Articles
Here I share what I have gathered through almost 2 decades of learning, teaching and supporting women and families, studying birth and listening closely to women’s experiences.
You’ll find writing about pregnancy, birth preparation, hormones, movement, breastfeeding, postnatal recovery and emotional wellbeing — alongside deeper explorations of maternity culture, autonomy and birth in the news.
My work brings together evidence, traditional wisdom, practical experience and a deep trust in women’s bodies. I won’t tell you what choices to make. My aim is to help you understand your body, explore your options and strengthen your confidence in your own discernment.
Take your time. Follow what speaks to you. And if you would like someone beside you as you prepare for pregnancy, birth or the months beyond, you can explore my classes and support here in the Forest of Dean and online.
Topic Index
These articles have been categorised to the best of my ability!
Open one of the topics below to explore, or if you’re looking for something particular and can’t find it let me know here
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Pregnancy Topics | Nutrition | Iron | Low Iron | Anaemia | Blood Tests | Supplements | Vitamin D | Folate | Vegan Pregnancy | Keto Pregnancy | Antibiotics | GBS | Microbiome | Waters Breaking / PROM | Older Mothers | Young Mothers | Pre-eclampsia | Growth Scans | Gestational Diabetes | PAPP-A | PCOS | Thyroid Conditions | Graves’ Disease | Pregnancy Complications | Worms in Pregnancy
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Pregnancy Complaints | Pelvic Pain | Sleeplessness | Restless Legs | Back Pain | Heartburn | Nausea | Morning Sickness | Swelling | Cramps | Fatigue | Anxiety in Pregnancy
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Wellbeing & Holistic Health | Self-Care | Herbal Wisdom | Herbs for Pregnancy | Herbs for Birth | Herbs for Postnatal Recovery | Herbal Teas | Seasonal Herbs | Foraging | Kitchen Medicine | Traditional Remedies | Nourishing Infusions | Raspberry Leaf | Sitz Baths | Yoni Steaming | Labour Massage Oils | Postnatal Baths | Womb Wisdom | Cycle Wisdom | Women’s Wellness | Folk Medicine | Plant Wisdom | Pregnancy Massage | Shiatsu | Reflexology | Pregnancy Yoga | Relaxation | Rebozo | Hormones | Oxytocin | Rites of Passage | Rituals | Menopause | Peri-Menopause
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Support in Birth| Doulas | Birth Companion | Antenatal Classes | Partners | Birth Partners | Relaxation | Pregnancy Yoga | Pregnancy Massage | Shiatsu | Reflexology | Hormones | Oxytocin
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Postnatal & Baby | Breastfeeding | Babywearing | Sling Support | Postnatal Support | Postnatal Recovery | Bonding | Fourth Trimester | Birth Trauma
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Baby Loss, Death & Rites of Passage | Baby Loss | Miscarriage | Stillbirth | Abortion | Death | Rites of Passage | Rituals
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Stories & Local Advocacy | Birth Stories | Gloucestershire Maternity | Forest of Dean | Stroud Maternity | Gloucester Birth Unit | Home Birth Suspension | NHS Accountability | FOI | Community & Events | Personal Reflections
How I Treated Threadworms Naturally During Pregnancy
When I discovered that my son and I both had threadworms while I was pregnant, I chose to research natural ways of treating them. Here I share the complete two-week routine that worked for us—including raw garlic, carrots, pumpkin seeds, dietary changes, homeopathy and the essential hygiene measures that helped prevent reinfection.
Women’s Health, Menopause & Matt Bishop’s Event…
After hearing women’s experiences of being dismissed by healthcare services at Matt Bishop MP’s women and girls event at Speech House, I reflect on menopause, oestrogen, the role of the adrenal glands—and why women need community, meaningful information and genuine choice.
Remembering How to Hold Women: Closing the Bones in Community
At Sun and Moon Festival, women gathered to experience Closing the Bones, rebozo work and the extraordinary feeling of being truly held. What unfolded was a beautiful remembering of ceremony, community and the ways women can nurture one another.
Fish Skin, Grief and Rewilding Women: Medicine Festival 2026
From fish skin tanning and animal craft to a Closing the Bones circle shared by thirty women from around the world, Medicine Festival became a powerful experience of remembering—our instinctive knowledge, our relationship with death and the wisdom already held within our bodies.
When a Pregnancy Ends: Supporting a Miscarriage Naturally
Miscarriage is not necessarily a medical event. It is a birth, a death, a physical process and an experience of grief.
This guide explores natural or expectant miscarriage, including how long you may choose to wait, signs that medical help is needed, and ways to prepare and care for your body. It also considers homeopathy, shiatsu, nourishing food, loving touch, ceremony and the importance of being properly held through pregnancy loss.
You do not have to navigate miscarriage alone.
Independent Antenatal Classes in the Forest of Dean: Why the Way You Prepare for Birth Matters
Preparing for birth isn’t just about gathering information. The way antenatal classes are taught can shape how confident, supported and prepared you feel as labour approaches.
Pre-Eclampsia: What We’re Not Told — And What Actually Helps
Modern maternity care focusses on FINDING problems, but forgets to build health & avoid them in the first place - find out what is missing from NHS care & how you can help yourself.
Graves’ Disease in Pregnancy and Newborn Babies
Graves’ disease is an autoimmune thyroid condition. Some women experience it earlier in life, are treated, recover well, and go on to have healthy pregnancies years later with no ongoing symptoms.
Why More Women Are Choosing Freebirth
Many women are making the careful and well researched decision to freebirth - but, it’s not a decision being made in a vaccum. Lets explore the pros and cons.
When Maternity Services Feel Unstable — What Women Can Do Now
With Gloucestershire’s home-birth service suspended and maternity wards under strain, many women are asking what to do next. This guide explores practical steps to restore calm and confidence — from nourishing your body and preparing intentionally for birth, to understanding your rights and creating your own continuity of care. Whether you choose to stay home, switch Trusts, or hire a doula or independent midwife, you do have options. Birth is powerful — and so are you.
⭐️ Free ⭐️ Birth Companion & Advocacy Support for POC, Vulnerable & Minority Communities in the Forest of Dean
Becoming a parent is a big moment — and everyone deserves support, safety, and respect. Each month, I’m offering one free Doula (Birth Companion) & Advocacy place for someone in the Forest of Dean from a minority or migrant community — such as Romanian, Indian, Polish, Zimbabwean, refugee/asylum-seeking and other under-represented families.
PAPP-A - Part 2, Placental Physiology, and the Science of Growth
This second part dives deeper into the science behind PAPP-A and the Insulin-Like Growth Factor system — exploring how placental enzymes, blood flow, and vascular growth interact throughout pregnancy.
Aimed at birthkeepers and midwives (but valuable for anyone curious), it unpacks the research, physiology, and evidence behind how lifestyle, nourishment, and calm continue to shape placental health long after the first trimester. 🌿
Low PAPP-A: What It Really Means and How to Support Your Placenta Naturally
Being told you have low PAPP-A can sound worrying, but it isn’t a diagnosis — it’s a marker of how your placenta is developing.
This enzyme helps build blood vessels and nourish your baby, and its function can be supported naturally through food, movement, rest, and calm.
Understanding how your body works turns fear into empowerment — your placenta is alive, responsive, and still growing with you. 🌿
The Truth About Continuous Monitoring – What Really Improves Birth Outcomes
Continuous monitoring (CTG) is one of the most common interventions in modern maternity care — yet it hasn’t been shown to make birth safer. Evidence shows it increases intervention rates, restricts movement, and undermines confidence.
What does improve outcomes is continuity, connection, and trust — the kind of support once offered by village midwives and birth companions. This blog explores what the research really says about CTG, and how women can take back their power through homebirth, skilled support, and radical responsibility.
Blog of The Week: Great Birth Rebellion - Microbes & Vagina’s
I dare you to listen and tell me you’re not inspired!
PCOS, Pregnancy & Insulin Resistance: What It Means and How to Support Yourself
Living with PCOS can make pregnancy feel full of questions. What does it mean for your health, your baby, and your birth choices? In this blog I explain what PCOS is, how it can affect pregnancy (including a slightly higher chance of complications like pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes), and — most importantly — the gentle, practical steps including yoga for pcos pregnancy, you can take to support your body.
Shrouding - An Ancient Ritual
This week I experienced something profound — being shrouded. For thousands of years, families cared for their loved ones in this way at home, just as naturally as we swaddle our babies or wrap women during pregnancy and after birth. These simple acts of wrapping are not just rituals, they are deeply human ways of offering support, love, and closure.
Real Nutrition in Pregnancy: Beyond Supplements, Towards Real Food
Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding times in life. Your body is building not only a baby, but also a placenta, an expanded blood supply, and the reserves you’ll need for birth and breastfeeding. While modern advice often says “just take a prenatal,” the truth is deeper: nutrient density and bioavailability matter most.
In this blog, I explore why certain nutrients — like choline, DHA, iron, zinc, and collagen — are almost impossible to get in sufficient amounts from a vegan diet, and why cravings for animal foods during pregnancy are signs of your body’s wisdom, not weakness. We’ll look at the gaps in vegan nutrition research, the dangers of modern monocropped grains, and how ancestral, wild, and locally-sourced foods can provide everything you and your baby need to thrive.
✨ Plus: a free Yoga Nidra meditation to help you release food guilt, trust your cravings, and reconnect with your body’s instincts.
Maternity Rights - Paid Time Off Work for Antenatal Classes
It’s often seen as strong to carry on performing at work during pregnancy — but it takes even greater strength to pause, say no, and put your health and your baby’s wellbeing first.