Monika: Two Births, First Hospital Birth, Birth Trauma and PTSD, Planned NHS Home Birth, Precipitous Labour, Born Before Arrival in the Shower, No Midwife or Doula Present, Husband Caught Baby

British Birthing Stories · Jul 7, 2026 · 57m

Monika is a mum of two from Bedfordshire who shares two very different birth stories. Her first was a hospital birth that left her diagnosed with PTSD. A midwife from out of area who had never been to the unit before, waters broken accidentally during an internal examination, hours of pain with no support, and a postnatal period full of flashbacks. She knew before she left the hospital that she would need help to process it.

So second time around she did things completely differently. She hired a doula at six weeks pregnant. She researched home birth until it stopped feeling scary. She joined…