Write for us · Contributor guidelines
Contributor guidelines
Everything you need to write and submit your piece, what to expect during editing, and how to make the most of your publication once it's live.
Thank you for contributing to Fear Free Childbirth. This document covers everything you need to write and submit your piece, what to expect from us during the editing process, and how to make the most of your publication once it's live.
About the publication
Fear Free Childbirth is an independent publication covering reproductive fear, anxiety and trauma. Our readers are women navigating tokophobia, pregnancy anxiety, birth fear and reproductive trauma – often in moments of real distress. They are not looking for general pregnancy advice; they are looking for recognition, clarity and a path through.
Our editorial standards apply to every piece we publish – please read them before you write.
What we publish
We are looking for pieces that:
- Address reproductive fear, anxiety, tokophobia, birth trauma or perinatal mental health directly
- Offer something our readers couldn't easily find elsewhere – clinical insight, emerging research, a professional perspective on a question they ask constantly
- Are written for the reader, not for search engines or professional peers
- Acknowledge the emotional reality of the topic, not just the clinical picture
We do not publish:
- General pregnancy or obstetrics content without a fear or anxiety angle
- Content that could run unchanged on any women's health site
- Promotional content for a product, service or clinic – your bio is where you tell readers what you do
- Anything that markets through fear – our readers are working through fear, and we will not add to it
Writing your piece
Length: 800–1,500 words. If your topic genuinely needs more space, discuss with us before you write long.
Tone: Write as if you are explaining something important to a woman who has just found you at 2am, frightened and searching for answers. Clear, direct, warm – not clinical, not academic, not reassuring in a way that dismisses the fear. Our readers have heard "you'll be fine" too many times already.
Language: UK English throughout. En-dashes (–) not hyphens for parenthetical phrases. No emoji.
Structure: A strong opening that meets the reader where she is, not where you'd like her to be. Subheadings to guide the read. A close that gives her something to hold onto – a next step, a reframe, a sense that things can shift.
Sources: Ground clinical claims in published research and cite your sources. Distinguish clearly between established evidence, emerging research and your professional opinion. Do not inflate statistics.
Trauma-aware storytelling: If you include case examples or client stories, they must be anonymised and the story owner must have consented. We take this seriously – our full trauma-aware storytelling guidelines will be sent to you on acceptance.
Your author bio
You will have one author bio paragraph of up to 80 words. This is where you can say who you are, what you do and where people can find you. One link to your website or practice is included as standard.
Please send your bio and a headshot (a clear, warm photograph – not a clinical headshot if you can help it) with your submission.
Submitting your piece
- Submit as a Google Doc shared with hello@fearfreechildbirth.com
- Include your author bio and headshot in the same document
- Let us know if there are any sources, images or references you'd like us to consider including
Timeline: we aim to review submissions within 5 working days and will let you know our decision and any editorial notes within that window.
The editing process
We edit all contributions to FFC standard – for clarity, tone, trauma-aware language and fit with our editorial voice. We will not change your meaning, your clinical position or your perspective.
You will review and approve the edited version before anything goes live. Nothing is published without your sign-off.
Once you're published
We will send you the live URL as soon as your piece is published. We ask two things of you at this point:
1. Share it with your audience. Post it on your social channels, mention it in your newsletter, share it wherever your professional community is. This is how your work reaches the people who need it – and how FFC grows the audience that makes publishing your work worthwhile.
2. Link to it from your website. Many practitioners have a press page, a resources section or an "as seen in" area on their site – this is where your FFC piece belongs. A link from your site to your published article is good for your own SEO (it points to your published work) and helps new readers find the piece. We'd love to be on your press page.
Your FFC contributor badge
Once published, we'll send you a "Published in Fear Free Childbirth" badge – a small branded asset you can embed on your website alongside your link. It works particularly well on press pages, about pages and in email footers.
Usage guidelines for the badge:
- Link it to your published article on FFC (not to the FFC homepage)
- Do not alter the badge colours, proportions or text
- Use the light version on dark backgrounds, dark version on light backgrounds
- Do not use the badge to imply editorial endorsement of your services or products
Questions
Email us at hello@fearfreechildbirth.com – we read everything and aim to reply within 2 working days.
Fear Free Childbirth is published by Blossoming Limited. Founded by Alexia Leachman.