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The Visual Birth Plan from the Positive Birth Book

If you've already seen the beautiful positions for labour artwork by the amazing Kate Evans that feature in the Positive Birth Book, you'll be pleased to know that our collaboration goes much further!



I've been in love with Kate's art and imaginative flair ever since I read her amazing book Bump, so I nearly passed out with excitement when publishers Pinter and Martin agreed to commission her not just to do these amazing illustrations, but to collaborate with me on a much bigger part of the book - the Visual Birth Plan, or VBP.

I've loved the idea of a Visual Birth Plan ever since I saw birth plans made from little icons floating around on social media a couple of years ago. These little icons are pretty simple and basic, wouldn't it be better if the icons were more suited to every birth choice, and more beautiful, I thought?!

I know there are arguments to be made about birth plans 'per se', and I'm not going to go into those here - suffice to say, I think they are a widely misunderstood tool that can really help both women (and their midwives) get real clarity of the kind of birth they want, and think through ALL the possibilities too - ie make not just a Plan A for their ideal birth, but B, C and D as well.

In the Positive Birth Book, a huge 52 page section (subtitled Being Birthzilla - ha!) takes you through the total maze of choices you face as a pregnant woman, helping you to work out exactly what you want in every eventuality. Woven through the section are the Icons for the Visual Birth Plan, all uniquely designed especially for the book by Kate.

The book contains a link (which I'll keep secret for now) where you can download the icons and use them to build your own completely beautiful VBP. You can then share this plan with your care providers (in tandem with a 'longhand' / more conventional written plan if you like), and convey all of your wishes to them, clearly and at a glance.

Here are just a few of the icons to help you get a feel for them...please note that they are for private use in your birth plan only (not that you can build a birth plan with just these few, there are nearly 100 in the book!)...and may not be shared, sold or reproduced without written permission from Pinter and Martin.











As I've said, there are around 100 icons in the book and these are just to give you a flavour. There are special icons for all kinds of situations and choices, from Survivor of Abuse, to whether or not you want cervical exams, to who you want to catch your baby, and even a special set of icons for Gentle or Woman Centred Caesarean birth.

Of course, the book is not simply a guide to birth plans, it's MUCH more than that! If you want a flavour of the rest of the contents, check this post where I've shared the contents pages.

Or, you could just buy it! It's out next Thursday!!!

How to buy it:

From Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Positive-Birth-New-Approach-Pregnancy-Early-Weeks/1780664303/
- direct from Pinter & Martin: http://www.pinterandmartin.com/the-positive-birth-book.html (in stock now)
- for free worldwide delivery Wordery: https://wordery.com/the-positive-birth-book-milli-hill-9781780664309
- The Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Positive-Birth-Book-Milli-Hill/9781780664309
Or order from Waterstones, The Hive, CAPERS Bookstore (Australia). It is also available on Kindle, iBooks and other ebook formats worldwide. 


I hope you love my new baby as much as I do!




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