I am an NHS midwife. I teach antenatal, yoga, hypnobirthing & feeding classes.

The Authentic Midwife | Linktree

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Would you go and buy a car without researching the best, new latest models? Would you book a holiday without comparing flight deals? And would you run a marathon without putting away hours spent on training? Maybe, but probably not. 

When we book a holiday, we will probably spend hours researching the best restaurants to eat in and the nicest places to visit... Birth education, should be something we invest in too - for yourself, birth partner and your baby.

The maternity system in the U.K. has faced extensive scrutiny recently (with good reason) and there is currently a national shortage of midwives. This information is not said to frighten any parents to be, but there has never been a more important time to invest in childbirth education.

Do you know that legally, you must provide informed consent for any decision offered regarding you care? It is your body and only you can make decisions about what happens to it. This includes an induction of labour, a vaginal examination and antibiotics. It includes where, and how, you decide you want to give birth. 

Do you know that not a single hospital in the U.K. provides 100% evidence based maternity care?! Do you know that some healthcare professionals will use coercive or misleading language, such as "your risk of developing this condition doubles, if you don't do this..." without ever explaining, statistically, what this risk is? Do you know that there are always alternatives, (including sometimes, doing nothing) and that the risks and benefits of each decision should be carefully explained to you? Do you know that around 30,000 women every year experience birth trauma? 

It's clear that although most maternity services, midwives and doctors are doing an excellent job, there is still something missing. And it's not good enough. Antenatal and birth education is essential if you want to feel prepared, empowered, knowledgeable and able to understand the birthing process. It allows you to make decisions that are right for you, your baby and your family. This is about bodily autonomy and consent.

Research shows that antenatal education enables women and birthing people to feel a sense of control, and to be fully informed and aware of the choices they make. This in turn means women and birthing people are more likely to feel empowered and that they had a positive birthing experience (no matter how they gave birth); and this in turns decreases rates of postnatal depression, birth trauma and birth injury.

Please invest the time and money into your pregnancy and birthing education, that you would readily offer up when researching the best new Apple iPhone or mobile phone contract. I promise you it's worth it. 

Why does birth education matter?

I am a registered midwife, who having worked in a range of high and low risk midwifery settings within the NHS, for several years worked as a core birth centre midwife in a midwife led birth centre in London. I became a mother myself in 2024 and this has only further exacerbated my interest in midwifery and motherhood. My frustration with standard NHS maternity care and midwifery practice has led me to do lots of private birth work outside of the NHS. This is now a big focus for me. I graduated with a first class honours Midwifery Degree from King's College London, starting my midwifery journey in 2017, and have never looked back. 

I am an antenatal teacher for Bump and Baby Club, and I also teach private antenatal classes, breastfeeding support sessions and hypnobirthing education. I am a trained and experienced hypnobirthing practitioner [Dip HB (KGH)] and a pregnancy + postnatal yoga teacher. I also offer a 1:1 birth planning consultancy session and private birthing debrief sessions, for women, partners and birthing people experiencing flashbacks, trauma or simply do not understand what happened and why. 

My focus is around enabling women and birthing people to feel supported and empowered following their birthing experiences and I truly believe antenatal education and hypnobirthing is fundamental to this. I am passionate about supporting women through physiological birth, planned c sections, protecting women's birthing and human rights throughout pregnancy, labour and childbirth and believe in facilitating education around how to make informed choices and decisions. 

I provide evidence-based and up to date advice, and believe women and birthing people should fundamentally feel iconic following giving birth to new life, however these babies make their little way into the world! It is a huge journey - and I am here to support you through it. 

About me 

Hypnobirthing classes offered in person or online. I will teach you skills and breathing techniques to ensure you feel prepared, educated and informed for a positive, empowered and more confident birth. I am a practicing NHS midwife working in a busy midwife led birthing centre. I incorporate practical, logical and evidence based support and advice into all of my teaching. Price: A private 2 hour hypnobirthing class covering the essential hypnobirthing techniques. This class will facilitate practical learning and birth preparation = £140. Hypnobirthing pro: a 4 hour course, split into 2x sessions of 2 hours each, including an introduction to hypnobirthing, breathing techniques for labour and birth, the power of language and the birthing environment, and some guided meditations = £260. Concessions available. I believe birth education and support should be accessible to everyone. Please leave your details below and I will contact you. I look forward to working with you. 

Hypnobirthing classes

Feeding your baby can be an overwhelming and challenging experience on the journey to motherhood and parenthood. And if that is the case, that is okay! This is part of the fourth trimester.

I am available for 1-2 hour feeding sessions (you tell me the time you feel you need) to discuss supporting you with breastfeeding, mixed feeding, responsive formula feeding and how to share this responsibility with your support at home, should you wish to. This will all be offered in the privacy of your own home. I will also guide you through some challenges that can arise with breastfeeding at home and how to overcome these, so you can enjoy feeding your baby!

Price:
1x 1-hour session = £80.
1x 1.5 hour session = £120.
1x 2-hour session = £150.
Any follow up sessions = £65 per hour.

Concessions available.
I believe birth education and support should be accessible to everyone.  
Please leave your details below and I will contact you. 

I look forward to working with you.

Feeding your baby

Do you have questions about your birth plan? Not sure where to start? Are you confused around what you are "allowed" and "not allowed" to do? Is there something specific you are worried about? Do you have birth preferences that you are being told are "against guidelines" and are struggling to find the best way to have this conversation with your midwife or obstetrician? Please feel free to book in a session with me where we can discuss questions, concerns and ways for you to feel not only empowered by your birth plan, but also equipped to have any difficult, challenging or confusing conversations. Leave feeling excited about your birth, in whatever way you are choosing to birth your baby! Price: £70 per hour. Concessions available. I believe birth education and support should be accessible to everyone. Please leave your details below and I will contact you. I look forward to working with you. 



Birth planning consultancy

I’m a registered midwife and a pregnancy, postnatal and mother and baby yoga teacher. I find these two things really compliment each other. I also personally found that yoga helped me so much in both my pregnancy preparation and postpartum recovery. Yoga is so important as part of the holistic preparation for childbirth, as well as the recovery after birth. 

Pregnancy and postnatal yoga offer up the opportunity to connect with your pregnancy, your postpartum body and supports you to navigate this huge transitional period in your life. My yoga classes are gentle yet powerful, and are a space to focus on you, on your breath, on the power of movement. Yoga helps to regulate your nervous system and is a time of connection with both yourself and others. 

I encourage you to take the class at your own pace and to leave feeling refreshed, empowered and calm. 

Come join me at my weekly pregnancy and postnatal yoga classes at Yogarise Streatham. Pregnancy yoga is taught every Saturday at 11.30am, and postnatal yoga is every Thursday at 11am.

If you’d like to book in a private 1:1 yoga class independently or with friend/s, please message me. 

Pregnancy & Postnatal Yoga classes

Do you want to feel fully informed before you give birth? Do you have questions around what labour entails (real life labour, not what you see in films and on tv!) Do you have any anxieties or questions? Do you know your rights? The latest evidence? What you may be offered, when, and why? Please book in a session with me to ask all these questions, to learn about your pregnancy and postpartum health and to discuss any personal issues or concerns with me, a registered and experienced midwife. 

Price:
A private 2 hour antenatal class covering stages of labour, preparing for labour birth options, interventions and breastfeeding = £140. Concessions available. I believe birth education and support should be accessible to everyone. Please leave your details below and I will contact you. I look forward to working with you. 

2 hour antenatal class

Do you want to feel fully informed before you give birth? Do you have questions around what labour entails (real life labour, not what you see in films and on tv!) Do you have any anxieties or questions? Do you know your rights? The latest evidence? What you may be offered, when, and why? Please book in a session with me to ask all these questions, to learn about your pregnancy and postpartum health and to discuss any personal issues or concerns with me, a registered and experienced midwife. 

Price:
A private 4 hour antenatal class covering stages of labour, preparing for labour, birth options, interventions, breastfeeding, a personal birth plan, hypnobirthing techniques for labour and breathing techniques = £260. Concessions available. I believe birth education and support should be accessible to everyone. Please leave your details below and I will contact you. I look forward to working with you. 

4 hour antenatal class

Becoming a mother can be a beautiful, wonderful, tiring, scary and overwhelming part of your life! Motherhood and parenthood can of course bring with it a decrease in your feelings of autonomy and independence, and an increase in your feelings of responsibility and feeling dependent. It is not a surprise, then, that alongside recovery from pregnancy and childbirth, and feeling extremely tired and exhausted at times, it can be a tricky ride to begin with.

I offer an opportunity to debrief your birth, in the privacy of your own home, in a safe and supportive space.

Price:
£70 per hour.

Concessions available.
I believe birth education and support should be accessible to everyone.  
Please leave your details below and I will contact you. 
I look forward to working with you. 

Debriefing your birth

From I&J:

"We had two excellent sessions with Laura and couldn't recommend her more highly. I feel so much more confident and prepared having spent time with her, easily the best investment I have made during my pregnancy. She is extremely knowledgeable and went through everything we could expect during labour and birth in such a calm way, it made all potential outcomes feel manageable! She is very warm and reassuring and I was totally at ease asking all the questions I could think of. I have already passed her details on to all my pregnant friends, I will definitely be booking a session post-birth as well."

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From T&N:

"Laura provided me with the information I needed to make the decisions I didn't know I was allowed to make. She spent a lot of time explaining questions I wasn't sure of and helping me come up with a birth plan that felt right for me. I had a lot of anxiety around giving birth and felt the sessions with Laura helped me to feel more prepared, and actually excited, around giving birth." 

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From A&A:

“We had 2 private antenatal classes with Laura covering everything from the early stages of labour to the birth and postnatal care. Laura is incredibly knowledgeable! She references the latest studies and data and is clearly very passionate about what she does. She helped us understand all the options available when navigating our way through the maternity system, equipping us with the information we need to make decisions. She provided us with so much information but Laura is so warm and friendly that it wasn’t overwhelming at all. Thank you Laura! We both feel so much more prepared after speaking with you.” ----------------------------------------------------
More testimonials and feedback from my sessions and classes can also be found on my Instagram page. 

Testimonials

Please contact me with any questions or expressions of interest in my courses or available sessions. 

Expressions of interest 

The Authentic Midwife

I am an NHS midwife. I teach antenatal, yoga, hypnobirthing & feeding classes.

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