This wild ride we call parenting and what helped us

Rohese Devereux Taylor and Kate Mackay explore the journey of co-founding the Glasgow Homebirth Support Group, the benefits of birthing at home, and the invaluable resources and networks available to parents in Glasgow, from sling libraries to breastfeeding support.

By Rohese Devereux Taylor and Kate Mackay | Illustration by Issey Medd

Having kids is beautiful, life-altering and also can be really, really hard. Often just as you feel like you can catch your breath, something changes and you are back feeling like a novice all over again (no matter how many kids you’ve had). The universality of this experience is part of its beauty, and time and again we’ve seen the positive impacts of chosen community on smoothing the transition to parenthood. This is just one of the reasons that we set up the Glasgow Homebirth Support Group.

We co-founded the group with a fellow birthworker – who is currently enjoying her postpartum with her very own home-birth baby – earlier this year. We were passionate about creating a space to bring people together who were curious about or planning to birth at home. 

Although there is now robust research available that shows birthing at home is as safe or safer than birth in hospital for all low-risk pregnancies  and even just planning a homebirth – regardless of where the birth ends up taking place – improves outcomes, it is still often seen as a wild-card decision. This leaves those planning a homebirth feeling quite isolated or facing criticism from friends and family. This is why we also welcome partners and family to our peer-led sessions to be a space where people can share their worries (as well as joys and excitement) and connect with others going through the same thing. 

For one of the mums who attended our groups, having a space to share gave her the confidence to get the magical home birth she and her husband had been planning. She said: "The meet ups were amazing and gave us access to a community of like minded people who also believed… that planning a homebirth would provide the best outcomes for mum and baby (and for dad too). Kate and Rohese listened… and shared insight and advice in a calm, evidence-based and empowering way."

Our meets have moved around from central Glasgow to some busy and popular meets in the Southside (including in The Community Newsroom) where there is a blossoming home birth community. As a midwife and a doula, we share a love for birth and aim to create an inclusive space that welcomes all questions, worries and opinions creating space for community and support.

Support to tap into: Between us we have three kids, all born in different places and at different times but there have been some common threads running through our experiences – of the need for  community, support and resources. So here is what got us through those early days.

Kate couldn’t live without her parents' Whatsapp groups, some formed from local parent and baby groups including Bookbug and pram walks. These were invaluable in finding support in the wee small hours when it felt like the whole world was asleep.

Rohese made use of the Glasgow Sling Library – of which Kate is also a big fan. Babywearing is a life-saver and can radically change your experience of immediate postpartum but it can feel overwhelming and potentially costly so to have a resource that is accessible is amazing.

Merry-Go-Found on Nithsdale Road is a staple for most Southside parents, both for a browse of all the cute second hand kids stuff but also the variety of meet-up groups they offer. Kate loved the cloth nappy demo and hire at their Nappuccino events. 

Virtual breast/body feeding support was vital in supporting both of our collective breastfeeding journeys – with in-person access non-existent during the pandemic or while living rurally. La Leche League, The Breastfeeding Network and Breastfeeding Scotland helped troubleshoot, offered well-informed advice and a listening ear. They are now all available face-to-face again, with La Leche League meeting in the Hidden Gardens monthly, and the Breastfeeding Network in Pollokshaws Burgh Hall. They also run a monthly online Muslim mum’s group. While Glasgow Breastfeeding Buddies run a drop in on Mondays in the St Francis Centre in the Gorbals. 

We are incredibly lucky with what's on offer for parents in Glasgow, from immediate postpartum and up. From writers groups, crafting, singing, swimming, queer family meet-ups and climbing to outdoor meets, herbal kids and cookery… you name it Glasgow will have it. Do what you need to find the community, support and connection that keeps you happy, or at the very least sane, through this wild ride we call parenting.  

Follow @glasgowhomebirth on Instagram or email glasgowhomebirth@gmail.com for more.