’ve heard of Benny Hill, the classic Yakety Yak soundtrack goes well!

If you have any more suggestions for things which have worked for you, I’d love for you to place a comment and share it with others.