Natural Beginnings - Holistic Health, Bodywork & Doula Services

24/02/2026

So true!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

23/02/2026

Amy (36 weeks pregnant) came into the clinic today with sore hips, sore lower back and sciatica on both sides of her body.

After 2 hours of Holistic Pregnancy Bodywork, she walked out pain free!

Pelvic pain should not be accepted as normal in pregnancy (or any time!) as it shows an imbalance in the body. But balance can be restored to release tension and pain.

A Holistic Pregnancy Bodywork session is more than a massage or an adjustment. It is a thorough treatment involving the restoration of mobility in the pelvic joints, and releasing of tension in the ligaments and muscles, topped off with a relaxing belly and back massage. (Direct pelvic floor release work can also be incorporated after 37 weeks gestation, and/or moxibustion for breech babies!).

Common side effects include helping baby get into an optimal position for birth.

Get in contact to book in so you can experience pregnancy and/or postpartum in balance and without pelvic pain.

22/02/2026

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22/02/2026

Just a reminder of a really important question.

In an editorial in The Lancet's EClinical Medicine, Professor Hannah Dahlen looked at the meta-analysis by Hutton et al (2019), which looked at 14 studies involving around 500,000 women.

It showed (again) that home and hospital birth are equally safe and that homebirths in well-integrated settings appear to lead to better perinatal outcomes.

She then raised an important question: 'Is it time to ask whether facility based birth is safe for low risk women and their babies?'

If you’d like to know more about the evidence on home birth, see https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/is_home_birth_safe/

We have an entire page of studies and links to load of evidence-based information about homebirth.

Dahlen HG (2019). Is it Time to Ask Whether Facility Based Birth is Safe for Low Risk Women and Their Babies? EClinicalMedicine doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.08.003

19/02/2026

Yes!!

06/02/2026

So lovely to catch up with some of my doula clients from last year yesterday.

Community is so important when you’re in the weeds of mothering babies. I remember how isolating it can feel, (especially when you don’t have family support which was my experience).

So it was great to have these mamas connect and compare notes. It made me realise that I need to facilitate more of these gatherings (hopefully when less families are away on holidays so more can make it!).

06/02/2026

I am doing research on mother-baby telepathy. I have received multiple reports from mothers who have experienced knowing when their baby needs them, even when they are physically separated and in the absence of sensory cues or routine.

In particular, some breastfeeding mothers have reported experiencing milk let-down while away from their baby, and later finding that this coincided with their baby becoming hungry or distressed. For example, a mother may suddenly experience milk let-down, and then check a baby monitor to find her baby crying at that same time, or later be told by a babysitter that the baby became hungry at the exact time she experienced the sensation.

I am also interested in cases where mothers experience milk let-down shortly before their baby wakes up, again without any sensory cues such as hearing the baby and without following a regular feeding routine.

These kinds of experiences suggest that there may be an underlying connection between mothers and babies when they are separated. Research on telepathy suggests that it tends to occur most strongly between closely bonded individuals, and the mother-baby relationship is one of the closest bonds of all. This makes it a particularly interesting and promising area for telepathy research.

I am seeking breastfeeding mothers who might be interested in taking part in a simple experiment to investigate this phenomenon.

In particular, we are looking for mothers who:

• Are currently breastfeeding
• Have experienced unexpected milk let-down while away from their baby that seemed to coincide with when their baby became hungry or needed them
• And/or have experienced milk let-down shortly before their baby wakes up, without sensory cues or routine explaining it

If you are interested in taking part, or would like further information, please message my research assistant Georgia Black or email her at georgiablack.research@gmail.com

02/02/2026

30/01/2026

28/01/2026

Denise Love came into my life years ago through the birth world, and I participated in some wonderful training with her while she taught her birthy wisdom to pregnant women, new mothers and birth workers.

Sometime later she invited me to undertake her Death Doula training, but it just wasn't the right time for me.

But this month, after having 2 friends lose their fight to cancer last year, and my mother having had a near fatal stroke in late 2024, and her concurrent demise into dementia, I answered the call to start the training, knowing that one day this wisdom will be needed to help someone in my own life.

Tonight I shared our first zoom call with Denise and 27 other "deathies" in training and I can tell it is going to be a very special experience.

My first experience with death was a good friend of mine in year 6 who lost her life to asthma on our school camp, followed some time later with each of my grandparents dying.

But the most involved I have ever been with a sentient being through the dying and death process was my 17yo cat Yinyin, who I held space for until the end. There was a lot of pressure to euthanise her because it was seen as more humane to hasten the process, but given her lack of pathology, I didn't feel like it was the right thing to do and I wanted her spirit to be autonomous for her own end of life.

Death doulaing a fur baby may seem far removed from holding space for a human's end of life, but as I followed along with re-reading excerpts from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying about how the different elements leave the body during the death process, I know it will be similar with all of us, and I found the experience to be humbling, profound and an honour to witness and be a part of.

It's an uncomfortable truth that we are all going to die one day. And I hope each one of us is held in love so we can die in peace. One day I may be that comfort to someone, whether in my personal life, or if I choose to do this professionally. One day I hope someone will be that comfort to me.

Lets all live our best life with kindness so that we have zero regrets. I hope you can all be part of this important conversation along the way! ✌❤️

22/01/2026

I am on holiday with the fam in beautiful Wanaka NZ, catching up with the in-laws and friends. It’s good to be back after 3 years and be off call.

Pic 1: Lake Wanaka
Pic 2: The gorgeous view from the loungeroom window looking over Lake Wanaka where we are staying with my FIL and his wife.
Pics 3 and 4: Kiwi Waterpark at Lake Dunstan today - lotsa fun
Pic 5: Lake Hawea where my husband grew up.

Tomorrow we are staying in a cabin at Naseby for a few days with friends. Weather is gonna be s**t but the company will be good.

19/01/2026

Nothing excites me more than repeat clients.

I supported Amy and at the homebirth of their gorgeous boy Joseph. It’s always such an honour to be invited into a couple’s sacred birth space, but to be invited back to subsequent births is the highest privilege. (I’ve also been their naturopath ever since!).

This pic was taken a few nights ago after a delicious dinner of Greek lentils and baked veges followed by our prenatal appt.😋

Being front seat for a growing family is the BEST! 👌🏼 Thank you for inviting me back Amy and Peter. Cannot wait till the birth in a couple of months! 🤩