What do I take from this place, this time? Sometimes a pebble, a snail shell, a flower, a fern. Often a catharsis, an unravelling, A peeling, an untying of knots. Always I leave my mark: a footstep on the hill On the path to the lake or labyrinth, All fear floating, trembling and Continue Reading
This Is The Way I Pray
Toes, feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs. Salty water, cold as ice, brooding skies. Breathe, breathe, breath is blooming, I am NOW, this moment all consuming. Alive. I am alive. In this breath, In this beating of my heart, In this pumping of my blood, I am here, I am now, I Continue Reading
The eye is the lamp of your body
What did I not want to see, inside of me? What weeds grew, unnoticed, in fallow ground? What was pressed down into the soil of my soul? What seeds took root in the darkest crevises? What shoots twisted up towards the light? What spores grew in my muddy insides? Was it anger, self loathing? Continue Reading
Dear Doctor, Meet My Inner Child
How did you feel as a child? I mean, when you think back to being tiny, what is the emotion that comes up most readily for you? When I travel back to those days, I meet myself feeling lonely, craving, but not getting, the attention and emotional availability of my mother. I see myself Continue Reading
All That Matters is a Healthy Baby
It matters. Of course it matters, more than anything else. When you give birth, the most important thing is that you and your child come out the other side, alive. Alive is GOOD. It's the BEST, for most of us, most of the time. But is that ALL that matters? Really? Does it matter that you Continue Reading
Weaponising the Ockenden Report
This Guest Post is an edited version of an article which appeared on www.thearticle.com on 28 March, with the title The Ockenden Report: are we making natural birth a scapegoat? reproduced by permission of the editor. The author Sarah Johnson is a doula and birth educator and has Continue Reading
All is Love Unembellished
At the end of another "unprecedented year", I am reflecting on all the chaos and fear. The end is nigh, they say - earth's gonna burn If humanity can't see this lesson to learn. And yet we continue: daily rhythms and routines Love and laughter, joy and grief - all that life means. My year Continue Reading
Are You Sure She Wasn’t Asking For It? Shame and Blame in the Birth Game
The story of the female holiday maker in Cyprus who was raped and then not believed has brought back some strong memories and emotions for me. It's more than 25 years ago now, half a lifetime. And yet, the fear and fury can still be brought to the surface so easily. This poor woman has been Continue Reading
Modern Birth: The End of Pregnancy As We Know It?
The great feminist Gloria Steinem once said, Democracy begins with owning our bodies. By that measure, women have rarely lived in a democracy When I think about birth, and more specifically, the politics of the modern, mechanised birth factories, that quote often comes to mind. Recently, I've Continue Reading
Birth Choices: Shopping Around
I am frequently told stories by clients, or witness conversations between pregnant people and their care providers that perplex me. On one hand, care providers often seem to feel they have a duty to ensure my clients comply with the care pathway they deem to be 'appropriate'. On the other, my Continue Reading