Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is expecting and, once again, she’s setting trends.
While Kate’s understated style has been a source of inspiration for many fashionistas down through the years, this time it’s her birth plans that mums-to-be are trying to emulate.
With reports that Kate is set to give birth at home in Kensington Palace, enquiries into home births are on the rise.
According to Harper's Bazaar, Private Midwives - the UK's largest private home birth services provider - claim that there has been a 44 percent increase in enquiries following the royal baby announcement in September.
It’s believed that Kate had hoped to have a home birth when she was pregnant with Princess Charlotte, but was advised not to by her doctors.
The Mail Online has reported that this time around, Kate is planning to give birth at home, in accordance with the royal tradition.
Home births are quite popular among the royal family, with the Queen giving birth to all four of her children at home in Buckingham Palace.
Giving birth at home under medical supervision would allow Kate to avoid the paparazzi scrum she faced after leaving hospital with her first two children. It would also give George and Charlotte the opportunity to meet their new sibling in the comfort of their own home.
While these rumours haven’t yet been confirmed by Kensington Palace, Kate’s birth plans are still causing somewhat of a sensation.
A survey of 1,600 UK adults, carried out by Private Midwives, found that almost a third (29 percent) would prefer to give birth at home, while one-in-five (21 percent) said they looked to the royals and other celebrities for pregnancy inspiration.
Linda Bryceland, Director of Midwifery, Quality and Safety at Private Midwives, said: "We've seen a definite rise in interest surrounding home births (since reports about the Duchess).
"With many of the services she and other A-listers utilise becoming more readily accessible and affordable, we're seeing expectant mothers being presented with more and more options.
"As well as a rise in awareness, there is also an increase in professional career-driven women who, in the current economic climate, do not want to take time off work for antenatal appointments. Their partners also frequently struggle to get time off to attend antenatal appointments.”
What do you think, mums? Would you go for a home birth? Let us know.
