Re:birth Listening Group

Re:birth is a collaborative listening project supported by the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and overseen by eight maternity service user organisations. It aims to hear service users’, maternity professionals’ and other birth workers’ perspectives, thoughts and feelings about the language we use to talk about different types of birth. We would like to develop guidance and resources to support conversations in maternity care between healthcare professionals and families about the risks and benefits of different types of birth, and help healthcare professionals to express what they hope for families from their birth.

Since the 1990s, the term ‘normal birth’ has been the most commonly used phrase in the UK to describe an uncomplicated labour – alongside others like ‘physiological’, ‘straightforward’ , ‘spontaneous vaginal’ and ‘optimal’. However, we have heard from women and families that there is some language used by professionals that feels, to them, difficult, old fashioned or judgemental and one of these is the term ‘normal birth’. 

We’d like to invite you to an online listening group where we will spend time hearing different perspectives on these words and finding some common ground. The groups will be informal, open and friendly and I hope you can join us.

Dates for the online groups

• Tuesday 21st September 12-2pm
• Tuesday 28th September 6-8pm
• Tuesday 12th October 10am-12pm
• Tuesday 19th October 12-2pm
• Tuesday 2nd November 6-8pm

If you would like to join a group, please register your interest and availability here and we will be in touch. There are limited places and we want to hear from as broad a group as possible. If you aren’t able to come to these groups, there will be other ways to get involved in the coming months.