About Me

A mother of three children, I am passionate about helping women and their families get the care they feel is right for them and their baby.
My background is in science - I used to be a biochemist, working in research. During my first pregnancy I became fascinated by the biochemistry of pregnancy, birth and lactation and stunned by the distance between biology and culture.
My first birth taught me several things: to be flexible; that you can't learn everything from books (who knew?!); the positive impact midwives can have on the experience of birth; and that medical opinion is just that - opinion, based on a health professional's training, experience and personal philosophy and shaped by protocol - different medical professionals can have very different interpretations of the same situation.
My second birth taught me some more: to be even more flexible; that even when you know your stuff (perhaps from books?) it's not always enough when you're in the moment; the negative impact midwives can have on the experience of birth; and how 'luck of the draw' it is with who you get on the day when there's often little or no continuity of care.

Motherhood is a powerful and individual journey. What might be right for one woman may not be right for another; and the only person who can make those choices is her. 
My third birth taught me even more; the value of the kind of one to one (NHS) midwifery care that everyone should ideally have access to, but so few do. It taught me what it means to have someone at the birth of your child that you know and that you trust implicitly. It also taught me what a huge and lasting impact a positive birth experience can have on your life. 
Picture
Me and my two girls in the winter Gardens in 2012.

I do this because I know, and value, the positive impact of having someone compassionate to talk to through pregnancy, birth and the days after.
I love working with families; sharing information and acting as a sounding board as they explore different ideas and figure out what choices they think will work best for everyone. To find out more about what my birth doula service includes, please click here.

I strongly believe there are ways of organising things so that everyone gets their needs met - and the first step is understanding what those needs are. The next is knowing what options are available. 

If some of what I've said here resonates with you and you'd like to work with me, I would love to hear from you.