Imagine if you were making love...and every time you were close to orgasm your partner stopped. Or talked. Or the phone rang. Or there was a knock at the door. Or something went crash in the kitchen...

Imagine if you had gone to the toilet for more than just a wee.. and the door rattled. Or someone was standing right outside. Or the phone started ringing. Or a child was calling for you.

Imagine you were writing ... and your creativity was flowing.. and someone kept trying to talk to you. Someone turned on the radio. Two people near you started laughing loudly.

Imagine you were focused on relaxing through a blood test... and someone asked if you were coping okay. And someone else asked how much it was hurting. Or you were needed to fill in a form with your other hand.

Imagine trying to birth your baby. In bright lights. With someone you do not know inserting their fingers into your vagina regularly 'just to check'. People are coming and going. Your birth partner looks lost... or hiding behind their iPhone. Regularly someone is asking to listen to your baby. How are you doing? My name is this... I'm just going to do that....Have you considered this? It's taking a long time isn't it?

These context shifts benefit no one, in any of those scenarios.

So in labour and birth, what to do?

Well, plan your birth environment. Really look into your options and then plan and arrange the best place for you.

Organise the very BEST support team. Who will be your midwife? Do you want a doula? What does your birth partner know about birth? Is there a course you can both take together? Are they confident in protecting you and helping to articulate your needs without you constantly having to state them?

And then lastly, understand yourself. Your needs in birth. Your hopes and your dreams. Then put everything you can in place to protect them.

Birth needs to be undisturbed, protected, raised up and made precious. And this process starts with you.