A bit about me
Hi I’m Emma, I am a birth debrief facilitator and mother to two beautiful children. They are a huge part of the reason I show up for this work. Beyond making me a mother with all the experiences that go with pregnancy, birth and beyond, they have held up a mirror and given me an opportunity to look at myself and the world in ways I had never considered before. They might test me daily, but they also give me the motivation to leave this world at least a little brighter than when I entered it.
I have worn many hats on my journey to who I am now, all of which have helped shape the person I have become and how I choose to connect with those around me and this place we call home.
Before stepping into this work I graduated in Marine Biology (a dolphin obsession from 10 years of age that never quite went away), volunteered in environmental education, blogged about reducing plastic waste and graduated as a science teacher.
Now I am living my best life (well, most days anyway) home educating my children with a wonderful community of friends and feeling grateful that I am getting to do this work that fills me with joy and purpose. It is so much more than a job, it’s a passion and a calling that has been growing ever since my first birth and in many ways started at the beginning of my pregnancy.
Below is a little bit more about my journey here and why I’m so passionate about this work, but if you’d prefer, you can skip ahead to my training by clicking below.
My first experience of birth…
My first pregnancy wasn’t an easy one, hyperemesis gravidarum came bulldozing into my pregnancy very early on and it utterly took over my life. It became impossible to continue working and so I found myself beginning the work of full-time motherhood here. It lasted a whole 21 weeks and it’s safe to say I was miserable. For any of you reading this having experienced the same debilitating nausea and sickness, please know its ok to feel all the feelings around this and I am sending you so much love and strength. For many, me included, this can be a very traumatic experience and is absolutely something that a debrief can also help to process (I have done so myself).
I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy my third trimester feeling much better, and spent the time preparing for birth the best I knew how at the time. I joined an NCT class, did some hypnobirthing courses and learnt much more about physiological birth than I had the knowledge of before falling pregnant. I felt I knew what I wanted and was truly supported by my husband too.
Whilst I had done lots of reading and hypnobirthing, I was not prepared for how I would need to advocate for myself through the current maternity system and as a result of a cascade of interventions, I ended up with a lot of trauma surrounding my birth.
I wasn’t sure what to do with all of the feelings I had postpartum; the anger, the hurt, the grief and violation. I was never asked how I was. We were both physically fine, but I wasn’t fine, and my birth was not ok. I was left with trauma that I didn’t truly address until I became pregnant with our second child a couple of years later.
The deep desire to avoid the experiences of my first birth led me to take a much deeper dive into the world of birth, to learn and understand all I could about the physiology of birth and how to truly honour and support myself in it.
As a science graduate (Marine Biology nerd here) there has always been a big part of me that likes to question things, to do the research and find the answers, and so I think I may have gone a little heavier than most at this point! But what I found out was eye opening in so many ways that, not only did it allow me to better understand the process of birth and how to truly support it, it also sparked a little fire inside me that I just couldn’t let go of and which eventually drew me to this work.
I went on to have the most incredibly empowering and healing home birth with my daughter, supported by my husband, two midwives and a wonderful Doula and photographer who captured memories I will treasure forever. I got to experience just how incredible our bodies are when we trust and support them, and just as importantly I was truly listened to, advocated for and supported throughout my labour.
Once outside of the new-born bubble I couldn’t help but keep reminiscing this beautiful experience, but there was also a seed of anger there too. Anger that this wasn’t my first experience of birth, that the knowledge that helped me to have this wonderful experience wasn’t new or hidden away in a deep dark box somewhere, but instead just ignored or pushed aside by maternity systems at the expense of our experience and health.
One of the greatest realisations was coming to see just how many women and birthing people were being left with trauma like me. Silently dealing with this pain whilst in the throes of a whole new season of life, identity and purpose.
I knew I needed to be doing something to help shift this pattern of birth trauma, and so that seed I planted started to grow. It went off in lots of directions, and I explored all the various ways that I might best be able to help and support those who needed it. With time I came to realise that in this season of life and motherhood, my heart lay with supporting women to work through their trauma and/or help them to prepare for birth so they can feel truly empowered and supported.
Held by Emma has been brewing in the depths of my mind ever since and I am finally in a place where I have the capacity to make this offering to the world.
My training
Being able to deliver a safe and effective birth listening service is of the utmost importance to me. I care deeply about you and your story and to ensure that the service I provide is trauma informed and safe, I have or am currently undertaking the courses listed below.
-
This course is run by Alex Heath at The Birth Republic CIC School of Perinatal Health. It is recognised and certified by the Ofqual regulated body AIM.
It is a course provider for many organisations including the NHS and Mind.
-
This mentorship is led by Bernadette Lack, the founder of ‘Core and Floor Restore’
Having experienced some of her offerings first hand for my own birth trauma and postpartum journey, I am beyond excited to be able to bring all her knowledge and wisdom to the debriefs I provide to you.
This mentorship involves a lot of inner work to ensure I am in the best place to support you and explores the use of somatic techniques for those who wish to use this tool as part of their birth debriefing journey.
In addition the mentorship covers birth preparation training and I am excited to be offering this in the new year.
-
Ran by the wonderful Illyin Morrison, a perinatal trauma specialist midwife, a birth debrief facilitator and author of the book ‘The Birth Debrief’. This masterclass was especially beneficial in raising awareness of racism and bias in the healthcare system and how to ensure an inclusive debriefing experience that is cantered around those we are supporting.
In addition to this I am always looking for ways to improve, learn and expand my knowledge on the subject of birth trauma and birth (as I said before, I am a bit of a science nerd at heart) and this year (2025) I attended online the CPD certified 2025 Birth Trauma Summit, hosted by Make Birth Better, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness of birth trauma, preventing it and ensuring people can find the support they need.
In my spare time you can also find me attentively listening to podcasts about birth, watching videos about birth, reading papers about birth and listening to a many number of the other wonderful birth workers out there doing amazing work to raise awareness and be part of the solution to ending birth trauma. I am the person who sits on a train, a bus or at a café, trying to discreetly watch the video of a beautiful birth on my phone without startling any passers by.
In all seriousness though, birth trauma is a really big issue, but there is something that can be done about it and there really are so many people working hard to bring about the necessary changes to prevent it, and to support all of us who have or are experiencing it. The following are doing amazing work in this area.
