The Care Between Appointments: Why We Built Circles
Pregnancy is measured out in appointments. A booking-in visit, a scan, a check-up, another scan. Each one gives you a few minutes with someone who knows what they're talking about, and then you're back to the rest of your week, on your own, with whatever question didn't get asked or didn't have time to be answered.
That gap, the space between appointments, is where most of pregnancy actually happens. It's where the 2am symptom search happens. It's where the "is this normal?" question sits unanswered for days. It's where the loneliest and most uncertain moments tend to live, quietly, because there's rarely anywhere obvious to take them.
We built Circles to fill that gap.
Why we created Circles
Throughout The Tenth’s experience working with women through pregnancy and into postpartum, one thing became clear: the women who came to us for postpartum recovery were often arriving depleted, not because anything had gone wrong, but because the months before birth had been navigated largely alone. Good medical care doesn't always mean continuous care. There can be excellent appointments and still no one to call in between them.
Circles was built around The Tenth Method, our clinically led approach to maternal wellbeing across the physical, mental and emotional dimensions of the experience. Rather than waiting until postpartum to bring that support in, Circles brings it in from pregnancy, so the continuity, and the relationship with a trusted team, is already there by the time it matters most.
What we learned before opening Circles more widely
Before bringing Circles to a wider group, we spent time with a small number of women who joined us early. A few things came through clearly, and shaped how Circles works today.
Women didn't want more content. Most were already drowning in pregnancy information, much of it conflicting, from a dozen different sources. What they wanted was one trusted voice, and someone who could actually answer the specific question they had, at the moment they had it.
The peer group mattered more than expected. Being grouped with a small number of other women at exactly the same stage of pregnancy turned out to matter as much as expert access. Not a large, anonymous forum, but a handful of women who understood, in real time, what that particular week felt like.
And the value wasn't in being told what to do. It was in having somewhere to bring the uncertainty itself, and feeling met there, by both an expert and a small group of peers, rather than working through it alone.
What to expect inside Circles
Circles gives you an ongoing relationship with The Tenth throughout pregnancy, rather than a one-off consultation or a library of generic content.
A Tenth midwife on hand, for the questions that don't wait for the next appointment.
Guidance grounded in The Tenth Method, so you're following one considered approach, not conflicting advice.
Access to our wider specialist team as your pregnancy progresses, from women's health physiotherapy to nutrition and emotional wellbeing.
A small, curated circle of women at the same stage of pregnancy, chosen to create a close, supportive dynamic rather than a large, noisy group.
Preparation for what comes after, with birth and postpartum readiness woven in as you approach your due date, not treated as a separate concern.
Who Circles is for
Circles is for those who value trusted guidance between routine appointments, a more continuous relationship with expert care, and support that considers both the physical and emotional experience of pregnancy, rather than one at the expense of the other. It's also for anyone who wants a thoughtful peer group without the noise of a large online community, and a clearer, calmer pathway into birth and postpartum preparation.
It complements your existing maternity care. Circles doesn't replace your doctor, midwife or medical team; it gives you something conventional care rarely has room for: continuity, context and someone to turn to in between.
How to join
We form Circles by trimester, First, Second and Third, so each group is made up of women who are based in London at a genuinely similar stage, with content and support paced to match. Membership is by application: we ask a little about where you are and what you're hoping for, so we can place you with the right group.
Applications for our next cohorts are open now. If pregnancy has felt like a lot of appointments and a great deal of life in between, we'd love for you to apply.
