A birth reflection, (sometimes called a birth debrief) is a structured, trauma-informed conversation in which we gently explore your experience of birth, pregnancy, or the postpartum period. It's different from simply talking things through with a friend or even a standard debrief; it draws on an understanding of birth physiology, maternity care, the nervous system and the body's stress responses to help you make sense of what happened and why you might still be carrying it.

This is one of the most important questions to answer, because it stops so many people from seeking support they genuinely need.

Clinically, birth trauma is understood as any experience during conception, pregnancy, labour, birth or the postpartum period that felt overwhelming, frightening, or out of your control, where your capacity to cope was exceeded. It doesn't require a dramatic event, a near-miss, or a diagnosis. It doesn't require an emergency caesarean or a haemorrhage or a baby in NICU, though those experiences absolutely count.

What also counts is a birth where you felt ignored, overridden, or not listened to. One where you consented to something without fully understanding what was happening, or without fully embodied consent, maybe you signalled ‘yes’ because you felt you had no other options. One where the gap between what you'd hoped for and what occurred has never quite closed. One that felt fine at the time but has lodged somewhere you can't reach.

Trauma is not determined by what happened. It's determined by how your nervous system processed it. Two people can go through near-identical births and have entirely different responses, and both are valid.

If you find yourself thinking it wasn't that bad, other people had it worse, hold that thought because comparison is one of the most common ways people talk themselves out of support they deserve.

We sit together for 75 minutes, either at my home in Randwick near Stroud, or online. We begin wherever feels most present for you — there's no pressure to tell your story from beginning to end or to share everything. I'll follow your lead, and we'll work with whatever feels most alive and most charged, at a pace that feels safe. Drawing on Somatic Experiencing principles, I'll pay attention not just to the story itself but to how it's held in your body and nervous system — noticing tension, activation, or shutdown and gently supporting your nervous system toward settling and integration.

In the days following your session, I send you a detailed personal letter drawing together everything we explored; the themes that emerged, moments that mattered, and insights that surfaced. People return to these letters often.

There is also the option of a personalised yoga nidrā practice, carefully tailored to the specific themes and nervous system responses that arose in your session, with a recording for ongoing support.

NHS birth debriefs are usually offered by a midwife or supervisor reviewing your notes with you, answering clinical questions and explaining what happened from a medical perspective. They can be valuable, and if you haven't had one, it's worth requesting.

But they have real limitations. They are often brief, sometimes a single appointment. The focus tends to be on clinical events rather than on how the experience affected you emotionally, physically or psychologically. The midwife offering the debrief works within the same system that cared for you, which can make it difficult to speak freely, or to receive a fully independent perspective.

A session with me is different in several ways. I have no connection to your care and no institutional position to protect, so I can offer an honest, independent view. Sessions are longer and go at your pace. As well as helping you understand what happened clinically, I pay attention to how the experience lives on in your body and nervous system, the part that a standard debrief rarely reaches.

Some people come to me having already had an NHS debrief that left questions unanswered, or that felt incomplete. Others come because they didn't feel able to be fully honest in a hospital setting - both are valid reasons.

There's no cut-off. People come to me weeks, months, or years after their birth. Whenever you feel ready — or curious — is the right time.

Birth reflections are not a substitute for psychotherapy, and I am not a therapist. If it becomes clear that what you're experiencing would be better supported by a therapist or clinical psychologist, I will say so and can help with signposting. That said, many people find a birth reflection to be deeply therapeutic — the combination of clinical midwifery knowledge, somatic awareness and a genuinely held space can offer something that's hard to find elsewhere.

A birth reflection session (75 mins) is £120. A personalised one-to-one yoga nidrā with bespoke recording is £95

Yes, and some people find this really helpful. You can send them to me in advance or bring them to the session, it's entirely optional. I can help you make sense of medical language, understand decisions that were made, or simply have someone read them with you who understands what they mean.

Neither. Some people come specifically because they're preparing for a future birth and want to process the previous one first. Others come postnatally and later find that the work shifts how they feel about pregnancy again. Wherever you are in your journey is welcome.

Yes, absolutely. Partners, non-birthing parents, co-parents and supporters are present at birth too, and what they witness and experience matters. Watching someone you love go through something frightening, feeling helpless, not knowing what was happening or whether everyone was going to be okay — that can leave its own mark.

Partners sometimes find it harder to name what they're carrying, because the instinct is to focus on the person who gave birth. But if the experience is sitting with you, if it changed something in how you feel, in your relationship, in how you approached the days and weeks that followed, that is worth bringing.

Sessions for partners and non-birthing parents follow the same approach: unhurried, led by you, with attention to both the story and how it lives in the body. You don't need to have a clear sense of what you want from it. Wanting to understand what happened, or simply needing the experience witnessed, is enough.

Yes, completely. Sessions are open to all parents, birthing people, non-birthing parents, co-parents and supporters, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, relationship structure or family makeup.

If you have experienced birth trauma, or are carrying something difficult from your pregnancy, birth or postpartum period, you are welcome here.

I use inclusive language throughout my practice and will always follow your lead on the language you use for yourself, your body and your family.