Doula, Antenatal and Postnatal Educator, Babywearing Instructor and Reiki Healer.
Workshops to help birth workers unleash their inner power through a unique blend of science and traditions.
Latest reads from my blog
a male doula’s experience of closing the bones
Please visit our sister website to read Dr Attila Jonas’s account of closing the bones Closing the bones : a male doula’s experience
Reflections on four years as a doula
This week is world doula week and I thought it would be the perfect occasion to reflect on what I have learnt since I became a doula. I kind of fell into doulaing when my friend Maddie McMahon invited me to attend her first ever Developing Doulas course, back in 2008. Four years later, Maddie…
Do you find it hard to charge for your services?
I have been meaning to write this for a while. This week I had a couple of conversations both online and in real life, which finally gave me the impetus to write it I have 4 hats: doula, antenatal and postnatal educator, babywearing instructor and healer, and therefore interact with a lot of people in…
How to survive a long birth as a doula
When I started working as a doula, one of my biggest fears was: how will I survive the sleep deprivation of a long birth? The universe was kind to me, because my first birth was a text book, 12h long easy birth centre water birth, I came back elated and full of joy! And overall,…
Valentines 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…
Love 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…
Do 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…
Supporting empowered knowledge in a broken system – a birthworker’s dilemma
The most important thing in everything I do is to support informed decision making and empowered choice. And yet it probably is the toughest balancing act. In a maternity system that isn’t fit for purpose, how do you prepare parents for what is waiting for them without scaring the shit out of them? I find…
Doula myth series part 2: doulas are only for homebirths
After “I don’t need a doula because I have my partner” this is the second biggest myth about doulas I have lost count of how many times I’ve been asked “can I have a doula if I am planning to birth in the hospital”, so this myth is very real indeed. Let me set…