Latest reads from my blog
Three rebozo techniques for pregnancy and birth
I’ve had so many mind blowing experience using rebozos shawls and scarves in my doula work to support women through 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 ridiculously simple to do, anybody can do it. Yet this humble…
The vision board, an alternative way to plan what you want
Today I’ve spent the whole morning making a vision board for this year. It feels that I’ve been procrastinating doing this for over 2 weeks now, and suddenly felt the urge this morning, which is the first full moon of the year, and a powerful one at that, a good time to set intentions. I’ve…
A four day long HBAC
Caro and Santi (both from Argentina) had hired my co-doula Becky and myself as their doulas, they were planning a HBAC (home birth after cesarean) after having had what their considered to be an unnecessary elective caesarean with their first child. We met several times during Caro’s pregnancy, and built a lovely rapport together, getting…
January : a time for rest and reflection
I’ve just had a lovely catchup with fellow doula Hazel Acland Tree with whom I have fortnightly accountability calls (I can’t recommend doing this enough by the way). During our call I expressed how frustrated I am with my desire to go forward and make plans now that we’re at the beginning of the year,…
Reflections on 2018
At the end of 2017 I wrote a review of my year. I found this a very useful exercise, because as I wrote telling a story, I gained a lot more insight into what I had done during the year than when I bullet point it like I used to do. So I am doing…
The Myth of the Ageing Placenta
I am a doula and birth educator. I also have a PhD in physiology of reproduction, and 20 years of research experience and I have a confession to make: I get REALLY irate when women get given poor quality evidence (or no evidence at all) in support of a recommendation for inducing labour. Whether…
The amazing effects of wild swimming
I’ve been a swimmer for most of my life. I’ve always loved water. I started regular swimming as a teen as I never really stopped except for the early years when my children were tiny (I’m an early morning person so I like my swimming first thing, something that was kind of difficult with tiny…
The lost art of postnatal wrapping
(I have recently updated this post – November 2019) Years ago, before I started working as a doula, I taught antenatal classes. When I was asked about using a girdle after the postpartum I told women I thought this wasn’t a good idea. You see my grandmother wore a corset most of her life. Due…
Postnatal Recovery Massage, a new kind of postnatal massage inspired by closing the bones.
I’ve been offering and teaching a postnatal massage called closing the bones since 2014 with Maddie McMahon. Maddie and I never intended to teach this technique, we just wanted to share it with our community as we had been urged to do. But then women started to ask us to show them. So we put…