Grazia view: hands off our births

hands off our births!

It emerged last week that 74% of UK hospitals don’t follow NICE guidelines on offering women Caesareans if they request them. According to pressure group Birthrights, 15% of NHS trusts refuse elective C-sections outright. After a month of debate over birth one-upmanship following England star Harry Kane praising his fiancée for giving birth without pain relief, it was yet another reminder of the pressure on women to have natural births, whatever the cost. When will we end the loaded conversations around childbirth, implying women are failing if they don’t do it a certain way? Let’s celebrate birth in all its forms, free of shame and stigma.