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• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 31-33 >> Interview 04 >> She expected more reaction from the midwife to the news she was pregnant. More informal contact during the early weeks would have been reassuring.

Normal pregnancy. Breech presentation resolved through successful ECV. Induction at 42 weeks. Forceps delivery. Difficulty with breastfeeding. Importance of managing expectations of pregnancy and birth realistically.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 25-30 >> Interview 10 >> Especially in a first pregnancy women need a lot of advice and reassurance, but she did not want to bother the midwives between appointments.

Unplanned but otherwise straightforward pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia and induction. Difficult labour without pain relief. Episiotomy.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 25-30 >> Interview 10 >> Antenatal classes were not very useful. She found some of the activities a bit strange.

Unplanned but otherwise straightforward pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia and induction. Difficult labour without pain relief. Episiotomy.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 31-33 >> Interview 12 >> She worried whether she would be a good mother and how she would react to the baby.

Normal first pregnancy. Premature labour and birth at 33 weeks. Had to transfer to another hospital because no neonatal intensive care places were available locally.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 31-33 >> Interview 33 >> She was surprised the GP did not do another pregnancy test and told her to come back at 10 weeks.

Mother who has epilepsy, cared for during her first pregnancy by a Special Pregnancy Unit. Developed pre-eclampsia and had induction with epidural at 37 weeks.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Aged 24 & under >> Interview 45 >> She would have liked more opportunity to talk to staff in the early weeks and needed reassurance about the risk of miscarriage.

normal first pregnancy, private care throughout. Experienced a lot of sickness. Planning a hospital birth with as little intervention as possible. More of this interview can be seen on the Healthtalkonline antenatal screening site as Interview 08.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 25-30 >> Interview 54 >> She was very afraid of birth after seeing a TV documentary as a teenager, and did not want her husband to see her giving birth.

After initial contact with NHS, had most antenatal care in France. Baby born 2 months early in England. Good experiences of hospital birth and Special Care Baby Unit. More of this interview can be seen on the Healthtalkonline antenatal screening site as Interview 23.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 31-33 >> Interview 56 >> She went to the GP thinking she was 8 weeks pregnant and discovered she had not understood how to work out her due date.

Two normal pregnancies. Felt well supported by midwives in making birthing choices. First birth was a water birth in hospital; hopes to have the same for second birth. More of this interview can be seen on the Healthtalkonline antenatal screening site as Interview 25.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 25-30 >> Interview 20 >> She did not rush to make an appointment with her GP. With hindsight more information would have been useful. (Read by an actor.)

Single mother. First pregnancy miscarried. Second pregnancy was normal and straightforward. She planned to have a natural birth, but after a long labour chose to have a caesarean.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 25-30 >> Interview 24 >> Her GP and independent midwife supported her choice of a home birth, but her family were doubtful.

Became pregnant in a another country where care philosophy was very interventionist. Returned to UK at 7 months and had a successful home birth with an independent midwife.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Aged 24 & under >> Interview 25 >> When her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage, the staff at the Early Pregnancy Unit were very supportive.

First and most recent pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Two normal pregnancies in between, with severe sickness both times. Good support from Early Pregnancy Unit.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Aged 24 & under >> Interview 25 >> She gave up work in one pregnancy to reduce the risk of another miscarriage. With her second child she carried on working but changed her hours.

First and most recent pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Two normal pregnancies in between, with severe sickness both times. Good support from Early Pregnancy Unit.

• Pregnancy & children >> Pregnancy >> Age 25-30 >> Interview 19 >> She would like the NHS to provide more specialised support for breastfeeding, especially for women having their first baby.

Successful pregnancy after an early miscarriage and blighted ovum. Caesarean due to baby lying breech. Lack of support for breastfeeding in hospital due to pressures on staff.