2026 Ins & Outs (Birth Edition)
Every year, birth culture shifts — sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically — and as a Central Coast doula who spends her days in birth suites, living rooms, hospital car parks, group chats with clients, and the occasional 5:15am Fusion Pilates class… I’m calling the trends before they hit the mainstream. Hey…with any luck I might even be able to influence them and be a full trend setter? One can dream!
And let me tell you: 2026 is shaping up to be the year women stop apologising for wanting more from their birth experience — and start demanding better support, better systems, and better outcomes.
So here they are:
IN for 2026
⭐ Physiological birth (yep - still trending, still important)
More Central Coast families are seeking birth support that honours physiology, movement, and informed decision-making. It’s not about “natural birth” as an aesthetic; it’s about understanding your body, your hormones, and how birth actually works — something hospitals rarely teach. The rates of physiological birth are drastically low, sometimes less than 10% in a hospital, and we need to continue championing this if we want mothers to step into parenthood feeling AMAZING rather than traumatised.
⭐ Doulas going mainstream
I said what I said: 2026 is the year doula support becomes normalised in Central Coast hospitals, homes, and birth centres AND BEYOND!!! Couples are no longer asking “What’s a doula?” — they’re asking, “Which doula is right for us?” and that’s something I’m keen to get behind.
⭐ Due months, not due dates
The word “due date” is officially out. In its place? A generous, kinder, biologically normal due month that reduces pressure and unnecessary interventions. When only less than 4% of babies are born on their due date, and 96% will be before or after, I feel a due month is a lot more appropriate and will keep aunty Karen off your back!
⭐ In-home support for Hyperemesis Gravidarum
2026 sees a massive shift toward real, tangible care for HG — meal support, hydration help, and wrap-around doula care to support families through the marathon of severe nausea. Because the last thing you want to do when you can’t even open your eyes is head into a hospital for hydration. It already exists in some parts of the world, but it needs to be EVERYWHERE. Stat.
⭐ Men advocating publicly for women’s reproductive rights
This year, partners aren’t sitting silently in the corner. They’re informed, confident, and actually showing up in birth rooms and in public conversations. Because this baby you’re growing??? It’s half theirs!! Now it’s time to advocate for them too.
⭐ Publicly funded home birth programs
The community demand is growing, and the Central Coast is finally paying attention. On the Coast we’re lucky enough to have a publicly funded home birth program under the MGP, but it’s not the case for everywhere.
⭐ Breech birth training
Breech IS NOT a disaster — it’s a variation of normal, and women deserve more than automatic surgery because of their baby’s position! Or should I say….lack of skill on the health care provider part. Ooop….I said what I said!
⭐ Dads taking parental leave
Not just two weeks of “hope for the best”, I’m talking actual full parental leave activity. My husband did this when our daughter was 4 months old and I went back to work, it was an INCREDIBLE game changer for our family, AND he loved it.
⭐ Meal trains that people actually commit to
No more signing up and ghosting. 2026 is the year people actually bring the lasagne. Better yet, make it a soft and nourishing dahl, darls.
⭐ Stretch marks, nesting parties, postpartum honesty
Real bodies. Real support. Real community. Let’s put the bounce back mentality in the bin and connect over motherhood like the good old days.
⭐ Systemic change to maternity care
The Central Coast maternity system is under pressure, and families (& doulas) are demanding change. Advocacy is IN. Blind compliance is OUT.
OUT for 2026
🚫 Inductions for convenience
Unless medically necessary, families are questioning routine inductions and asking for evidence — and it’s about time. Inductions are not “bad” but they will drastically medicalise your birth. And all that because your OB has a golf tournament? Let’s rethink.
🚫 “We won’t allow…”
This phrase needs to be disappearing fast. More parents are learning their rights, their options, and the difference between a policy and a law. And spoiler: a hospital policy is not one.
🚫 Being the “good girl”
2026 is the year women stop people-pleasing in labour. You’re giving birth, not asking for a raise.
🚫 Contraction timer obsession
Your cervix doesn’t care about your app. Movement, environment, and safety matter more than numbers, and if you’re obsessing over the patterns on your contraction app, you’re not allowing your brain to switch over into mammalian mode for birth.
🚫 Coercion dressed in kindness
Soft voice, hard sell? Not this year. Central Coast parents are seeing right through it.
🚫 Birth trauma, obstetric violence, and silence
The conversations are louder. The data is clearer. And women are speaking out. With over 4000 submissions into the NSW Birth Trauma Inquiry, we’re demanding better.
🚫 BMI rules
Evidence > outdated charts. BMI is not an evidence based tool and to use it as a clinical one is outdated and quite frankly ridiculous.
🚫 Birth partners who panic when you’re powerful
2026 partners are getting educated, confident, and involved. Birth support is a team effort… you can find out more about birth support here
🚫 Women fighting in comment sections
LADIES…. Stop fighting with each other over your births in the comment sections…it’s a bad look and it’s exactly what the patriarchy wants from us.
🚫 Routine vaginal exams
More parents are choosing “no, thank you” to unnecessary VE’s and opting for instinctive, supported labour instead.
🚫 TikTok comment warriors
TT algorithm can get right in the bin.
🚫 Back-in-my-day storytelling that makes you doubt yourself
Different era. Different evidence. Different expectations. Let’s quit the ‘back in my day’ because it’s not helpful and….your memory probably isn’t that great!!!
🚫 Clothes that make you feel like crap
Those old jeans you wore when you were 20? Yep, they can be thrifted now. We’re not going back that way, we’re embracing our new bodies!
What this all means for Central Coast parents in 2026?
Birth is changing — and so is the support available to you. More families are choosing Central Coast doula support because they want continuity of care, personalised guidance, evidence-based education, and a birth experience that feels empowering rather than overwhelming.
2026 is the year families stop winging it and start walking into birth fully informed, fully supported, and fully themselves.
If you’re planning to birth on the Central Coast in 2026 and want support that aligns with these trends, you can book a connection call anytime.
Let’s prepare you for a birth experience that feels powerful, grounded and yours!!