In today’s episode, I speak with Harriet, a midwife, yoga teacher, and first-time mum, about her experience of conceiving through IVF and going on to have a planned NHS home water birth with her daughter, Juno.
Harriet shares her journey to conception after two and a half years of trying, eventually discovering that both she and her husband were facing fertility challenges. They went on to have IVF with ICSI and were left with just one embryo, which became their daughter. Harriet reflects on navigating pregnancy as a midwife herself, including experiencing severe sickness throughout much of her pregnancy.
She talks through planning a home birth within the NHS, reaching 40+12 weeks pregnant, and navigating the pressure around induction as she waited for labour to begin. Harriet shares how labour started quietly at home and progressed throughout the day, using movement, breathwork and instinctive positions to support her body through back-to-back surges.
Harriet’s daughter Juno was born in the birth pool at home just after midnight, caught by her husband and brought straight to her chest. She also shares her experience of a physiological third stage, the early postpartum hormone shifts, and their breastfeeding journey, including navigating tongue tie in the early weeks.
This episode offers an honest account of IVF, post-dates pregnancy and planning a home birth within the NHS, alongside reflections on trusting the body, birth preparation and the realities of the early postpartum period.
This episode is shared for storytelling purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.
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