Great Expectations…

17th May 2026

…Versus the unvarnished reality I have a problem: I do want to be a grandmother. But my daughter has specifically asked me to write this post exploring how my expectations of having children matched the reality. Telling the whole truth and nothing but the unvarnished truth might not be conducive to grannyhood. Because the reality…
A Million More

12th May 2026

Today is International Nurse’s Day; here’s my contribution as a midwife Midwives have always been associated with magic. Sorcery or witchcraft depending on how generous you were feeling.Νot gonna lie, we can do impressive magic! We have vampire fingers, able to locate the most recalcitrant veins and coax enough of your blood into the test-tube. …
A million more…

4th May 2026

Midwives are awesome. Practically magic. But we don’t grow on trees… Midwives have always been associated with magic. Sorcery or witchcraft depending on how generous you were feeling. Νot gonna lie, we can do impressive magic! We have vampire fingers, able to locate the most recalcitrant veins and coax enough of your blood into the…
On luck, morality and privilege

19th Apr 2026

I’m no philosopher, no politician, no scholar, but I do have strong opinions,so here goes! Disclaimer: I am ridiculously lucky. I know that. I used to feel mega-guilty about it, but ultimately, since I have zero intention of going full hermit and/or acetic I’m assuaging the qualms by trying to live decently with the good…
With all due respect

3rd Apr 2026

How would you improve your community? No offence but… I’m not racist but… I’m not sexist but… I know this isn’t politically correct but… We all do it… I know I do. Even though I know it’s often a preface for something at least mildly offensive, sometimes downright rude. We all do our very best…
The next generation…

20th Mar 2026

Or not… apparently we are fully staffed 🤪 which is news to me! Oh Em Gee. It has recently dawned on me that I could very easily be looking after women that I delivered. I started catching babies back in 2000 so the maths isn’t terribly complicated! Thing is, I’m still working at the same…
Don’t blame the midwife

14th Mar 2026

Just because she ain’t playing Russian roulette with your baby Sometimes the cure for a disease can be brutal. Look, even on a really tough parenting day, it’d be wrong and mean to compare your kid to a bunch of tumour cells. I’m not doing that. But… you know how sometimes the treatment for a…
Please don’t ask your midwife if she has kids

6th Mar 2026

Because she’s a qualified practitioner and that’s all you need to know So here’s what I wrote just over 21 years ago after my first son was born. I called it: A taste of her own medicine…”People tend to assume that not having children means I’m not entirely qualified for the job. Most are far…
The Fourth Stage of Labour

23rd Feb 2026

Also known as breast-feeding I usually drone on about getting your baby out. Preferably loudly expressing its utter disdain about the indignity of being born. If they can voice their objection, they are hale and hearty! Once the placenta is delivered, once our baby has recovered from the shock of birth, and following a golden…
You truly deserve your candlelit waterbirth…

1st Feb 2026

But sometimes the baby has other plans I asked Chatgpt my first question yesterday. Because I thought I was getting a bit institutionalised in my old age. See, I used to be a home birth midwife. Now I’m a hospital one. And much as I love a water birth on our Midwifery Led Unit, I’m…

Midwife, Mother, Me

You don't have to be a midwife to be a mother. Or a mother to be a midwife!