Expecting British couples are slowly turning their backs on elaborate traditions before and after the birth of their newborns. In the past few decades, UK parents have started to celebrate pregnancy publicly, throwing baby showers, lavish gender reveals parties, as well as posting about exotic baby moons - a couple's final holiday without children.
![[New mother Grace, from Essex, surprised her best friend with the birth of her newborn (pictured)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/14/08/94043233-14278015-New_mother_Grace_from_Essex_surprised_her_best_friend_with_the_b-a-6_1736844437032.jpg)
Now, the tide is turning, and a new social media trend sees parents spending their first days with their newborn alone, before later introducing the baby to friends and family. Parents have taken to TikTok to share sweet clips of themselves surprising friends and family days after they've left hospital and settled in, as opposed to calling them on the ward or having them come to visit.
![[Danielle Firth decided to give birth privately, before surprising her best friend with the birth of her newborn (pictured)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/16/94043235-14278015-image-a-49_1736785898133.jpg)
Welcoming in the new era is Danielle Firth from Manchester, who kept giving birth a secret from her best friend of 20 years. Marking her child River's first birthday, she shared video footage of the event on TikTok to mark the occasion, writing: 'I kept giving birth to my baby a secret from my best friend of 20 years.'.
In the clip, Daniella told her friend to come over to pack her hospital bag, only to surprise her with the baby once she arrived at her home. 'She was my labour partner when I had my first born at the age of 20, I couldn't have done it without her. In a turn away from lavish baby showers and gender reveals, mothers are giving birth privately and settling in with their newborn before telling their friends and family, including UK mother Tabby, who surprised her sister (pictured).
