My journey into birth work began with the birth of my first baby in 2009, when I was supported throughout pregnancy and birth by an independent midwife.

Having someone beside me who genuinely knew me — rather than simply knowing my notes or my pregnancy — profoundly shaped the way I understood birth and maternity care. I experienced what it felt like to have continuity, time and a trusted woman beside me who believed in my ability to birth.

Nearly two decades later, that experience still sits at the heart of how I work.

Pregnancy can be strangely lonely. You can have appointments, scans, tests, growth charts and checklists and still not feel truly held.

For most of human history, women did not move towards birth alone. They were surrounded by mothers, aunties, sisters, neighbours, midwives and wise women — people who knew birth, but who also knew them.

My work as a doula and birthkeeper is, in some small way, about bringing some of that back.

I use both words deliberately. Doula describes the emotional, physical and practical support I offer. Birthkeeper speaks to something deeper in my work: keeping traditional birth knowledge alive, protecting the atmosphere around birth and remembering that birth is not simply a medical event to get through, but a physical, emotional and instinctive rite of passage.

My background includes degree-level study in Antenatal Education and many years teaching with the NCT, alongside training and experience in pregnancy and postnatal yoga, breastfeeding support, babywearing, hypnobirthing, shiatsu, massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, rebozo, biomechanics, birth trauma support and other traditional approaches to pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.

I bring those different strands together according to the woman in front of me. Sometimes that means antenatal education and exploring your options. Sometimes it means massage, rebozo, movement or practical birth preparation. During labour I might be supporting your partner, making food, filling the birth pool, helping you change position or offering hands-on comfort. And sometimes the most useful thing I can do is simply sit calmly and quietly, protect the space and allow you to birth undisturbed.

If you are the kind of woman who wants to practise discernment in how you engage with NHS maternity care, I could be the doula for you.

That might mean deciding that closer monitoring or medical support is absolutely right for you at a particular point. It might mean choosing a completely wild pregnancy outside NHS care. Or it might look like any of the many possibilities in between.

I specialise in supporting women to navigate maternity care without slipping into automatic compliance mode — that almost unconscious place where appointments, tests, recommendations and interventions can simply become “what happens next”. We can slow things down, explore what is actually being offered and why, look at your individual circumstances and options, and help you come back to the question: What feels right for me?

Discernment does not mean always saying no. Sometimes the answer is an informed and wholehearted yes. Sometimes it is no, not now, or I need more information. My role isn't to persuade you towards any particular choices, but to help you stay at the centre of yours.

Support doesn't have to end when your baby is born. I also offer postnatal doula care, feeding and babywearing support, nourishing food, restorative bodywork, Closing the Bones, placenta care and space to talk through and integrate your birth experience.

I am based in the Forest of Dean and support families across Gloucestershire and surrounding areas, with virtual support available wherever you are and occasionally travel for the right clients. 

My full birth signature support package is £2,800.

I will be away during January and February 2027, spending time in South America and learning alongside traditional indigenous midwives. I am available for UK birth clients either side of this period, and virtual support can continue while I am travelling.