Sit by the birthing pool: damp sleeves, time stands still, Dozy from heat and lack of sleep. The offering of small bites and little sips. Hand on shoulder, soft words spoken slow, Warm water welcomes babies, washes women, makes tea and milk and tears flow. Each birth Continue Reading
Sweet Sixteen Doula: My 2019
This year I've officially been doulaing for 16 years. And just like my real 16th year, it was full of love, adventure, awkwardness and a looking forward with excitement to what the future brings. There has been joy and heartbreak, beginnings and endings, and most importantly, this year has been Continue Reading
Parents or Judges, Juries and Jailers?
Would you order your life partner to stop swearing? Or manhandle them onto the naughty step? How about sending your girlfriend to her bedroom? Would you consider it appropriate if your husband sent you to bed or dictated what you wore? The chances are, if one adult acted towards another Continue Reading
My Doula Year 2018
I started the year with twins. Sitting in the quiet, dark hours with a mother as she feeds one, and then the other. I hold a baby, pat and settle them both. Whisper reassurance into the gloaming. Christmas lights still twinkle outside the window. I doze on the sofa til daybreak. Next Continue Reading
My Doula Year: banging the drum for justice
It's been quite a year. Not just for me, but for the wider birth world. This year heralded the beginnings of the implementation of the Better Births report. Continuity of Carer is really on the horizon - for those not in the know, that means the prospect of all women being able to get to know a Continue Reading
Breathe, They Said
Breathe, they said, as I was born. Lungs inflating, first rush streaming in, stinging my insides. Cough, splutter, wail in fury, as I struggle to catch my first breath. Breathe, they said, as I am rubbed dry, every nerve ending screaming, eyes screwed shut, Fists tight, I am fighting. A familiar Continue Reading
My Medicine Wheel Drum
North, South, East, West My medicine-wheel drum beats to the rythmn of the flame. She spins like the foam in the brook, She whispers and shivers with the breeze in the trees, She plants her roots in red earth, where she was born. Arbor she becomes, sprouting leaves from her bones and veins on Continue Reading
Trapped in a Post-Fact Nightmare: infant feeding in the Dunkirk Refugee Camp
I used to be incredibly naive. I was brought up to believe that our leaders, even if we didn't agree with their particular brand of political philosophy, generally had our best interests at heart. Us, the people, were their top priority. Within that mindset came the belief that rules, laws and Continue Reading
“We Are Not Animals”…A Day in the Dunkirk Refugee Camp
This article is about the help that refugees need in the camp in Dunkirk. A camp that is under resourced and forgotten. 1000 people, including babies and children, are living in damp, cold wooden sheds. The infant feeding team need money and volunteers. Read on for details and a link to donate. Continue Reading
I have all the Colours
I Have All the Colours I have all the colours. Red Ochre, slate grey, golden brown And greens of all the hues. Colours to paint the land that Births me anew, cleans and renews. The place where water tumbles and dances In the shimmering light. ~~~~ I have all the colours. Buttercup yellow, Continue Reading