Reclaiming Birth

Sunday 7th March 2010 - Reclaiming Birth

What a day! Jack and I somehow managed to get up and ready in time to leave after a truly appalling nights "sleep". Andy drove us to the station while I continued to umm and ahh about whether to take a borrowed buggy or keep Jack in the mei tai. When Ruth and her mum arrived with no push chair for Eva my mind was made up, so when we kissed Andy goodbye he took the buggy away with him!

We boarded the train and had a pretty good journey to London. Both babies were very good. As we arrived a couple of hours before the march was due to start we decided to swing past Hamley's toy store for gifts for our little ones. Unfortunately they were having a big birthday celebration and only allowing people in who had baked a cake!! So we stood outside with others who were queueing for admittance for a few minutes before deciding to make a move.

We got to the park and took a quick trip into the Imperial War Museum to use the facilities and then sat out and had some lunch. We met up with Family Parkin, Jo and Oliver, and Debs and Hannah from Airedale Mums. We got ourselves organised, bought t-shirts and got ready to march.

The crowd steadily grew, bright pink balloons bobbed overhead and signs and banners were being hoisted all over the park. The word went out for us to move to the road behind the big Reclaiming Birth bus so myself and the other Airedale Mums took to the street with our pink t-shirts and signs.

The procession moved slowly through the streets, escorted by marshals and the police, though their presence was hardly felt (unlike at my previous demos!) we chanted and sang and answered questions from journalists moving through the crowd. One child started up the chant "Keep birth normal!" which rang out for quite a long stretch of the march. To hear a young girl shouting this phrase with so much verve really moved me. The next generation need to feel as passionately about this as we do if things are going to change for the better long term.

It was a glorious day with clear skies and plenty of tourists eagerly snapping pictures of us. We arrived at Whitehall and came to a halt, speeches were made from the top of the bus, guests included Beverley Beech from AIMS and one of the Albany midwives.

It was at this point that a couple of the babies in our party started to struggle, there was a lot of noise and no movement to keep them content in their slings and we were stood in the shade where it was remarkably cold. We moved over to the Department of Health building and sat down in the sunshine, most of us took the opportunity to breastfeed out little ones and were joined by a couple of Albany Mums! I thought it a very fitting scene! (Keep breastfeeding normal too!)

The speeches ended and the crowd began to disperse. We made our way back to Kings Cross for the return journey, tired but exhilarated from our exertions.