06 August 2023 , 06:24
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A pregnant mum has praised the organisers of one of the UK's biggest music festivals for being "well-equipped".
Vanessa Bland and her husband Simon are regulars at Glastonbury, but their fun-filled trip was a little different this year. She was 30 weeks pregnant and after a positive experience, now hopes to take her baby along next year. The couple wanted to see how the pregnancy developed before committing to going. But they soon filled their hired camper van with non-alcoholic beers and comfortable clothes and headed to Worthy Farm.
Vanessa, 33, says: "We had a few Glastonburys under our belt before doing this one pregnant - it was my fourth and my husband's ninth. I had braced myself for it being a different year but it wasn't too bad actually as we still enjoyed it. It was a different experience to be at the festival and be sober the whole time. Our plan is to get tickets again next year and take our little boy with us."
Vanessa has praised the organisers of Glastonbury for being "well-equipped" (Vanessa Bland / SWNS)
The couple hired a camper van for Glastonbury (Vanessa Bland / SWNS)The couple from West Yorkshire were trying for a baby around the same time tickets for Glastonbury were released in November last year. She surprised him with the good news on Christmas Day.
Vanessa, a photography company director, added: "Luckily everything was fine and we decided to go. The biggest change we made this year was hiring a camper van for the week.
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"We had never stayed in a camper van before, we usually camp in a tent but I didn't want to make my husband do two or three trips to the car by himself. Sleeping on an airbed even if it is raised is never ideal either. The camper van made it a lot nicer experience - I was more comfortable and a lot cooler."
Both are festival veterans and said they had a good idea of what you need and what you don't. Vanessa says: "Snacks for 'on the go' are always a really good investment. Comfy shoes are the number one thing I needed, it meant that if my legs did swell then my shoes would be really comfy.
"We did a lot of steps, we probably did around 20 to 25,000 steps a day and we would have normally done around 30,000 - we took it a bit easier this year. We also brought some compactable chairs with us if I needed to sit down but we didn't end up bringing it out with us."
Vanessa said she would recommend Glastonbury to other women who are pregnant at the festival. "It is totally up to you and how you feel," she said. "You know your own body, you know how far you can trust yourself but I would recommend this to other mums. There were actually quite a lot of pregnant people and a lot of families which is reassuring to see. It is so well-equipped for it, there is a family camping area and a kids' field."