THE idea of giving birth can be scary for adults and children alike.

But one woman from Wolvercote in Oxford is hoping to single-handedly break down the anxiety for youngsters with her new book The Princess and the Poo.

The author, who wishes to be known by her pen name Lara Fairy Love, says she was inspired to write the book after realising the negative perception children have about giving birth.

The 42-year-old birthing assistant said: “The whole process of writing the book began four years ago after I realised the way children thought about giving birth and babies.

“Research shows that if you ask kids at school to draw a picture of giving birth, all they draw is blood, crying and tears, when really they should be thinking about it as a wonderful process that brings new life into the world – not something horrible and scary.

“I wanted to try to change their whole perspective with my book that says giving birth is a part of natural life.

“If you know how to poo, you know how to have a baby.”

The author said she wanted to encourage children to think about the way they were born in the hope of encouraging more home births.

She said: “The way we give birth and the way we are born are defining factors in how we evolve as human beings.

“I want to educate our next generation to think in a different way so they give birth to our grandchildren in love and peace, because peace on earth begins with a peaceful birth.

“In this modern age we are fortunate to have so much.

“However the caesarian section rate is going up and the home birth rate is going down.

“If people knew it did not have to be such a scary process, perhaps more people would be able to give birth at home, which would save the NHS a lot of money.”

She said it had been her mission this year to travel to hundreds of schools in the UK to read the story, create a play and generate discussions with children that would lead to further education about childbirth.

She hoped that the translation of her book into French, German and Spanish this year would spark a book tour across Europe.

She said: “I’m currently trying to raise money so that I can work with even more children across Europe and play with them, talk to them, and educate them on giving birth.

“I’ve already sold 800 copies of the book and been told that the Royal College of Midwifery and Association for Improvements to Maternity Services will be giving them to children in hospitals, which is great.”

To buy the book for £9.99 visit lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=1119954