The best products for a better birth

This candle is made with a blend of lavender and clary sage, which is ideal for creating a calming atmosphere. The ingredients are said to help encourage labour, too. Made of soy wax, it burns for approximately 12 hours.

The MamaTENS machine is easy to use and provides non-invasive pain relief as you labour.

It has pre-set, clinically researched programmes, and can be used on its own or in conjunction with other pain relief, such as an epidural or gas and air. You can also use it post-delivery to help with any lingering back pain.

A gorgeous box of 30 cards each printed with a positive affirmation to help you through pregnancy, birth, and after your baby arrives. Would also make a lovely gift for a mum to be! Grab one when you feel in need of an uplift, or place them around your birthing space to help you focus on the end result when you are labouring.

This set of organic aromatherapy products aims to calm and energise women through labour, and includes massage oil, labour bath ease, labour instant energiser and a soft cotton flannel. The perfect gift to yourself for your hospital bag or home birth kit, or as a luxurious baby-shower pressie for a pregnant friend.

Using a birthing ball during pregnancy and labour can keep the muscles in the spine in shape and ease discomfort, as well as helping to increase blood flow to your uterus. They can also be useful in getting your baby into the correct position for delivery - so a bit of a must-have purchase!

This BABYGO® birthing ball can also be used for exercise and yoga after birth. It comes with a birth and recovery booklet, as well as 100 page pregnancy book. Available in two sizes.

Massaging your perineum in the weeks before birth can help stretch the skin and make it more pliable, which could help to prevent cuts and tears. This nourishing oil contains sweet almond and natural essential oils, and is free from fragrance and colours.

Siobhan Miller is the founder of The Positive Birth Company and also an expert hypnobirthing teacher. She wants to change the way women approach and experience the birth of their baby, and has written this helpful book to educate and empower women and their birth partners. Discover how you can have the birth experience you want, no matter what kind of birth you are hoping for, or end up having. Siobhan describes in this book what hypnobirthing is, and how it can make every type of birth better.

Massage can really help you relax during labour, so have this duo handy in your hospital bag. The massage serum, Fantastic Skin Elastic, soothes stretched skin and can help reduce the appearance of stretch marks and scars - as well as being perfect for your birthing partner to rub into your lower back to help with contractions. The massage stick contains frankincense oil to calm and ground you, shea butter to soothe and moisturise, and geranium to help you relax.

Quick to inflate and deflate, this seated support is made from similar materials to birthing balls, and can help you get comfy in pregnancy, or find the perfect supported position for labour. You can sit up on it, or use it as a kneeling support.

TENS technology offers temporary drug-free pain during the early stages of labour. This model has two modes; one for use between contractions and a boost mode for when your contractions are actually happening. Easy to use, you simply attach the four pads to your back, and switch the unit on to feel a gentle pulsing sensation that will help you cope with the discomfort and pain of contractions.