borne (2021)
By
Beatty Hallas
Image description: An orange background with white text. The text reads: Borne: Eleven birth accounts from the time of Corona, shared online between Bristol, Falmouth, London, New York and Reading during February 2021. Image credit: Beatty Hallas.
Eleven birth accounts from the time of Corona, shared online between Bristol, Falmouth, London, New York and Reading.
My mum was born at home in a village. The midwife chatted to her dad about looking after piglets while they waited for her to be born. My grandparents had studied Agriculture and Dairy Technology at the University of Reading and an understanding of animal husbandry directly informed my mum’s thinking about childbirth. She went on to help form the Reading Birth Centre, circulating information and attending home births.
In turn my second child was born at home before the midwife arrived and was caught by my mum. The number of families choosing a home birth or free birth rose during the pandemic, as maternity units undertook social-distancing restrictions. Stories of natural birth are fundamental sources of hands-on knowledge and insights into states of being, but they are seldom heard in public.
“It is beautiful. Thank you. Such an inspiring and empowering conversation. I feel very lucky to be part of it”
