My doula journey began when I witnessed the birth of my nephew in 2011, in a room full of family members supporting, guiding, encouraging, celebrating and nurturing my sister-in-law during her powerful labour. It lit a fire inside me!

I went on to experience two very different but very empowering births myself - one at a small maternity clinic in the South of France and one at home in Southwest England. Plus, the grief of pregnancy loss, and unexpectedly, severe postnatal mental illness when both of my girls were infants.

When my youngest daughter was 8 weeks old, she and I were admitted to a specialist Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in the UK for 24/7 psychiatric, psychological, clinical and nursing care. I have used my recovery story to support and educate women and families going through any kind of perinatal mental illness ever since, and I support the campaign for greater access to MBUs for women and whānau in Aotearoa. My experiences undoubtedly inform the care I offer the people I work with as a doula and baby massage instructor too.

After years supporting friends and family at births and postnatally, alongside my medical writing, PR and communications career, I finally completed formal doula and infant massage training in the UK in 2023. Then, when my family and I moved back to Aotearoa New Zealand later that year, I launched Birthworx.

I completed the rigorous Doula UK mentorship process from here in Aotearoa, and was formally ‘recognised’ as a birth doula in March 2026. I believe strongly in continued professional development, mentoring and reflection throughout my mahi, I continue to study and up-skill with aligned global organisations.

I have formed links with other perinatal practitioners in the Greater Wellington region and created the ‘Wellington Perinatal Network’. We meet quarterly to connect, to build wider referral networks, to look for collaboration opportunities and ultimately - to look for ways to improve the experiences of the people and whānau we work with.

Alongside doula services, I offer IAIM infant massage courses. These are a beautiful way to learn about the power of nurturing touch between parent and pēpi and for me to hold space for postpartum parents. The course has been shown to support infants’ physical and emotional development, help with their nervous system regulation as well as their parent’s, relieve symptoms of gastrointestinal issues and teething, and deepen the parent-pēpi bond.

I feel instinctively drawn to support women, birthing people and whānau during the most raw and vulnerable moments of the early perinatal period. I believe that in most situations, with access to the right support and information, it’s possible to achieve your optimal birth experience.

It is the greatest honour to be invited to support a family as their doula.