Home Birth Canterbury

03/08/2025

This is the lovely speaker for our August meet up (tomorrow night!). Come along if you want to learn a little bit about natural fertility.

Monday 4th August 2025
156 Pages Rd, Wainoni
7:30pm
All welcome!

03/08/2025

Really sad numbers from national statistics from 2023.

29/07/2025

Posting on behalf of a Methven mama who is due on Boxing Day and is planning a home birth.
She hasn't been able to find a midwife to support her for a home birth in Methven around the Christmas/New Year period.

If you are a midwife who'd be willing to take on this mama, or know of someone, please get in touch with Home Birth Canterbury or tag the midwife on this post.

Thanks!
Bonnie

24/07/2025

Keen to share your birth story?

We would love to be able to post more birth stories on our page and on our recently updated website. Photos would be amazing to include but not essential.

Email your birth story to info@canterburyhomebirth.org.nz or private message this page!

If we have previously shared your birth story on our page, let me know if you'd be happy for us to reshare it and/or post it on our Birth Stories page on our website.

We love reading the beautiful stories of our home birthing intending whanau!

23/07/2025

20/07/2025

A lovely birth story shared with Home Birth Canterbury by a local mum, Sarah.

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When I fell pregnant with my first baby, I was straight away leaning towards a Homebirth. I chose Rata Midwives and as things went on, I became confident that Homebirth was for me. In the end, after a long and very mobile labour at home (My poor husband walked back and forth around our bed with me for 8 hours straight) we found out that my beautiful boy thought birth was more like a waterslide and was trying to come out foot first. This birth ended up as a transfer and after 56 hours from start to birth, my Louie was born via cesarean.

3 years later I fell pregnant again. Having had a birth experience already, I knew right away that I would want to labour at home. Despite knowing in my heart that I wanted to be at home, I was a little nervous now being someone with a birth label of trying for a VBAC. My midwife was amazing and I truly felt that she believed in me. Her confidence that I would be at home for this birth was so helpful when I had wobbles or fears.

I went into labour around 1:30am and managed to sleep between contractions for a couple of hours. Once I couldn't sleep, I climbed out of bed and set myself up in the lounge with the fire on and my pillow on the couch to lean on. I wasn't up long before my husband came out to check on me. Around 5am my husband started to set up the pool and soon my 3 year old, Louie, woke and wanted to come and help too. I was going between all fours, kneeling while leaning on the couch and on the toilet while my boys set up and filled the pool for me. I vomited a few times and my labour felt like my body was working hard already.

Although we had talked a lot about it beforehand, Louie said he was a little worried seeing me in labour. We reassured him and he really seemed to accept that it was a good thing and that I was ok. He said to me "Mum, I love you even when you're in labour."

About 7:30am I was feeling like I was needing my husband to be able to focus on supporting me so Louie got picked up to spend sometime with his grandparents. I had the tens machine on and my husband kneeling with me. After a couple of hours we asked the midwife to come.

An hour after the midwives came they asked me if I wanted to get into the pool. The water felt so lovely to climb into. Really soon my contractions changed to pushes and I felt like my body was just getting the job done without any conscious effort from me. I was in the pool for about an hour and just before lunchtime, I pushed out my beautiful new baby boy, Sutton. It was amazing reaching into the water and lifting him up onto my chest myself. I couldn't believe it. I had had an HBAC just as I had hoped and I was holding my wee boy, Sutton, in my own lounge.

I had a moment in the pool where I felt so 'held' by my care team. Holding onto my husband with my two midwives and student midwife surrounding the pool just holding my space. I felt so empowered. My whole birth felt like my own. Supported but not directed.

Soon I was on the couch eating toast and breastfeeding. Louie came home and we spent the afternoon as a new family of 4.

I want to say a huge thank you to midwives in general for the work you do. And in particular, a huge thank you to my midwives from both births, Kirsten Read, Candice Milner, Sheena Ross and Mihirangi. What an amazing job you do to give up so much of your lives to help others with such an important part of theirs.

If you're reading this as a mum preparing for birth and you have any questions or want more details about my experience, I'm happy to share. Sending you strength for your birth too xx

14/07/2025

Have you heard about Birth Trauma Awareness Week before? Head on over to Birth Trauma Aotearoa. ♥️

Welcome to Birth Trauma Awareness Week 2025!

This week, across Aotearoa, and internationally, people are acknowledging birth trauma, starting conversations, continuing kōrero, sharing stories, information and support 💙
We’re collectively calling for change to the unacceptably high rates of birth trauma, as well as improvement in support following it.

This year, we’ve teamed up with Birth Trauma Australia to share the theme of “This is birth”.

This theme acknowledges the many different birth experiences that can occur, it celebrates the diversity of birth and reminds us that there’s no “right” way to birth, just right for us and our whānau.

“This is birth” also affirms that the most important thing is that Māmā, birthing parent and whānau are safe, respected, empowered, informed, listened to and supported.

This week, we’ll be sharing posts around this theme – keep an eye on our social media pages to follow along.
Facebook: birthtraumaaotearoa
Instagram: birth_trauma_aotearoa
LinkedIn: Birth Trauma Aotearoa

We’re mindful you may find this week triggering – please take care and go gently, remember it’s OK to step away or stop following for a while.

This week, we’re also encouraging people to get involved in ’50 for 50, for birth trauma awareness’.
Our 50 for 50 campaign is in it’s 3rd year and we’d love for you to get involved 💙

50 for 50 invites you to do 50 of something, over awareness week, as a way to acknowledge the birth trauma community and call for better birth trauma prevention and support.
How you get involved is up to you – take a look at our other posts for ideas.

If you do get involved, we’d love to hear about it!
Please email or tag us and use the hashtags:

10/07/2025

Not our usual content but I happened to see this video and thought it was really beautiful how instinctively the mother moves into different positions and shifts her body around as the baby descends and births. I'm sure many of us wish birth was as easy as it seems on this occasion... maybe you should consider giving birth while hanging off a jungle gym?? 🤣 - Bonnie

08/07/2025

Kia ora Home Birth Canterbury whanau

Our lovely pool & califont hire volunteer Michelle is stepping away from doing this. We are now actively on the lookout for someone to take the role on.
It is about 5-6 hours per month of volunteer time along with needing some storage space in a garage/shed or large cupboard in your house for the pools and califonts.

We really want to continue to offer hiring pools and califonts but may need to look at stopping for a while if we can't find someone who has the desire to take this on. :/

🤷 How can you help us continue to hire this much needed equipment?

✅️ Please share this post far and wide to people in Canterbury!

✅️ Message our page or email info@canterburyhomebirth.org.nz if you'd like to chat about what it could look like for you to help us out with the admin for hiring pools or help us out in any other way that fits your capacity & skill set.

08/07/2025

We had a lovely Home Birth Canterbury monthly catch up last night at Amanda's house, talking about older siblings at home births.

One of the lovely mamas who came along brought her delicious 3 week old baby! And... this book. She said that her older kiddos loved to read this book before their new sibling was born.
One of the things this mama liked about the book is that it talks about the noises the laboring woman makes. Rhinoceros noises and polar bear noises!
It has lovely pictures and a great storyline. Looks like a brilliant one to have in the bookshelf for introducing kids to home birth.

We always have a lovely time at our monthly catch ups and we'd love to meet you!

- Bonnie

08/07/2025

🧡

02/05/2024

!Give away closed!
📣 WIN FREE TICKETS! 🎟️🍿
24 hours only! Like this post AND tag a friend to enter the draw to win a double pass to the screening of Born at Home film on May 5, 3pm at Lumiere Cinemas. Get in quick as this competition will be drawn and winners announced tomorrow evening at 8pm.

Conditions:
- The competition is for one lot of 2 tickets
- The tickets cannot be exchanged for cash.
-Lumiere Cinema screening only - please ensure that you are able to attend.
- If you have already reserved tickets for this screening, you may cancel your existing reservation or you may give your tickets away.
- Prize can be transferred (i.e. gifted for free to someone else).
- Winners will be notified by public post on Friday 3rd May at 8pm. You must supply a valid email address so your tickets can be reserved and sent to your email.