I moved to Bristol in 2005 after completing an art degree in Edinburgh, and continue to weave creativity into my day to day life and work as a doula, though supporting families through pregnancy, birth and their beginnings as parents has been my main focus since I completed my doula training in 2011. 

After the homebirth of my first child in 2010, which was I met many women who'd had a less than positive experience of care in the perinatal period and in their birthing. I'd had a really positive experience of birth: i'd felt excited, informed, very well supported by my partner and midwife, and importantly i'd remained at the centre of my care, with my voice heard. I realised many women i met postnatally did not feel empowered by their births, and experienced negative feelings such as guilt, grief and trauma. It felt quite hard to speak up about my positive experience, and it revealed to me the challenges there are of representing birth as a positive experience, in a culture which seeks to control and dramatise this ancient process. It was obvious to me that one of the critical aspects of my positive first birth was the nature of the support I'd had: trusted, calm, hands-off, consistent and empowering.

I wanted to help other women to feel the same positivity in their birthing, however and wherever it took place, whilst also supporting partners to be the best birth partners they could be. I trained with Relaxed Birth and Parenting in 2011 and have been working as a doula since, with a short break to have my second baby in 2012, at home in water.

I have volunteered with the Bristol Homebirth Group since becoming a mother in 2010. Since July 2017 I have facilitated the Positive Birth Movement group in Bristol. Running these two monthly groups forms a really important part of my work- staying conntected in my community to many families and understanding the challenges they face, sharing information and holding a space for people to explore their birthing needs, finding empowerment in their preparations.

Since becoming a certified doula in January 2012, I've formed a doula collective with 2 other Bristol doulas, and were joined in Janurary 2019 by a 4th member. Together we offer reassurance and an enhanced birth package to our clients, as well as vital professional, practical and emotional support to each other- we are each other's life doulas! We maintain positive working relationships with health care professionals in the two Bristol NHS trusts, working together to improve maternity serices and the experiences of all women. Whilst my focus is very much on supporting births, i am also glad to be able to offer other services to families to help them to plan for the birth they want, as well as support themselves postnatally, through preparation sessions, birth pool hire, making placenta remedies, processing birth experiences and supporting women during their postnatal journey with tailored practical and emotional  support. 

Alongside my doula work, I continue my creative practise, making handprinted wedding invitations and screen printed artworks, crochet slippers for babies and toddlers and any number of things that are stitched, sewn, drawn, knitted or felted. I've always turned my hand to anything, and put my heart into all i do- a characteristic which lends itself beautifully to supporting families during pregnancy and birth- being intuitive and able to adapt and respond to the needs of my clients. I enjoy baking with my children and cooking for large dinner parties, bringing warmth and heart into the home. I really enjoy singing, especially with other people. I love nothing better than bringing people together and enjoying time with friends and family.