AN ORPINGTON family appeared in an ITV documentary last Thursday (March 21) after they were filmed having their first home birth.

Julie Woolf, of Locksley Drive, gave birth to son Ryan in June last year and had the experience recorded by a television crew for the documentary Home Delivery.

She was joined by her husband Anthony, her son from a previous relationship, Dylan, and her mother, Chris, for the birth.

The 33-year-old said: "I agreed to do the documentary because I wanted to promote home births and show people what it is like.

"I had a traumatic experience when I gave birth to my first son in hospital nine and a half years ago.

"This time it was so much better - it is a natural environment - you know your surroundings and you can all cuddle up in bed afterwards.

"It was an amazing experience, natural and relaxed."

Mrs Woolf's difficult first birth was a result of trapped nerves and pelvic pain, but this time she used an inflatable birthing pool in her dining room, and she said the experience was greatly improved.

She added: "I was also able to have Dylan present at the birth, which I really wanted and would not have been able to do in hospital.

She admitted that to begin with she was wary of having the film crew present, but in the end she was glad she did it.

She said: "It was a very quick labour - the film crew arrived a couple of hours before I gave birth.

"I wasn't fine at first - I was nervous but the film crew were really nice - there were only two of them and they gave me my space."

The documentary was produced by television company Firecracker Films, and showed the Woolfs and two other families experiencing the birth of their baby at home.