Expectancy NHS & Independent Midwives event in London 11th July 2026 That's me at the back top of stairs. :) A big thank you to Denise Tiran the innovative pioneering founder of Expectancy for inviting me. A fantastic day, i met so many wonderful midwives that came from all over UK I gave a talk on birth trauma and womens maternal stress. Both subjects are not inculded in NHS training and they certainly need to be taught as basic training. Because women and newborns dese

How Many Maternity Reviews Do We Need Before Women Are Finally Heard? The publication of Donna Ockenden's latest review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is both horrific, devastating and deeply familiar. It reveals what thousands of families have experienced, from failure of leaders and government from maternity scandals: avoidable deaths and injuries, women whose concerns were dismissed, toxic workplace cultures, failures in leadership, an

Despite many calls for better birth experiences we start 2026 with headlines that Australian practices around birth are failing women. Unfortunately a global problem and not exclusive to Australia. I have reported, written and spoken about birth trauma for over a decade. Women and their infants suffer daily, professionals declare not enough is known, not recognised and no data exists to quantify the percentage of women affected, with a suspected 70% of women being affected. A

Why Children, Can’t Afford anymore Medical, Parental, Societal Blindness Birth Trauma: The Silent Crisis Every year, thousands of families silently carry the weight of birth trauma. For too long, a mother’s influences have been dismissed as “baby blues” or “just hormones.” But the truth is clear: ignoring birth trauma comes with staggering health costs for parents, for children and society. I wrote about this crisis in my women’s and children’s health book ‘Pregnancy & Birt

The contact between mother and child should not be interrupted immediately after birth. Those few moments (30-60minutes) are very important. The first 15 minutes, when oxytocin is apparent and the love hormone is being released, are critical for bonding and recognition. Many trials have shown the benefits of a baby being left with mum to bond after birth. However because of the high levels of clinical intervention today, this no longer happens in many cases. o Shown