A Healthy Baby Doesn’t Mean the Birth Wasn’t Traumatic: What New Research Shows
When women and their doctors or midwives were asked about the same births, a third of the traumatic ones were missed. Alexia Leachman on what new research shows…
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What Happened to Having Babies? Fertility, Fear and the Rabbit Hole
The falling fertility rate gets put down to money, housing and work. Alexia Leachman asks where fear of pregnancy and birth fits, and what the data can show.
Thousands of Mothers May Be Living With Undiagnosed PTSD After Childbirth
GPs have no agreed way to spot PTSD after birth, and thousands of women a year may be missed. Alexia Leachman on the new research, and why a…
What Happened to Birth? The Statistic That Sent Me Down a Rabbit Hole
What ten years of UK maternity statistics show about birth: mortality, postnatal depression, birth trauma, induction, and how to keep your agency in it.
Induction and Birth Trauma: What a New Study Found
A French study found about one in ten women had PTSD symptoms two months after an induced vaginal birth. Alexia Leachman on what that does and doesn't mean,…
Fear Free Childbirth Is Growing Up: Why My Voice Isn’t Enough
Ten years on, Fear Free Childbirth is growing up into a publication for reproductive fear, anxiety and trauma, with room for far more voices than mine.
Ten Years On: Why I Nearly Shut It All Down
A few years ago I nearly shut this whole thing down. Ten years on, JJ Stenhouse interviews me about how the podcast started, what it cost, and the…
Challenging the Maternity System: Collective Voices, Activism, and Building a Better Birth Experience, with Mars Lord
Wanting a physiological birth is being painted as an ideology. Birth activist Mars Lord on what has changed in ten years, and our plan to fix maternity care.
The Tokophobia Severity Scale: What It Measures, and What It Misses
A 13-question scale now scores tokophobia, and it was built for women who’ve never been pregnant. Alexia Leachman on what it gets right and what it leaves out.
We’ve Been Measuring Fear of Childbirth Too Simply. Two New Studies Show Why
Two new studies suggest one fear-of-birth score hides more than it shows. Alexia Leachman on what the research found, what it misses, and what needs to change.