choice
Are you focusing too much on what you’re not doing?
I’m writing this as a reflection on myself, but really hope it helps others too. I have noticed this dichotomy between how I perceive myself professionally and how others perceive me. I tend to focus more on what I’m not yet doing, rather than what I’m doing. This means I beat myself up very often…
Read MoreValentines day is bullshit
Today is Valentines day. Up until a few years ago, I bought into the “romantic” idea of it. I don’t anymore. I guess you might have got that from the title of this post already 😉 I think it ‘s a piece of commercial bullshit, and it just makes me laugh, to be honest. The…
Read MoreLove and fear-more than ever
I am sure I am not the only one who feels this at the moment. We aren’t in a particularly happy space in the world right now. I spoke to several friends recently about the doom and gloom of my Facebook feed. Some people have chosen to give themselves a social media break as they…
Read MoreDo as you’re told, dearie, or the end of independent midwifery.
I am fuming. At the beginning of January, and with almost no warning, the NMC (Nurse and Midwifery Council) declared IMUK (Independent Midwifes UK) insurance policy not fit for purpose. And just like that, without warning, they put an end to independent midwifery practise in the UK. This has left many expectant mothers who had booked…
Read MoreInduction of labour- do you know what you’re letting yourself in for?
Induction of labour in the bane of many birthworkers lives (and of many pregnant women’s too). In the area I live in, it is reaching epidemic proportions (about 35% of first time mothers) Deciding to consent to induction is a complex decision, one that should be fully supported, without pressure or coercion, so that women…
Read MoreSlow the f*ck down-how to look after yourself after the birth of your baby
Looking after new mums recently, I’ve been reminded how the message we get from our culture is seriously wrong. This emphasis on “getting back to normal” is bullshit There is no “normal” just after you’ve had a baby. This isn’t a bloody race. Yet everything is geared towards you pretending that nothing has happened, and the…
Read MoreChoosing love over fear as a birthworker
As a doula the biggest lesson since I started supporting women has been to choose love over fear. I remember very early on in my doula life I witnessed a very traumatic birth -it was traumatic for the parents, and it was extremely traumatic for me. I cried for days afterwards. The mother had an…
Read MoreThe impostor syndrome in the birth world
Do you sometimes suffer from impostor syndrome? Do you worry that you do not know enough, that you haven’t got enough to offer? I’ve been reminded this week that we all have different levels of knowledge. That others know more than us and that we know more than others. This doesn’t mean that we…
Read MoreThere is no "one size fits all"
This week I was asked to do a video on how the way I think about the people I work with (pregnant women, birthing and new families, and birthworkers) has changed since I started doing what I do. I was also asked why the transformation I facilitated in my clients means so much to me.…
Read MoreThe importance of switching off when you work for yourself
I’m about to go on holidays. The first year I went away as a self employed birth worker, 4 years ago, I noticed for the first time that during my holiday I was still responding to work emails, something I didn’t use to do when I was an employee. I didn’t resent it but I…
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