I am a mother of three children, Luca, 34, Arendall, 32 and Ethan, 28. My first was born in hospital attended by the community midwife and my husband. My other two were born at home with an independent midwife. My husband was there too, of course. My rock. All three births were amazing and empowering and I feel fortunate to have had such positive experiences. I am also an paediatric osteopath and have spent  over 30 years looking after mothers and their babies. So many sad and tragic birth histories! I realised that if I became a doula, maybe I could help prevent another tragic story, one woman at a time. I believe in women. I believe in the power of their bodies to give birth. The human body is such an amazing and versatile, robust and adaptable creation of nature that I am always left spellbound by its ability and resilience. No where more so than in the process of birth. It is the most awe inspiring aspect of the natural world. Women deserve to experience birth without fear, without rules and regulations, without threat or judgment. Educating women on the physiological process of birth and the choices they could be making about their birth, either in hospital, birthing centre, or home can help women get in touch with their own wisdom about their labour and what they envision for themselves and their baby. Knowing how your body does this wonderful task can lessen the fear and dispel myths surrounding childbirth. You can listen to my 2020 talk about labour and childbirth here:              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvkffecnOaM You can visit my doula page on this link: http://cookhamosteopathy.com/doula https://www.facebook.com/cookhamosteopathy?ref=hl 

  1985 BSc in Biology 

  1990 DO (British School of Osteopathy) Career of continuing professional development in Cranial Osteopathy- paediatrics, antenatal, postnatal 

  2009 MSc in Paediatric Osteopathy including work in SCBU/NICU 

  2010 Paramana Doula Course with Michel Odent 

  2010 Breastfeeding Study Day with Maddie McMahon 

  2010 Doula Study Weekend - Yoga and Breathing, Traditional Birth Skills, Natal Hypnotherapy, Creative Art of Motherhood 

  2010 Homebirth Study Day with Marie Coveney 

  2011 Rebozo Workshop with Stacia Smales Hill 

  2011 Doula Study Weekend - Acupressure/Shiatzu, Maya Abdominal Massage, Workshop Journey: Women of the Red Heron House 

  2011 Homeopathy for Childbirth 

  2012 Optimal Foetal Positioning with Renzo Molinari (Osteopath) 

  2012 Spinning Babies Workshop with Gail Tully 

  2013 NLP (neurolinguistic programming) Seminar 2013 Homebirth Waterbirth    Workshop with Midwife Liz Nightingale 

  2013 Paediatric CPR certificate renewal with First Steps First Aid 

  2013 Breastfeeding Study Day 2014 Reflexology for Pregnancy with Clare Cogan 

  2014 Breastfeeding Lecture with Dr Jack Newman.

2015    Tongue-tie Lecture (ABBP)                                                                                   

2015 Birthing Awareness Workshop with midwife Mark Harris                                                                    

2016 Positive Birth Conference                                                                                                                              

2017 Hypnobirthing Conference (Katherine Graves)                                                                                        

2017 Royal Society of Medicine Lecture on Birth Trauma & Injury.                                                              

2017 Resuscitation Workshop with Liz Nightingale (IM)                                                                                

2018 Human Biome in Health and Disease                                                                                                         

2018 Evidence Based Birth Webinar - Induction at 39 weeks                                                                         

2019 Let's Talk Birth 2019                                                                                                                                       

2019 Saving Lives Conference MMBRACE 2019                                                                                               

2022 Childbirth Physiology Course-Rachel Reed                                                                    

2024-  Childbirth Collective Member Rachel Reed. On-going CPD

2025 Doula UK Annual Conference

I will meet with you and your partner two to three times during your pregnancy depending on your needs and circumstances. I will also answer any questions by phone that pop up along the way as you prepare for your labour. I will be on call ten days before your baby's estimated date of arrival and until your baby is born. If you like, I can do a paediatric osteopathic check. I can help you establish breastfeeding. If you experience problems that are beyond my scope of care, I can put you in touch with the right advisors. I also work closely with a pre- and post-natal yoga teacher as well as a baby massage instructor. I have experience in home birth, water birth, birth in birthing centre as well as on the labour ward. If you are interested in speaking to me about having a doula, please phone: 01628 471890