What will expectant parents be planning for their pregnancy and birth during 2023?

We see these trends coming and going but which ones are actually benefical?

Just like we see trends for weddings change year on year, we see the same in the birth world too.

So, let’s take a look together and see if you have any of them planned for your pregnancy and labour.

1/ Birth preparation courses:

There has been a huge increase in expectant parents wanting to feel calm, confident and prepared for the birth of their baby. We have seen expectant parents take back control during labour, enabling them to trust their bodies and instincts to have a positive birth experience.

People are shunning the narrative that birth is something to be feared and with the use of hypnobirthing they have gone on to have such empowering births.

When one person has a positive birth experience, they tell others and they go on to prepare for their own birth using hypnobirthing and a ripple effect takes place.

You can receive a positive birth story straight to your inbox for the next 24 weeks of pregnancy by clicking the image below:

Hypnobirthing - a logical and rational course that I hope rises in popularity year on year.

2/ Mother blessings

An alternative or an addition to a baby shower. A traditional, scared ceremony where people come together in celebration of the Mum to be (and baby), honouring her pregnancy and journey into motherhood.

Guests are encouraged to motivate and inspire the Mum to be, by providing her with strength and love.

Things that you can expect from a mother blessing (all will be different):

• Meditation / relaxation / rituals

• Positive birth stories / journalling

• Words of encouragement - Sharing tips for motherhood

• Crafts - for example producing positive birth affirmation cards or love letters

• Nice food and drink

• Flowers / sage / crystals / candles

• Belly casts

Mother blessings - A ritual that I hope we will see gain more popularity in 2023, a space to create and share love, wisdom, encouragement and strength with anyone who is expecting a baby.

3/ Birth photography

Yep you heard me right, a photographer at the birth of your baby. Before you stop reading and think ‘no one is taking any pictures of my vagina’ let me explain this one to you.

We live in a generation where pictures are everything, we see them staged on social media, fake laughs and props to get the “shot”. We would never dream of not hiring a photographer for a wedding. So why not take pictures of us birthing our baby? Birth and labour photography is becoming more and more popular and it doesn’t have to involve vagina shots and you don’t have to share the pictures of your baby’s birth with anyone.

Pictures last a lifetime and recreate feelings and emotions that we might otherwise forget.

Now, it’s not for everyone and if I’m being honest, I don’t think it would be for me either (especially as I understand how important privacy is during labour) but wow, some of these pictures are amazing and so empowering.

Click here to see some amazing birth images from the lovely Lilian.

I massively regret not having any pictures of me in labour. Perhaps this might be one for your birth partner to do, snap a couple of pictures here and there, who needs a professional when we have iPhones anyway?

Birth photographer - A wonderful concept that provides the most incredible images but it’s not for everyone. I do hope that birth photography becomes more popular and is seen as less strange over time, but in the mean time perhaps it’s a prompt for birth partners to snap away (quietly in the background just for a couple of minutes.)

4 / Placenta encapsulation

This is definitely something that is becoming more popular, so much so that I have dedicated a whole blog post to placenta encapsulation.

There are lots of anecdotal benefits to consuming your placenta as either a tablet, smoothie or tincture. From increased milk supply to an increase in energy, the reported benefits are amazing. Again, it’s not for everyone but take a look at my blog post to see why it is rising in popularity and there is even a freebie if you do decide to go ahead and encapsulate your placenta with Placenta Plus*.

*I do work with Placenta Plus so the freebie is part of an affiliate.

So, that’s my pregnancy and birth predications for 2023 and I’m sure we will see an increase in other trends too.

Whilst some of these might seem a little “out there” personally I see the benefits in all of them, especially the birth preparation courses (of course).

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Hannah xx