This week, Jools Oliver has given birth to her and Jamie’s fifth child. Apparently, the fact that their daughters were present is newsworthy. It has, somehow, created a debate over whether or not children should be present as their siblings are born.

In all honesty, it’s nobody’s bloody business to comment! What Jools & Jamie choose to do, is entirely up to them, just as we each have a choice.

I really don’t see what the issue is though.

When did birth become so taboo? 

Of course having siblings there is not for everyone, but, what is?

I think that we tend to model the behaviours we know. The more we, as a society, “normalise” birth (and breastfeeding in public, while we’re at it!), surely the future generations will have less fear. I think it was an episode of Sprogcast, in which I learnt the sad truth that tokophobia (fear of childbirth) is on the rise in women who had never had children. Previously, this was seen mostly in women who had previously been through a traumatic delivery!

Good luck to the Olivers!

They are raising their daughters with an image of birth that is real. One that hasn’t been sensationally edited like OBEM. These girls will grow up to be women who have seen, firsthand, the beauty of birth, The immediate magical bond between mother and baby. They have breathed in that incredible energy, the buzz in the air, as a new life is welcomed into the world.

With love,

Sarah x