Milton Keynes mum of four writes book about natural childbirth

Caroline Richards, 50, has spent around ten years pulling the book together, working alongside a midwife and other mothers to include medical advice and other real-life birth stories too.

Natural Birth in A Nutshell is now available on Amazon..

“The book is essentially a 'tell it like it is' guide to natural birth, based on my experiences, with support from my own midwife,” said Caroline. “It isn't promoting a specific method for natural birth, like hypnobirthing, or yogic birth, although both of those are mentioned.

"It's just a very straightforward book that, if you are thinking about having a natural birth, can help. It's very inspiring too, because I have included birth stories from other women who have 'been there, done that', which are very real, anecdotal and sometimes even humorous!”

Caroline became a mother herself in August 2004 after the birth of her first daughter, which, in her own words, ‘changed her life forever’. She went on to have three more children, having four by the time her eldest was five years old.

Caroline didn’t set out to write a book initially. She was asked to run a workshop for new mums with her yoga teacher while pregnant with her fourth child. The workshop never happened but Caroline had started making notes, which she kept adding to after suffering with insomnia during the pregnancy. Over time, Caroline started to realise that her notes could be a book that would genuinely help pregnant women who didn’t know what to expect when it came to childbirth and were overwhelmed with the amount of information out there.

“Most pregnant women tend to read something about birth before they go through it to prepare themselves for what is to come,” continues Caroline. “I wanted to contribute to that body of literature – which I find can sometimes be too long and technical - with something that was very real, accessible and, I hope, inspiring.

“Seeing the book actually get published feels like the birthing of another baby, but after a much longer gestation period! I can’t wait to see how she makes it out there in the big wide world and who she inspires.”

Caroline now works as a Project Catalyst, helping people to bring their ‘passion projects’ to life. For more information, go to the website.