The importance of switching off when you work for yourself
I've been working as a solopreneur for 10 years. The first year I went away on holiday, as a newly self-employed birth worker, I noticed that I was still responding to work emails, something I never did when I was an employee. I didn't resent it but I was very...
The wisdom of fallow times
A few weeks ago I attended my last birth as a doula. As I explained in a previous post, this was a long drawn-out decision that took me a couple of years to reach. When I wrote the previous blog whilst on-call for the birth, after attending my last birth, I expected...
Do you long for more sacredness in your life?
Do you long for a more meaningful life, for a sense of connection to something bigger than yourself? Do you feel this longing in your heart, in your bones? Like something is missing but you don’t know what? Do you have this deep knowing inside that life is meant to...
Why I offer mother blessing ceremonies
I would like to tell the story about how I came to offer mother blessings ceremonies and the journey that led me to do this in the hope that it may inspire others to do the same. I’ve always had an intuitive sense of the lack of ceremony and rituals, and sense of...
Baby shower? Have a mother blessing instead.
What is a mother blessing? You probably have heard of a baby shower, but have you heard of mother blessing? It is a celebration and honouring of a woman’s transition into motherhood. A mother blessing is a celebration that takes place during pregnancy and which is...
The maternity machine
Today I went from a house Where a woman swayed as her body opened Gently vocalising, in tune with herself Warm water ready to embrace her With candles as the only light And two women sitting quietly Watching and waiting Whispering words of encouragement Holding her...
Why I am stopping doula work
As I write this blog I am on-call for my last birth as a doula. I’ve made the decision to stop doula work. This might come as a surprise and I’d like to explain the long process that led me to take this decision. Being a doula is a very demanding and challenging...
The lost art of postnatal wrapping
All around the world, there is a custom to binding the hip and/or the belly for the first few weeks after birth. It makes sense when you think about it. During pregnancy, the body adapts to accommodate the growing baby: the pelvis tilts and widens, the spine curvature...
Resting after birthing a project
Earlier this week, a short text by Sylvester McNutt popped on my feed. How apt, I thought. It said this: “Creative people need to sit around and do nothing Creative people do not need fully booked calendars Creative people need to hear the world’s heartbeat Creative...
Three rebozo techniques for pregnancy and birth
I've had so many positive experiences using rebozo techniques as a doula to support pregnancy, birth, the postpartum and beyond, I'm on a mission to pass on this skill to ask many people as possible. Every technique is extremely simple to do, anybody can do it. Yet...
Ceremonial birth food
I have baked groaning cakes for my clients for nearly ten years, since I came across it in the book The Birth House. Before I go on-call for a birth, I bake the cake, and then I freeze it, ready to take with me to the birth when I get the call. Most of the time, with...
How I went from overwhelm to joyful productivity and authentic marketing
I became a self-employed perinatal educator and doula in 2013 after 20 years working as a biology research scientist. I loved my new job, but I had zero training in running a business. After 3 years, I found myself fully booked, overworked, and yet not earning enough...
Embracing your unique, quirky self
This morning, a memory just popped on my Facebook feed about a blog I wrote in 2016 called Confessions of a hippy scientist. It helped me reflect on how far I’ve come in embracing my unique, quirky self. Back then, I felt that I had to hide my energy work practise...
How baby books ‘experts’ harm new parents
I hate so-called 'baby experts' who promise that your baby will be happy and super easy to look after if you follow their rigid 'schedule'. Gina Ford is the most famous one in the UK, but there are plenty of similar ones all over the world. Many of these so-called...
What getting a puppy has taught me about doulaing, pregnancy, birth and the postpartum
I’m the new mum of a 10 weeks old golden retriever who came to live with my family about a week ago. I feel a lot of similarity with someone who just had a baby. I’m tired. I’m in love. I’m overwhelmed. I’m not sure I’m doing things right and I’m second guessing...