About me

I have 2 children, both born at home with no pain relief, and both breastfed exclusively for about 9 months.  My 2nd child was an intentional unassisted birth, which means that I only called the midwife out after she was born.
This does not mean that I think all women should give birth without the assistance of a midwife, without pain relief, or even that all women should give birth at home.  I believe that women should be given the opportunity to discuss their feelings about giving birth, and should be empowered to make an informed decision about all of the options.  The safest and best place for a woman to give birth is where she feels safest.  For me this was at home surrounded by some of my closest friends, but we live in a culture which assumes something might go wrong, and which fears that something might go wrong, and so birth has become a medical process.  This means that the usual assumption is that it is safer to give birth in hospital, and so this is the most common choice.

One of my main aims is to support women in finding a way to overcome any fears she, her partner, or her family may have about childbirth, and to ensure that she is aware of all of the options available to her.

Childbirth is an amazing and life-changing experience.  Too often the focus is on what might go wrong, rather than on how incredibly well designed our bodies are to perform this natural function.   Surely the main aim of everyone involved has to be to support and empower the woman to give birth with minimal medical intervention, and to trust her own body to be able to do so.

For more information about my philosophy towards birth, please see the page which details "My beliefs".

I had considerable difficulty with breastfeeding my first child, due simply to a lack of information about good positioning.  It was a couple of months before I realised this was the problem, having first endured mastitis (twice) and many excruciatingly painful feeds.  A couple of friends gave me invaluable support during this time, but unfortunately they had never breastfed before, and so were no more aware than I was about the cause of the problem.
I went on to breastfeed both children exclusively for about 9 months each, weaning them gradually until they were nearly two years old.

Please see my "Links" page for a list of websites about breastfeeding

Because of my experiences and my confidence in a woman's ability to give birth, I have, on several occasions over the last 6 years been asked by several friends, and friends-of-friends to help them with preparing for birth, giving birth, breastfeeding etc.  Please use the buttons on the right hand side to read some references.

I completed a training course in both birth doula and post-natal doula work in 2005, and am registered as a "Recognised Doula" with Doula UK (a voluntary national organisation).  I then did a further course in post-natal support in 2006.  I have also received Reiki (level 1 and 2) attunement, and have completed courses in paediatric first aid, and child minding.  I should soon be registered as an "Approved Childcarer", which means that women (or their partners) might be able to claim Tax Credits for post-natal (or ante-natal) work involving looking after either their baby or older siblings.  I have also recently qualified as a non-medical nutritional advisor, a reflexologist, and an indian head massage therapist, and have a certificate in Counselling Skills.

Page last updated : 18th January 2008

CradleCare
Claremont North 58 Burnley Rd
Todmorden
West Yorkshire
OL14 5LH

01706 815490