Latest reads from my blog
The “untried penis”
Women sometimes get told that they cannot give birth at home with their first baby because they have an “untried pelvis”. What if we told men they couldn’t have sex at home the first time because they have an “untried penis” Just imagine a young couple going to see a health professional, to discuss their…
How a doula can support you if you are having a planned cesarean birth
It’s a commonly held belief that there is no point having a doula if you are having a planned cesarean, and I want to debunk this myth. I too, once believed that I couldn’t justify charging to support a woman who was having a planned caesarean. There would be no on call period, no phone…
Taking the red pill: why I became a doula course leader
The Developing Doulas course, and its founder, Maddie McMahon, have a special history for me. Back in 2005, when I was pregnant with my son, I hired Maddie as my doula. The experience was so incredibly empowering and life transforming that it started me on the path of a complete career conversion, and I went…
Confessions of a hippy scientist : 3 years on.
Three years ago today, I published a blog call “confessions of a hippy scientist“. In this blog, I came out as a science meets woo person, something I had shied away from for a couple of years. You see I’ve got a PhD in biology and spend 20 years working as a research scientist. When…
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,…