Birth Song Midwifery

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Birth Song Midwifery

Hello, my name is Rachel and I am an independent midwife serving families across the South East, London and further a field when the opportunity arises.

I offer full pregnancy and birth care packages. Please get in touch for more information.

06/01/2026

One of the most-used tools in my work as an independent midwife — and the thing that takes up the most space at home — are my birth pools.

Birth pools are also found in many NHS birth settings now, although access to them is often not straight forward. What often surprises families is how accessible and straightforward they are to use at home when planning a home birth.

As I step into a season of being on call, almost every family I care for is planning to labour — and often birth — in water.

Warm water supports comfort, physiology, and psychological safety. It can help labour flow more efficiently, reduce the likelihood of severe tearing, and create a clear, protected space that only the labouring Mama is in. (Absolutely fine if you want to invite your partner to join you.)

Home birth pools are designed to be easy to set up, safe to use, and simple to empty — with guidance and support included as part of your midwifery care with me.

This carousel shares why waterbirth might be chosen, what the evidence tells us, and shares accessibility 🌊

✨ With deep gratitude to my beautiful queen of a previous client and friend, who generously gave permission for me to share images of her second waterbirth here. It’s an honour to witness and hold births like this.

If you’re curious about waterbirth or home birth, I’m always happy to talk. And if you have a friend who’s curious but not sure where to start, share this post with them.

28/12/2025

As I prepare to support a family planning an HBAC this January, I’ve been returning to what the evidence says — without fear, without oversimplifying, and without losing the humanity of each person’s birth journey.

One of the clearest pieces of research we have comes from a Canadian study comparing outcomes for people who planned a home birth after a caesarean (HBAC) with those who planned a hospital VBAC. It found that people who planned their birth at home (with trained, registered midwives) had a higher chance of a vaginal birth and a lower chance of needing another caesarean, with severe adverse outcomes being rare in both groups.

Here’s the study if you want to read it yourself:
🔗 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33583048/ • Perinatal outcomes of planned home birth after cesarean and planned hospital vaginal birth after cesarean at term gestation in British Columbia, Canada

Birth choices matter — and so does how we talk about them: with clear information, curiosity, and deep respect for each person’s body and journey.

💛 Ask questions
💛 Consider short- and long-term impact
💛 Trust your instincts and the evidence when it feels right for you

📩 Send me a DM or visit my website if you’d like to know how to work with me.

26/12/2025

Lighting the Christmas tree for the first time this year on Christmas Eve. One candle at a time and one wish at a time. Taking a moment to look at what’s in our hearts and to feel into all that I am so grateful for this past year.
A busy 6 months ahead full of births that I can’t wait to get under way.
And so looking forward to discovering and meeting the next flurry of families looking for support at their births in 2026.
For now another few days of reading, peaceful moments amongst the business and a healthy amount of fresh air Merry Christmas time 💛

21/12/2025

Welcoming the Winter Solstice ❄️
The longest night of the year — a sacred pause before the light returns.

In Anglo-Saxon tradition, this night was known as Modraniht — Mother Night — a time honoring the mothers, the maternal line, and the unseen forces of creation. A night of gestation, remembrance, and quiet power.

The Earth rests today. The sun reaches its lowest point in the sky, and from this stillness, the days begin to lengthen again. Like the pause in labor — the still point before the next stage unfolds — this darkness is not an ending, but a threshold.

Across cultures, the solstice has long been a time of reflection, gratitude, and renewal. A moment to honor what has carried us here, and to trust what is already forming beneath the surface.

As this year turns inward, I hold deep gratitude:
For every baby welcomed earthside.
For every parent supported through tenderness and transformation.
For every woman witnessed in awe — in her strength, intuition, and becoming.

May this Mother Night remind us that creation begins in darkness.
That rest is fertile.
That light always returns — through the Earth, through birth, through us.

🌑✨

18/12/2025

When birth is allowed to unfold in a familiar, calm environment — supported by skilled midwives — physiology is protected.
Oxytocin flows.
Confidence grows.
Intervention rates fall.

Safety isn’t just about walls or equipment — it’s about continuity, trust, skilled care, and being listened to.
For many families, home is where they feel safest.
And the evidence supports that choice.

Birth works best when women are supported to choose what feels right for them.

songmidwifery

16/12/2025

I’m often asked, “Who hires an independent midwife?”
And the truth is… there is no one kind of family.

I’ve walked beside clients who paid month by month through their Universal Credit, making space for the care that mattered most to them.
I’ve supported families who are more affluent, choosing this path because it aligns with their values.
And I’ve supported everyone in between.

Independent midwifery isn’t reserved for a certain type of person — it’s for anyone who wants continuity.
Anyone who wants a relationship of trust.
Anyone who wants to feel known, safe, listened to, loved.

It’s for people who want care that honours their story.
Care that happens in real homes, around real families, in a way that feels human.

Independent midwifery is for every body, every background, every kind of family.
Birth belongs to all of us — and so should the care that supports it.

14/12/2025

Independent midwifery happens in real homes, with real families.
Antenatal care that welcomes children, questions, emotions and time.
Unrushed visits. Familiar faces. Care that adapts to your life — not the other way around.

📷 by the talented

11/12/2025

You’ll lose days just lost in your newborn, every movement, flutter and murmer — and that’s exactly what you need.

Those slow, soft hours create connection, calm and security that lasts a lifetime. Do everything you can to plan your postpartum so you don’t have to rush any of it.

Postnatal care in your own home, daily check ins and reassurance can be part of that planning and help support a gentle slow postpartum. If you want to know more please reach out 💛

10/12/2025

Three families in one day as an independent midwife… and my heart feels full.

I think back to my NHS days, when three families would have been a fraction of a morning.
10–15 women. 20-minute slots. New faces. No time. So much pressure.
So little space for the depth women deserve.

Now I sit in living rooms.
Make tea.
Talk. Listen.
Hours together of real presence — not rushed tasks.
We build trust, safety, familiarity… the kind of connection that makes birth feel held.

Independent midwifery isn’t just care.
It’s relationship.
It’s continuity.
It’s humanity. 💛

08/12/2025

Recurrent thrush in pregnancy can feel never-ending — and so many people are told to “just treat it” without ever being offered a deeper look.

This week, a client of mine shared something. After struggling with repeated thrush throughout her pregnancy, she saw a Chinese medicine doctor. He suggested a possible link between low iron and persistent yeast or mucosal issues — not as a proven cause, but as a pattern sometimes recognised in traditional practice.

So I explored the research. While there isn’t clear evidence in western medical research, that low iron causes recurrent vaginal thrush, there are studies showing that low-iron status in pregnancy can:
• Disrupt vaginal flora
• Reduce mucosal immunity
• Increase the risk of infections

And that got me thinking again about how often Western healthcare treats symptoms in isolation.
Thrush? → Canesten.
Again? → More Canesten.
Maybe a swab. Maybe a urine test.
But rarely the question: “Why does this keep happening?”

As a private midwife working in Sussex, I’ve seen over and over how pregnancy symptoms are connected to the whole person — nutritional, hormonal, emotional, environmental. Nothing happens in isolation.

This isn’t about dismissing conventional care. It’s about widening the lens.
Because sometimes what shows up on the surface is only part of the story — and listening more deeply can change everything. 🌿

If you’re navigating recurrent symptoms in pregnancy, you deserve care that looks at the whole picture, not just a prescription.

songmidwifery

Address

Shirley Road
Mayfield
TN206BG

Website

http://www.birthsongmidwifery.co.uk/

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