The Debrief Midwife has been an idea in my mind and heart for a long time. The 2020 Covid pandemic broke something in the maternity service that unfortunately, we are still working to rebuild.
I have witnessed so much emotion from women and families using the maternity services over the past 10+ years and it can at times, be really difficult to navigate and provide the utmost appropriate care for some.
There is just not enough time to give everyone.
I became a midwife because I was fascinated by the pregnancy continuum. The whole extraordinary journey from the moment life begins is lovely to witness and be a part of as a midwife. It is so special to be able to guide someone in their pregnancy through to their birth and postpartum period. It is a privilege that I never take for granted.
Becoming a midwife was my ultimate passion and I have always loved it. I am here to tell my story, but I am also here to do something different with it.
Seventeen years of working within the NHS from starting my adult nursing training in 2009 and then commencing my midwifery training in 2014 has been such a whirlwind of real experiences. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Delivery suite, community midwifery, home births, antenatal and postnatal care, time working in Barcelona and Mexico and a transformational experience in Costa Rica have all shaped me into how I practice as a midwife today.
Unfortunately, those same years also showed me something that I couldn't keep ignoring. Women struggling. Families overwhelmed. Antenatal information unexplained. Postnatal visits rushed. Questions unanswered. Emotions unprocessed. Not because health professionals stopped caring, but because the system simply doesn't have enough time to give everyone what they truly need.
The Debrief Midwife exists because I got tired of watching that happen. I want people to feel at peace. To feel supported. To feel listened to and safe. To feel connected with the health professionals who are supposed to be looking after them.
When you invite me into your home I want you to feel these important emotions. That's it. No checklist. No rushing. Just someone who genuinely knows this sensitive and vulnerable world, the maternity system and who genuinely cares about you in it.
I hope to get to know you, your pregnancy and your birth story and help you to process any emotions or unanswered parts of your journey, so you can move forward with life.
Alongside the private sessions, The Debrief Midwife is also working towards building a community.
The village, the closeness, the friendship, the support.
Less clinical and more spiritual.
I hope to find my people. The ones that no matter what happens in life, can learn to cope and overcome adversity. Overcome grief and trauma. Overcome disconnection and loneliness. I believe once you are around those kinds of people, life becomes so much kinder to navigate.
So here I am, asking you to follow along. Overcome.
This is not just a healing space for pain.
This also will not just be a support group.
I want to hold space for the hard stuff and equally celebrate and create all that is good in life. Think meaningful connection, laughter, music, yoga, dance and all round wellness events.
Join me on this journey of fusing creativity, community, vulnerability, connection, support, healing and wellness. For anyone navigating pregnancy, postpartum recovery, new parenthood, midwifery and fellow health professionals, grief, loneliness or just in need of genuine friendship.
Let me know if you would like to meet.
I would be honoured to help heal your heart.
Love.
The Debrief Midwife x