http://www.birthpositivemidwife.co.uk/

Sam Welford Birth Positive, Whitby (2026)

19/04/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝟲-𝟴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀?

Well…they can be the most wonderful, terrifying, beautiful, challenging weeks of your life!

The sleep deprivation is a killer, on top of feeling like you have little clue what you are doing 🙈

It’s a big learning curve for sure. Getting to know your baby. Also getting to know you, and your partner, as you evolve into parenting.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝟲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲? 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 💛

Here’s some of my Top Tips for that time:

🌟Be kind to yourself. And take it easy. This bit takes time. It’s not a race. Let your self recover

🌟Surround yourself with support. Those that visit and bring you a meal. Or do some washing, tidying, helping with other kids (you get the idea)

🌟It’s ok if you don’t make it out of your Pj’s! Or wash your hair for weeks. Dry shampoo is your new best friend, stock up.

🌟Also stock up on food and nutritious easy to grab snacks. Prepare by batch cooking (or get someone else to batch cook for you) and fill your freezer ready.

🌟Ooooh and don’t forget to save a little freezer space for colostrum too 🫶🏻

And Remember…you made a human from scratch, I’m pretty sure you can do anything 💪🏻

📸 @ evarosebirth

06/02/2026

🩷𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲:- Choosing to work with Sam was hands down the best decision we could have made about the birth of our first baby.

I was really interested in having some continuity of care with a birth positive midwife and Sam looked amazing, but I was unsure about whether it would be worth it because I planned to give birth in hospital rather than having a home birth for my first baby. How wrong I was! It was the best decision we made.

From the beginning, Sam was absolutely phenomenal. We attended a birth preparation workshop with her and Sam put me absolutely at ease. She was so knowledgeable and we left feeling much more prepared. Sam was also personable, friendly and reassuring and I felt safe in her hands from that point onwards. Sam was flexible in her availability and she came to my home for appointments despite living some distance away.

My baby arrived earlier than expected…….

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨..

26/11/2025

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 🩷
(One amazing pregnancy, Elective Caesarean Birth, a great postpartum, and the loveliest family. The best way to Midwife. Loved seeing you again for round 2 😁)

“Choosing to have an independent midwife was the best and easiest decision we made during my pregnancies. Sam provided both antenatal and postnatal care for both of my little people. The consistency and continuity of care throughout was beyond what we imagined. Sam and Danielle slotted into our family life making appointments free flowing and easy. Their experience, advice, support and guidance have been amazing. It has allowed us to make informed decisions that are right for all of us, with no judgements made. Their calmness during my times of panic were everything that I needed and I cannot thank them enough.

Genuinely… thank you for everything you have done for all of us over the last couple of years. I stand by consistency and continuity throughout antenatal and postnatal care is the best thing that women can have”

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘕𝘏𝘚 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩?

danielle

17/11/2025

Shoutout to this amazing little man on 💙

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
⁣”How do you thank someone enough for making you whole again and giving you your confidence back?⁣

⁣If you know my story with Alf then you are already aware of the journey Iv been on.⁣ It sometimes just takes one bad experience, just one trauma to completely make you loose faith in a system that’s in place to help people every single day. That was the place I was at with the NHS after Alfs birth, I was quite frankly scared to give birth again.⁣ That’s when I reached out to .welfordmidwife because I knew I wasn’t strong enough to go it alone this time.⁣

Birth PTSD is something that stays with you and reappears at the time when you should be happiest .⁣ And you knew that and helped me heal! ⁣Sam, your patience, caring, understanding , support , guidance and mildly decent banter (😂) meant more to me than you will never know.⁣ You will forever be a friend now and alas there is no escaping me 😂⁣

You educated me in things I never knew the first time around, and advocated for me until I found a voice to advocate for myself.⁣ It’s seems crazy to look back to my first Scans where I couldn’t enter the hospital without a panic attack, or having to leave through an appointment because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. ⁣Flash forward to me confidently walking into hospital when my waters broke (prematurely), laughing , joking and staying in on my own in hospital for two days and frankly enjoying the experience - that’s all down to you Sam.

In the past ten months I have never once felt alone or in the dark or uninformed !❤️⁣
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Birth can be traumatic, but lord it can be beautiful too ❤️⁣
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Midwives may not be superheroes- but mine was bloody close 🦸‍♀️ ❤️

08/10/2025

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿 ⁣
⁣
⁣Sometimes it works well. Likely you are on the cusp of labouring anyway and induction gives it a little kick start and it’s fairly quick and straightforward. ⁣
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Sometimes not so well! It drags on. Hours. Or days. Nothing seeming to work. Induction can sometimes feel endless. Multiple drugs that need time to work, staff rotate as new shifts start. Waiting to be moved into a labour room..⁣
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This doesn’t mean your body isn’t “working” - It just means your body and baby aren’t ready yet. And that’s normal. What’s important to remember is a slow induction doesn’t mean a failed body, just a system working to its own timeline and not yours. ⁣
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Try not to let the exhaustion and anxiety creep in. ⁣
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Tired➡️anxious ➡️tense➡️drop in oxytocin ➡️stalled labour➡️more intervention ⁣
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𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱;⁣
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💛Think of it less as endless waiting and more as important labour prep. Change your mindset. Try and relax and stay positive during the process ⁣
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💛While you’re waiting try out some biomechanics positions and stretches to optimise fetal position, partner massage/shaking the apples…works wonders ⁣
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💛Get your eye mask on and headphones in and rest/sleep whenever you can, Save your energy for active labour. Or find regular time out to dim lights, limit interruptions, protect your bubble, listen to music, a podcast, meditate/hypnobirthing, optimise oxytocin. This is so important ⁣
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💛Get off the unit and have a walk around, get some fresh air. Go enjoy a nice coffee, a chat, a breather. Pause, reset, protect your headspace⁣
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Partners job… to help you rest, keep you fed and watered with lovely things, give you a massage, support biomechanics positions, protect your bubble, shield you from the chaos, help you stay positive ⁣
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Your job isn’t to make induction faster.⁣
Your job is to protect your strength, your mind and your decisions.

31/07/2025

The Birth Prep Circle 💛

Come join Anna (amazing holistic practitioner & yoga instructor) and me (Midwife, Hypnobirthing instructor and holistic therapist) for a wonderful birthy morning.

🗓 Saturday 6th September | ⏰ 9:30–11:30 AM
📍 The Hub, Goathland Wellbeing Centre
💷 £70

A calming, 2-hour workshop for all expectant mums – combining hypnobirthing breathwork, gentle yoga, meditation, biomechanics practical birth positions and a midwife-led Q&A over tea and treats.

🌿 Move your body. Calm your mind. Prepare for birth with confidence.

Limited spaces – booking essential.

19/04/2025

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥. ⁣
⁣
𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. ⁣
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𝘐𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯. ⁣
⁣

05/04/2025

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲⁣
⁣
Those last weeks of pregnancy can seem to last forever. Especially if you’re past your estimated due date. This time spent ‘waiting’ can be physically and emotionally heavy. It’s really easy to fall into a doubting mindset where you wonder if you’ll be pregnant forever (even though you know how ridiculous that is). You’re cranky and tired and sore and just plain over it. ⁣
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And then the messages from friends and family start pouring in and the rising pressure of their anticipation is a stress you definitely don’t need. ⁣
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But what if you considered this time before labour differently? Instead of counting down the days (and waking up each morning feeling defeated that you’re still pregnant), you realised that it’s a distinct phase; the beginning of your body softening and opening in preparation for labour. ⁣
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And then you sunk into it and did things that made you happy; rested when you were tired, relaxed in the bath, watched movies that made you laugh - all the things that encourage oxytocin to flow, the very same hormone that kick-starts labour. ⁣
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𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗗𝗢 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗘 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁. ⁣
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Similarly, you can’t force labour to begin; you need to sit back, trust, and let it come to you. We know that’s easier said than done, but creating a low-stress space to get oxytocin flowing is not only relevant to labour…it’s actually essential to get labour started in the first place. ⁣
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australianbirthstories⁣
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📷 . moulene_photography

Sam Welford Birth Positive

19/04/2026

06/02/2026

26/11/2025

17/11/2025

08/10/2025

31/07/2025

19/04/2025

05/04/2025

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