The Importance of Sharing Stories

Pregnancy can be a time of empowerment, happiness, excitement, and positivity. But it can also have moments of anxiety, worry and uncertainty as you encounter large life changes. This is completely normal and these feelings are common when you are experiencing something new.

We believe sharing experiences within our community creates solidarity, cultivates peace of mind, and provides valuable support; knowing there are many women who have had similar experiences and relate to you.

At Planning For Baby we believe each individual story provides tremendous insight, for both first time parents and the seasoned Mama Bear. Sharing details, challenges, and triumphs from your experience helps others in our community feel more comfortable with what to expect during the labor and birth process. Because truly no two births are the same, your story is educational and informative.

Thank you ahead of time for your willingness to share your story with our community.

Guidelines for Sharing Your Story:

• While everything about your birth might not be 100% positive (trust me, I’m right there with you), we do stress to try and keep the super graphic details to a minimum. The birth stories educate by sharing genuine experiences while not instilling fear in new expectant parents. We like stories to be authentic and honest, but more thriller than horror story.

• Please do not offer any medical advice while telling your story. Because each pregnancy and birth is unique, we want expectant parents to consult their healthcare providers familiar with their situation and history for any advice about their specifics.

• We will always contact you by email for a final approval before posting your story. In some cases, we may need to trim the story down or edit parts of what you submit, and we want to be sure you give the final approval prior to posting.

• Stories must be a minimum of 350 words and no longer than 900 words. Your best bet is to write your birth story in Word and watch the word count.

• We will edit your story for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes. We always try our best to balance the authenticity of the writer’s story with making it compatible to search engine requirements. Using SEO helps readers find the birth story on our blog when searching through a search engine like Google or Bing.

• We always include a photo with the post. This can be of you and your little one, a family photo, or if you prefer not to submit a photo and remain anonymous we will look for an anonymous stock photo to match with your story. If you’d like to submit more than one photo this is not a problem, but please no more than 5.

• You can submit your story via the form below or in a Word document. If you prefer to submit a word document please send it via email to info@planningforbaby.com

• Please email photos to: info@planningforbaby.com with the subject line: Birth Story Photos and be sure they are sized for web. Tip: TinyJpg.com can help with this.

• By submitting your story you give Planning For Baby the rights to publish the story on our blog, website, and social media channels. We will never include it in any products or items for sale.

• To read more of our Privacy Policy, please click here.

Getting Started…

Need some inspiration to get started? Not sure what to include? Below are some prompts to help you begin writing your story. Don’t forget to include the basics: your first name, your baby’s first name, and the city and country you gave birth in.

1. In a few short paragraphs give us the play by play of how things started. Did your water break? What were your first contractions like? Where were you? What time of day was it?

2. If you used any tools during labor that helped you don’t forget to mention them! Rebozo scarf? TENS machine? Birth pool? Doula?

3. Did you give birth in a hospital or at home? Was this part of your birth plan?

4. What would your future self tell your pregnant self going into labor?

5. What was your favorite thing about your healthcare system and why? Least favorite?

6. Be sure to include an update of your life now! How old is your little one? How’s #momlife going? What are you loving about life with your new addition?

Share My Birth Story 

SUBMISSION FORM