Tracey didn't bother with any middle of the road contractions; hers was a labour like those of the movies. Her waters broke and it was all systems go! None of it textbook, especially the pole dancing she started to do during the birth!!

4 days overdue, but wanted another 4 days to qualify for extra 3 months maternity leave.

Whilst watching Coronation Street, at 8.45pm I started to feel some pains in my tummy. A friend happened to send me a text message to ask if there was any news of arrival. I sent one back saying that I thought baby might be on the way. I sort of crawled up the stairs and my waters broke. The hospital said that I should go in to be checked because I sounded quite far gone already. Despite planning, other half panicked a bit getting the bags together and we forgot to take in some notes to the hospital, so his dad had to bring them to us. Of course I sat on a maternity mat in the car because didn't want to ruin the new car seats!

When I first heard that there was a medical professional suggesting that women should not be offered pain relief in labour, my initial thought was: "This could only be a man."

I looked at the article in The Observer and lo! It was.

Dr Denis Walsh says that more women should be prepared to withstand the pain of childbirth.

I don't care how senior a midwife this guy is. I don't care how many studies he's done, how many babies he's delivered or how many books he's read. Until there's even the slightest chance he might have to push a person out of his body, he's not allowed to say that women shouldn't have pain relief.

He bases his theory on the following points:

Oooh.. there's something so 'ick' about the term vaginal delivery, isn't there? We all know that babies come from 'down there', but it's so much more civilised when we refer to pushing a person out of your nether regions as being a 'natural birth', so I'll try to use that term to spare the more squeamish among you.

I'm so sick of listening to those 'hollier-than-thou' women preach the evils of the caesarean section. Why do some women think that it makes you more feminine/maternal if you successfully birth a child 'naturally'.

God forbid if you opted for a c-sec. The term 'too posh to push' is flung around by those who think it's a crime against womankind to choose to bring your child into the world in way that doesn't involve your vagina (sorry, birth canal).

You're almost let off the hook if you had to have an emergency section, but you are still pitied because it is considered the poor relative of the natural delivery.

When we were planning The Kid I asked the Doctor if I would be able to have a c-section if I got pregnant. I explained the reasons and he said I would be able to.

I was adamant I was not going to be put through the experience I went through seven years earlier.

From the moment I met my midwife I was completely honest with her about my feelings on the birth. She was brilliant; she gave lots of her time to listen to me and offer advice.

Although she disagreed with the doctor about automatically needing a c-section, I felt happy to consider what she said. She told me it was highly unlikely that I would go through the same thing again.

I was 18 when I got pregnant and was terrified of labour. I didn't talk to anyone about it and didn't read books about what happens to your body during the labour process. I made a concerted effort to bury my head in the sand.

Couple that with the fact that the care I received from medical professionals was nothing short of scandalous. I really feel that the baby and I were lucky to have survived.

After having given birth twice now, I am well aware of the reality of labour.

TV might make it seem nice and lovely and special and moving and emotional, but the truth is that labour can't be much better than hell.

You will become yourself at your most primal, with every shred of polite, modern society stripped away. You find you're capable of making noises that would terrify the devil himself. Every bodily fluid known to man is sprayed around the room, plus some new ones too.

This week is labour week on From Here to Maternity and there will be lots of posts about the miracle that is birth.

I'll be talking about who to have in the delivery room, what pain relief is best and I'll be sharing my own and readers' stories of their own labour experiences.

If you want to add your own thoughts, comments or stories please feel free to do so in the comments box, or by emailing me at fromheretomaternity@live.co.uk

I hope you enjoy this labour focused week, whether you're about to give birth for the first time or you're a pro. It will really show just how different everyone's experience is.

Remember my friend Lisa, mom of 1 + 1 on the way? Well, she's now a proud mom of 2, which is some going considering the first one is just 18 months old! OMG!!

Little Alex was born last week at Birmingham Womens by emergency c-section, three and a half weeks early.

This next comment may be a bit shocking, but I think that most new born babies are ugly little spuds, my own included.. but little Alex was gorgeous, and perhaps his most endearing feature was his little 'breech legs'! Lisa pulled the blanket back to reveal his legs were set at a perfect triangle to his hips, with his feet immediately in line with his bum!

If you're wondering what 'it' is, I'm following on from yesterday's blog - I went to Kings Heath Fair! It was BRILLIANT!! Really hope it's on again next year, I'll make sure I don't oversleep and get there before lunch time.

I took The Kid on his first fairground ride, a small 'choo choo' train; he's really getting into trains and actually sitting on one and ringing the bell has increased his love of them ten-fold. Although I nearly didn't take him on as at one point the owner of the ride was going to charge me £1.50 to hold The Kid on my lap.. but he relented when I gave him my indignant stare from hell.

We then went and shared a pork, stuffing and apple sauce sarnie (me and The Kid, not me and the train ride man), which was lovely apart from my eardrums being assaulted by the sounds emminating from the 'mash up fm' tent. Another sign that I'm getting old - how can you call it music when it has no tune?

Before we left we went for a quick wander round the pond where The Kid decided to do his little 'I'm going to lean on my reigns and dangle like a cot mobile and there's nothing you can do about it' trick. I had one hand trying to hold the pushchair and the other trying to hoick him off the floor by the reigns, much to the amusement of passers by.

Anyway, a good time was had by all, and I'll definitely be there next time.

McCain Track and Field Road Show

A little bird tells me that there's a great way of getting your kids more interested in athletics. Tomorrow, Saturday the 4th July, McCain and UK Athletics are holding an event in Victoria Square between 11am and 4pm.