Episode 1 | Welcome to the British Birth Stories Podcast

Welcome to the British British Stories podcast! I’m your host Ashley Brenninkmeijer. I am a London-based mother who has fallen pregnant with my second baby…in the middle of Covid-19. 2020 has been a time of life-changing isolation for everyone, for sure. But, the healthcare system and support infrastructures have completely forgotten birthing people and new families. It’s not ok, and it’s been incredibly emotional for me as a pregnant woman in the middle of this pandemic. It has been so lonely trying to fight for a VBAC (esp. in this time) and all I have been able to think about is what Ina May Gaskin says…that what she loves about stories the most is the power they have to teach us of possibilities that might not occur to us without them. 

I so desperately have wanted to hear fellow mothers’ birth stories here in the UK for over four year since I first fell pregnant with my daughter, and now especially in the time of Covid, that need has only been amplified. So I’m doing something about it and starting this podcast!

Each week I will bring you birth stories from Mother’s around the country, starting with my own. I am especially interested in hearing stories from 2020 because Covid has been an end of connection but, inside and outside of this pandemic, I want to hear women. 

Your story is important. We matter. 

I can’t wait to hear and share yours. 

And, I’m so glad you’re here. 

Stay tuned for the first episode, coming soon!

xo Ashley