In 2004 I was six months pregnant with my first daughter and absolutely certain I'd need a caesarean section. I'd grown up with my mother's birth stories — the kind that don't exactly fill you with confidence — and I'd made my peace with it. A caesarean was fine. Manageable. Known.
Then my midwife told me I could have a natural birth.
I was terrified. Not because I'd been told bad news — but because suddenly there was unknown where I thought there was certainty. I did what I always do when I'm scared: I started researching.
A short film on a documentary stopped me cold. A woman who'd had a traumatic birth first time around, now in a calm, almost serene labour — fully present, utterly in control. Something shifted in my chest. I cranked up the internet (no Google back then!) to find out what I’d just seen. I am eternally grateful that I saw it working before I heard the word ‘hypnobirthing’! Then I dragged my (very sceptical) husband to a weekend retreat we couldn't really afford, not knowing what we were letting ourselves in for.
It was nothing like we expected. No swinging pendulums. No clucking like chickens. Just the most logical, evidence-based, quietly revolutionary thing I had ever encountered.
We used what we learned for three births. One hospital birth and two at home. All of them calm. All of them ours.
I've been teaching KG hypnobirthing since 2011, when I trained with Katharine Graves — founder of KG Hypnobirthing. In the years since, I've become the senior trainer in the KGH team, which means I'm responsible for training the midwives and teachers who go on to teach others.
I hold a BSc in Psychology and Biology — which means when I explain what's happening in your body and your brain during labour, I'm not guessing. And I spent ten years as a teacher before this, which means I know how to make complex things accessible, memorable, and — yes — occasionally quite fun.
I am based in Narberth in Pembrokeshire and serve the surrounding area across West Wales. I offer group courses, private 1:1 sessions, and refreshers — online and in person. If you are further afield I offer private, online courses globally.
I will meet you exactly where you are. If you've done the research and you need the evidence, I've got it. If you've avoided thinking about it because it feels too big, I'll help you find a way in that doesn't feel overwhelming.
I'm not going to tell you how your birth should look. I'm going to help you figure out what you want, teach you your rights, and make sure you have the tools to advocate for yourself — even if things shift in the room on the day.
No two women come to me with the same fear, the same history, or the same birth. That's what makes this work endlessly interesting. I don't do this by rote. Every course, every woman, every birth is its own thing.
And after twenty-one years, I still think it's one of the most important things I could be doing.
Most partners arrive to the first session ready to sit at the back and be supportive in a vague, hand-holding sort of way. They trust the medical team. They're a little bit sceptical. They're there because you asked them to be.
By the end of the course, something has usually shifted quite dramatically.
Partners discover — often for the first time — that they have a real, active, essential role in your birth. Not as support staff. As part of the team. Many of the partners I've worked with have said afterwards that the course changed their experience of becoming a parent in ways they hadn't anticipated.
Bring them along. Even — especially — if they're sceptical.
If you'd like to find out more, ask questions, or just have a conversation before you commit to anything — please get in touch. There's no script and no pressure. I just love talking about this.
