Soft Centre

21/07/2022

In case you missed it — Meg from .studios recently shared with us her reflections on creativity, community and resistance.

Now up on the community journal – link in bio.

22/04/2022

Acknowledging the messy multitudes –

What can you softly nurture to co-exist? And which fu***rs can you let go? 😘👋🏼

Via

04/04/2022

Lately I’ve been feeling into the roots of this work for me. This full body, mind and heart work. This work that brings me closer to my essence.

I’m reflecting in particular about my childhood loves, and how in this work now I see them reflected back to me daily. Birth/doula work is so interwoven with my life, that the edges are so blurry they are barely there. This is not to say I don’t have good boundaries, but just that this ‘work’ is a natural extension of myself.

I have always been curious about the intersections of creativity, nature and birth/death/rebirth. As a child I loved drawing and painting, storytelling and mythic creatures, I was a proud big sister and brewer of herbal potions. I would pack my little bag with books + snacks and ‘run away’ to sleep under the gum trees in the back paddock. I loved the moon and growing things and I was fearless. I’m still all of these things – still making herbal brews, cuddling babies and packing my bag for adventures. Still stepping into spaces to fearlessly support people through cycles, seasons and shifts. And I love it! It fills me up and I have such gratitude for this work and the people it brings into my life.

Soft Centre emerged as a union of these lived experiences, learnings, landscapes and loves. It weaves my many parts and acknowledges the messy multitudes of being human.

Now, I know that being a doula is so much more than cuddling sweet babies, but it’s a perk I’m here for 😘

31/03/2022

In the early hours of the morning one year ago today, I stood my your side as you fiercely (and very swiftly) birthed your sweet baby boy. You said you would do it and you did. No one could ever doubt you, really.

It has been a joy to witness your growth as a mother and human, to be welcomed into your birth space and your family. Here’s to you my darling friend. Celebrating you both today – one year of Will! 🎂

09/03/2022

Lara Esrey () on caring for oneself as a community care, knitting as an act of love, and their values as a full spectrum doula and community herbalist.

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Now on the community journal – link in bio.

09/03/2022

Farewell February —

The last few months / weeks have carried much heaviness + uncertainty. The wars, the climate disasters, the humanitarian crisis and the injustices. And, as is always true with life, there have been moments of pure joy and gratitude amongst the heavy. Babies being born. Birthing people in their full power. Long term Love. Friendships. Deep belly laughs. Conversation. Spiced chai. Campfire gazing. Sunshine on my chest and ocean swims. Emerging Autumn, and the turning season. Evening laps at the local pool. Community showing up for one another again and again and again. Oof it’s been a month of big feels and soupy transition. This tender cancerian heart is trying to hold all the multitudes and keep doing my best to continue to show up with kindness and hope. x

14/02/2022

Soak — a new playlist up on the site today.

Bodies of water, body of mine ♒︎ Music to mirror your own ebb and flow, to ride the waves and ripples through the week.

I grew up on the river, on Waveroo country. The muddy banks offering a steady embrace as the currents pulled me along. The smell of the dirt and the gum trees and that unmistakable heat of the earth underfoot, tempered by the cool dark water. Bodies of water offer us the opportunity to be held, to surrender, to emerge anew.

In her book ‘Transformed by Birth’ Birtta Bushnell likens labour and birth support people to the banks of the river, while the birthing person is the moving water. A potent image and one I am really drawn to. I always hold this analogy in mind when I am at a birth - how can I embody those grounding, steady banks? How can I allow the birthing person to move freely, to feel held, and find their own rythm unhindered?

I’ll practice by immersing my own soft and tender body in healing bodies of water, to be held, rinsed, renewed.

Photo by

17/01/2022

love keeping me safe
every day, all day

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All the feels this Cancer full moon. 🌕 Remembering that tears shift cortisol and moonlit strolls with your beloved fur friends is also the medicine. Thinking about love, basking in its soft glow. The slow hum of the ceiling fan, late night love in the moonlight. Tending to my garden, tending to my self. Wearing my heart on my sleeve. And what about you? How is love holding you in these full moon, full feeling moments?

Image: Eye to Eye, Portrits of le****ns by JEB

16/01/2022

26/12/2021

Holiday blessings all 🕯

Dropping in to let you know that dear Maribeth Helen Keane’s reflections on intersectional care, community and the medicine of wild things, are now up on the site – our final community journal entry for 2021. What a joy to share these words and this gentle soul with you all.🌿

I cannot remember what first drew me to Maribeth’s offerings – it was many years ago now – but I know that in her writing I continue to see myself reflected back. The curious, soft, and tender parts. And, there is also more than this – her connection to the natural world as a guide, the respect for its wisdom and gentle weaving of these elements into her work is inspiring. There is space to grow there, in the nurturing ground of her words and offerings. I hope you get a glimpse of this too.

I will be taking a short break to be with my family, the sun, the earth and myself over the next few days. May you find the space and energy to connect with the people, animals and earth/water that you love. May you find space to be yourself, and may you be gently held and nourished.

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“I’ve come to know my community as being much more than just humans – it includes animals, birds, trees, plants, the elements, my spirit guides and ancestors.”

Photo by

16/12/2021

As I wrap up my first (very) full year of attending births, I’m reflecting more on the sustainability of this work and the immense energy that I put into what I offer. When I show up for a person through their pregnancy, birth and postpartum I am bringing my whole self. I bring the knowledge I have gained through many years of self study and academic practice. I bring my lived experience and ongoing learning / unlearning. This works takes presence, the ability to authentically hold space and show up for people without judgement when they need it most. Care work / birth work is a worthy investment, and it is also hard to put a price tag on.

It is with all this in mind that I have decided to update my pricing – previously listed at student prices – for my birth support packages. As always, sliding scale rates / trade for services for BIPOC, LGBTIQ+ folk and those facing financial disadvantage remain available.

I have also been thinking more about what it means to be trauma informed in this work, and these principals are woven through my practice. For me, part of this is fostering trust and transparency around my offerings and pricing.

I’ve been slowly integrating this into my website over the last few months, however, as of today I will now be listing all my foundational prices online so that I am being 100% upfront with folk about their investment. I know this might not be a ‘savvy’ marketing move, but I also know that this feels most aligned with my values in this moment. I hope this aligns with you too.

In other news I will be learning more about childbirth education with Erika Davis of this summer, and friends, IM SO EXCITED.

Image: My Birth, Carmen Winnant

06/12/2021

Image: Hilma af Klint, “Group IX/SUW, The Swan, No. 13,” 1915.

01/12/2021

I’ve been reflecting lately on how to honour and practice rest before parenthood – more specifically, how people who menstruate can honour their cyclical bodes and how this intersects with postpartum rest and healing.

I think one way of preparing for postpartum, as someone who menstruates, is to start practicing and bringing awareness to your cyclical rhythms, moods and energy. Whether it be on a macro or micro level, within each menstrual cycle their lies the opportunity to consider your needs in that moment – and to notice any emerging patterns. To honour your cyclical body before pregnancy, is to allow yourself to show up (for you, for you relationships, for you children) with more intentionality in your postpartum. It’s certainly something to consider.

Sitting with the following prompts (small seeds for you to tend to) may help reframe how people who menstruate – and those that love them – prepare for postpartum.

✱ What practices are supportive during your follicular, ovulation, luteal and menstrual phases?
✱ What is your relationship with asking for help when you need it? How does it feel to ask for what you need?
✱ Are you listening to your body and honouring your energy levels?
✱ How might you practice and explore your relationship with rest? Where can you create more space for rest?
✱ What feels nurturing and what doesn’t? How does this change throughout your cycle?
✱ How are other people showing up for you (or not) during your cycle?

Our bodies hold so much wisdom. The practice of learning and listening to what your body is telling you with these subtle –or not so subtle - emotional and physical shifts is potent.

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Photograph from the series ‘The Golden Month’ by [IMAGE ID: A black + white photograph of a person standing and massaging their belly. They are wearing light coloured un**es and wearing a single ring on each hand.]

30/11/2021

Most of us have seen by now the recent ‘Australian Mother’s and Babies’ report – and to me it is further evidence of the deep distrust that the medical industrial complex has for women and birthing people’s bodies. It is also a stark confirmation of the lack of respect held for the physiological birthing process.

Some of the key data in the report reveals that induction, augmentation and assisted birth (vacuum + forceps) has risen since 2009. 35% of births are now being induced and just 42% of births begin spontaneously. Episiotomy rates have gone from 12.7% to 24%. Cesarean rates are now 1 in 3. Despite this, there has been no significant change to maternal trauma or infant mortality rates. Let that sink in.

A healthy pregnancy now has a greater chance of starting with intervention, than without. And if you’re birthing in a hospital – which 97% of people are doing – simply ‘going with the flow’ is not going to cut it if you are hoping for a physiologist birth with little or no intervention.

I do not share this to scare birthing people or demonise hospital birth. I know that often this is where people feel safest, that home birth isn’t accessible to all and that interventions can save lives. But I am sick of the fear mongering, the coercion, the cascade of intervention and the idea that women’s and birthing people’s bodies are somehow broken.

I trust in birthing people and their ability to birth their babies in a way that aligns with their informed choices. I hope that if you are birthing in Australia that you also have people surrounding you who trust, support and affirm your informed choices. And I hope that you have access to the tools, resources and care that will support you through this rite of passage.

Image ID: Black text against a pale background reads: I wholeheartedly trust that all birthing people have the innate wisdom and strength to know what is best for themselves, their family and their futures.

16/11/2021

I asked full spectrum doula Rachel Koszka aka some questions for the journal recently and she shared with me her reflections on community, cyclical living, ritual and birth work. I’m enamoured by Rachel’s poetic presence in this space (and beyond) and how she shows up so fully for herself and her community. It was a joy to sit with her words, and I’d love for you to read them too. The full piece is up on the website now under community > people.

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“Most of my practices are very food centered! Checking in with my cravings throughout the day has become a tender daily ritual that develops my intuition around food and how it can nourish me physically/emotionally.

My cravings also invite me to reflect on my inner world and the moods that I’m experiencing. It’s a very sensual process - deciphering my cravings, selecting ingredients and carefully handling them, implementing a variety of cooking methods, savoring the meal I’ve created. I find it all very sexy.”

EDIT: reposting because my sleep deprived brain forgot to add the second slide. Sorry!

Photography by

09/05/2021

Nyoongar woman and midwife Valerie Ah Chee started her midwifery training aged 41. It followed the birth of her youngest son Raphael who was her most complex at 28+4 days. He weighed 1,650gms and was in NICU for eight weeks. He was really tiny compared to his brothers. It

13/04/2021

“Becoming parents is one of the biggest transitions in a relationship, and one that most of us are massively underprepared for. Having a new baby requires us to shift many of our old patterns and break down in many ways to build our new selves and for some couples, this breakdown is a painful, but necessary sign that, no, you’re not with the right person and, yes, you deserve a partner and coparent who supports and celebrates you.

But for others, the gnarly postpartum partner-to-parent growth curve is just a really intense chapter of integration, made even more challenging by a society that leaves us completely unprepared, isolated, and leaning on our equally fragile partners for everything during a time when we desperately need community care, support, and space holding.

So, if you’re struggling with the partner to parents shift — you’re not alone and it will get easier. You’ll find your footing in these new roles and ways of being and you’ll find your way back to one another. (Or, you’ll find your own ways, and there’s beauty and strength in that path too!)

But we have to do better, as a community, as birth workers, as mamas who have been there. We have to be real and raw and honest — so that the parents who walk in our footsteps will feel a little less broken and alone as they navigate the postpartum partnership breakdown. Can we normalize putting therapy sessions on our baby registries please?!“ — Catie Atkinson [@ spiritysol]

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Families were never meant to do it all alone. Mothers and birthing folk were never meant to be socially isolated, under resourced and finding themselves caring for a newborn alone for the majority of the time. This is common in our society, but it is not normal.

Families thrive when they are wholeheartedly supported and held by community. Communities thrive when families are supported and held. — SC

Visual: and their family photographed by [Image ID: A newborn, q***r, mixed family, just moments after birth.]