About Our Birth Reflections Service
Many women leave birth with unanswered questions, difficult memories, or unexpected feelings. Whether your experience was confusing, frightening, or distressing, our birth reflection sessions provide gentle, confidential support to explore your story at your own pace.
You will meet with two highly experienced midwives, specialists in reflective birth work, who will guide you through:
- What happened during your birth
- Why certain clinical decisions were made
- How these events may have affected you emotionally
All sessions are held in a calm, non-judgemental environment to ensure you feel heard, validated, and supported.
Supporting You Through Your Birth Reflection
Your birth experience can stay with you long after your baby is born. Whether your birth was positive, unexpected, difficult or left you with unanswered questions, having the opportunity to talk through what happened can be an important part of understanding and processing your experience.
If you have questions about your labour or birth, would like to understand why certain decisions were made, or simply want the opportunity to talk openly about your experience, a Birth Reflections consultation can provide a safe, confidential and supportive space to be heard.
A personalised Birth Reflections appointment can help you review your maternity records, understand what happened during your labour and birth, discuss any concerns or unanswered questions, and gain greater clarity and reassurance about your experience.
Lisa Baker
Tracy Denmade
5 Star Experience
“After my birth, I had so many questions about what had happened and why certain decisions were made. I found myself going over the experience repeatedly and wished I had a better understanding of my birth.
The Birth Reflections appointment gave me the time and space to talk through everything in a supportive and non-judgemental environment. Having someone explain my maternity records and the decisions made during my labour helped me understand my experience in a completely different way.
I left feeling listened to, reassured and much more at peace with my birth experience. I’m so grateful for the compassionate support I received and would highly recommend Birth Reflections to anyone who feels they need answers or simply wants the opportunity to talk through their birth.”
Charlotte M
What is Birth Reflections?
Participating in a birth reflection can significantly improve your emotional wellbeing.
Many women report:
- Improved Confidence for Future Pregnancies – Gain insight that helps you make empowered choices moving forward.ns.
- Greater Healing & Closure – Understand your birth events, reduce anxiety, and support emotional recovery.
- Clarity About What Happened – Step-by-step explanations of decisions, interventions, and outcomes using your maternity notes.
- Validation of Your Feelings – Safe space to express emotions without judgement.
Who is Birth Reflection for?
Our service is suitable for women who:
Experienced a difficult or traumatic birth
Felt frightened, unsupported, or unheard during labour
Had emergency caesareans, instrumental births, postpartum haemorrhage, or unexpected outcomes
Experienced induction or interventions that felt overwhelming
Felt disconnected from their birth experience or struggle with memories
Want reassurance or understanding before a future pregnancy
What Happens in Birth Reflection Service?
During your birth reflection consultation, you can expect:
- A warm, supportive, non-judgemental environment
- Review of your birth notes together
- Clear explanation of events and clinical decisions
- Space to share thoughts, feelings, and questions
- Practical guidance for emotional recovery and future pregnancies
- Options for follow-up or additional support if needed
You Are Not Alone
If your birth wasn’t what you hoped for, you deserve the opportunity to understand, process, and heal.
Our Birth Reflections Service is here to guide you with compassion, professionalism, and personalised care.
Support for Traumatic Birth & New Mothers
A difficult or traumatic birth can have an emotional impact long after you and your baby have returned home. You may experience anxiety, low mood, intrusive memories, fear around another pregnancy or birth, difficulty bonding with your baby, or simply feel that you need someone to talk to.
The organisations below provide trusted information, peer support and resources for parents experiencing birth trauma, postnatal mental health difficulties and the challenges of early parenthood. They can be useful alongside the care and support provided by your healthcare team.
Provides information and support for parents who have experienced something distressing or traumatic during pregnancy, birth or the postnatal period. Their resources aim to help parents understand birth trauma and find appropriate support.
The NHS provides information about endometriosis symptoms, diagnosis, investigations and treatment options, including when to seek medical advice and how endometriosis may affect fertility and everyday life.
Provides perinatal mental health peer support from trained volunteers with their own lived experience. Support is available for parents experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties during pregnancy and up to two years after birth, where the service is available locally
Provides information and support for parents experiencing perinatal mental health difficulties, including postnatal depression, anxiety and other emotional challenges during pregnancy and after having a baby. The NHS also signposts PANDAS as a source of information and support for parents affected by perinatal mental illness.
Provides information and support around pregnancy, birth and life after having a baby, including mental health and emotional wellbeing. Tommy’s specialist midwives can also provide support and information to parents
Frequently Asked Questions
A Birth Reflections appointment provides a safe and confidential opportunity to talk through your pregnancy, labour and birth experience with a healthcare professional. It can help you understand what happened, why certain decisions were made and answer questions you may still have.
Birth Reflections can be helpful if you feel confused, upset or disappointed about your birth experience, particularly if your labour or delivery did not go as expected. It can also be helpful if you experienced an emergency intervention, caesarean birth, assisted delivery, complications or simply feel that you have unanswered questions.
Where appropriate, your maternity records can be reviewed as part of the consultation. This can help provide a clearer understanding of what happened during your pregnancy, labour and birth and the clinical decisions that were made..
Yes. Having the opportunity to talk through your experience and understand what happened can be helpful after a distressing or traumatic birth. Birth Reflections is not a substitute for specialist psychological or mental health treatment, but it can provide an opportunity to discuss your experience and identify whether additional support may be helpful.
Absolutely. You may have questions about why an induction, assisted delivery, caesarean section, medication or other intervention was recommended. A Birth Reflections appointment gives you the opportunity to ask questions and have these decisions explained in a clear and understandable way.
Yes. There is no requirement to arrange a Birth Reflections appointment immediately after giving birth. You may seek support weeks, months or longer after your baby’s birth if you still have questions or would like to understand and process your experience.