Blissful Herbs - nurturing body & soul

Blissful Herbs - nurturing body & soul Hello! I'm Julie Bell, mother, doula, herbalist and activist - the heart behind Blissful Herbs, whic I'm so glad you're here!
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I'm Julie Bell, mother, doula, herbalist and activist. I have been working with herbs since childhood and my days as a Registered Nurse in New Zealand. I spent 17 years as a humanitarian volunteer worker in Asia, where I was introduced to the amazing materia medica of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Ayurveda tradition of India. My family then emigrated to Australia in 2004, where, after having three homebirths myself, I followed my passion for birthwork and trained as a doula. I have been serving birthing families in Australia since 2006. After the birth of my 4th baby (yes, also at home - and when I was 43!), I had the opportunity to commence formal studies in Western Herbal Medicine and obtained an Advanced Diploma in WHM. My goal is to upgrade that to the Bachelor degree ( - but first, I need to help another child through her VCE!)

Suffice to say, I LOVE herbs and the way this most humble part of creation holds such gifts to ease the path of human life. Herbs have been called "God's pharmacy" and it's amazing how nature provides gentle, wholesome remedies for just about every challenge or condition life presents. Blissful Herbs offers delicious teas, fragrant bath sachets, healing salves and herbal tinctures to support and nurture you through the seasons of life - from Maiden, to Mother, to Maga, to Crone: throughout menarche, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, menopause and beyond. It's my heart to walk gently on this beautiful planet, so here at Blissful Herbs, we try our best to to be an authentically eco-friendly enterprise, using post-consumer, recycled packaging, sourcing organic herbs and other ingredients as locally as possible and using solar power as possible. See 'Notes' for a complete list of products and prices, as well as single herbs available. I can custom make up any special blends at your request. To order, please email me, Julie Bell, at blissfulherbs@bigpond.com

Please contact me if you would like a personal herbalist consultation, in which together we will assess your health needs and explore how best to optimize your health and well-being. Of course, face to face is best, but I also offer phone and Skype consultations when distance is a factor.

In this week's edition of "Attempting To Use Misogynistic Meta's Social Media Whilst Female" 🙄🙄🙄Meta’s own rules state t...
23/10/2025

In this week's edition of "Attempting To Use Misogynistic Meta's Social Media Whilst Female" 🙄🙄🙄

Meta’s own rules state that you can’t accuse us of showing “nudity” in the context of birth and breastfeeding.

Yet AGAIN they've have slapped a penalty on my new account .realblissfulherbs for sharing positive content about motherhood.

This is after they summarily deactivated my old account .herbs, after years of restrictions and shadow-banning, because of the institutional misogyny they condone.

Stop the sexism.

Give me back .herbs

Birth is not p**n.

Breastfeeding is not obscene.

Woman is not illegal.

Repeal the Female Tax.





I can't attend the Australian Homebirth Conference over in Adelaide this year - and I have the best possible excuse - m...
23/10/2025

I can't attend the Australian Homebirth Conference over in Adelaide this year - and I have the best possible excuse - my beloved #1 baby, .hunter11 is having *her* #1 baby ... so I literally have "a note from Mum" 😜😍😂

So, I am sending along a few things in my stead.

This is The Midwife's Kit.

It contains:

🌿 Birth Boost Tincture
🌿 Placenta Release Tincture
🌿 No Bleed Tincture
🌿 After Pain-ease Tincture
🌿 Mastitis Blitz Tincture
🌿 Acupressure Labour Comb
🌿 ... and something quite ordinary but SO useful - a totally un-LOSE- able pen torch, that you can clip onto pockets/clothing, or attach to anything magnetic (fridge? Filing cabinet?)

I hope these practical items will be helpful for some amazing "With Woman" birth-keeping person out there!

Much love to all you excellent ones gathering soon, and I hope to join you in person, next time!

🌿💜🌿










21/10/2025

Speaking as the one who had her baby in the food court of Shore City Takapuna mall ...

Repost .gates..
Aww 🥺😭😍

I just love this!

That's TWO superhero women, right there.

She literally gave the SHIRT OFF HER BACK to wrap the baby in!

💜💓💜

So if *you* come across someone about to give birth imminently, what should you do?

💜 remember, most fast progressing births go uneventfully, stay calm!
💜 slow your breathing - that will steady your voice - AND the woman you're helping. Co-regulation!
💜 Hands & knees is an ideal position for a fast birth - but, go with whatever SHE is comfy with
💜 Find a jacket or some such, to create a soft landing patch for the baby
💜 Most likely the mother will catch, but "catcher's mitt" your hands just under hers, just in case - newborns are slippery!
💜 You don't need to tell her to 'push' 😜😎 Just say, "You've got this! Doing fine!" etc
💜 Watch the cord. Most likely there'll be no issue. Help the mother gently unwrap the cord if it's around the baby. And just watch if it's quite short so she can't really bring the baby all the way up to her chest yet (so there's no tugging on the cord before the placenta has detached fully)
💜 Keep mother & baby skin-to-skin and both warm as possible. Watch that the baby has air flow in front of their face under the wraps.
💜 You don't need to cut the cord! The placenta will release & plop out when the mother is ready. By now, most likely, help is on the way.
💜 If the mother or you are concerned about bleeding, encourage her to firmly massage her own uterus.

🌿💜🌿

Repost ..
New mum Lucy is remembering the heart-stopping moment she was forced to give birth outside a hospital, and the stranger who helped her through it. Charley, who happened to be passing by, literally gave Lucy the shirt off her back to bundle up the newborn. In the chaos of the dramatic delivery, the two parted ways without even exchanging names. 10 News was there for the emotional moment they were finally reunited.

21/10/2025

She's just so happy & excited and fully in the moment!

Would that everyone giving birth would be so loved, supported, honoured & respected that they could give full expression to their joy & exhilaration.

I love how the midwife is letting her know she can catch herself, too, if she wants!

Love to see a positive hospital birth.

🌿💜🌿

Ever seen a woman smile through contractions? ✨

This mama was birthing in the shower, surrounded by her midwives, completely in her zone.

When a woman feels safe and supported, her body can do what it’s designed to, release oxytocin, relax, and even find moments of joy between surges.

Video credit





Today I made up some more of my Marigold Miracle Antiseptic Salve.I've been loving this range, and judging by the sales,...
21/10/2025

Today I made up some more of my Marigold Miracle Antiseptic Salve.

I've been loving this range, and judging by the sales, my customers do, too.

I researched all the best Antiseptic plants that our beautiful Australian bush, & the New Zealand bush have to offer. The Indigenous knowledge of such plants is such a gift. You can smell & sense the potential medicinal properties even just walking through the bush. Most of us would be familiar with say, Tea Tree Oil and Mabuka Honey. And these are amaaaazing healing agents. But there's so much more! Horopito, Kawakawa, Mountain Pepperberry, Usnea & Eucalyptus for example!

Also, the sap or resin is how a tree heals itself. We can gently harvest this healing agent, after the tree has finished healing, taking the excess resin that has dribbled down the bark. And this sticky, potent substance is just wonderful for healing human 'bark', too.

Someone suggested I make a little Family First Aid kit of my various balms, including the ones for insect bites, eczema, insomnia, nappy rash and sore muscles. What do you think?

🌿💜🌿







Scenes from a Mother Blessing. My beloved daughter Talitha .hunter11 among her sisters Saoirse Hadassah and dearest Av...
20/10/2025

Scenes from a Mother Blessing.

My beloved daughter Talitha .hunter11 among her sisters Saoirse Hadassah and dearest Avalon who I count as an "honourary daughter" .avalon

We have many photos of these three together over the years, and it was so special they were all able to be together again at such a special time in Talitha's life, as she stands at the threshold of another big transition.

As we blessed Talitha, I reminded her of her maternal lineage: Great great grandmother Sarah Ayre, Great grandmother Sadie Mary, Grandmother Rosalie Margaret & mother Julie Eleanor - a heritage of women who would all be so proud of her & filled with such love to witness her journey, and whose strength, resilience & kindness & good humour Talitha Dorothy carries in her bones.

The words, "It takes a village" came up a few times as those gathered shared their thoughts, prayers & words of encouragement.

It is a beautiful thing to see a young, blossoming mother so surrounded by love & care, and we could not help but think of mothers in other parts of the world who need, & deserve, so much more honour, respect, help & support than they're currently receiving.

But - we start small, we start local - and then, we keep going.

Darling Talitha, it was an honour to honour you.

🌿💜🌿






19/10/2025

All too often we've seen babies who may be stunned by a stressful birth whisked away to the "resus" table.

In this case, monitoring & encouragement for the baby's transition was done with baby velcroed to mother.

🌿💜🌿

Repost .gates..
This was a tough birth for them both.

Notice:

💜 Baby is skin-to-skin on mother
💜 Cord is kept intact
💜 Parents are talking to their baby & touching him
💜 Mother & baby are smelling each other & sharing pheromones
💜 Caregivers are closely monitoring their condition

All this enhances safety during a baby's slower-than-usual transition.

And finally - the sound of his cry 😭😍💜🥺

Repost ..
A mother's intuition is something that should always be trusted.

After a long pushing phase, this little guy presented with should dystocia and needed some time to transition.

The momma knew he was ok the whole time, you can hear her reassure her husband.

The midwife continued to rub baby minutes after he was born to get him to fill his lungs with air and finally let out a big, healthy cry.

Birth is an ordinary miracle. It happens every single second, of every day, all over the world, and yet every single precious baby that joins this world is a miracle to behold.

My baby is having a baby!So pleased, proud & excited for my hunni .hunter11 As a doula & herbalist, it is a natural thin...
18/10/2025

My baby is having a baby!

So pleased, proud & excited for my hunni .hunter11

As a doula & herbalist, it is a natural thing for me to make up labour care kits for my clients- and ESPECIALLY my most special client: my daughter!

I've included:

🌿 Medjool Dates
🌿 Lemon Balm Lip Balm 🌸
🌿 Vegan organic chocolate (you do get hungry in labour!)
🌿 Raw honey to go with her herbal teas
🌿 Raw honey lollipops (it feels so good to suck on something in labour)
🌿 An acupressure birth comb (you hold it tight & it helps with pain relief) 🌸
🌿 Contraction Helper roller ball, with Clary Sage, Lavender & Jasmine 🌸
🌿 Soft organic bamboo cloths (great for warm or cold compresses, & later, for baby wipes) 🌸
🌿 Eco-friendly compostable underpads 🌸
🌿 Birthing Bliss Tea, in handy tea bags 🌸
🌿 Birth Boost Tincture (boosts your energy, & your contractions, during a long or tiring labour)
🌿 Electrolyte rehydration drink sachets by Hydramama .co 🌸
🌿 Hair ties & clips
🌿 Ancient Gates birth affirmation & Scripture cards (already up in her birth space) 🌸
🌿 BRAIN mnemonic: Benefits/Risks/Alternatives/what does your Intuition say/ what if we do Nothing & wait a bit longer
🌿 Labour Progress mnemonic: Keep Breathing/Moving/Eating/Drinking/Peeing and Rest when you need

Everything marked with 🌸 is available on my website www.blissfulherbs.com.au

And if you would like a similar Labour Care Kit made up for someone YOU love who is about to have a baby, please message me or email Julie@blissfulherbs.com.au

I can also email you the printable BRAIN & Labour Progress mnemonics.

I have some great package deal options on my website- but you are welcome to work with me to tailor something really cute & special & suited to the person you have in mind.

Please do get in touch & it will be my absolute pleasure to work with you to curate something really unique & special.

🌿💜🌿









..A beautiful blast from the past! One of my lovely clients sent me her birth video from six years ago...protecting th...
18/10/2025

..
A beautiful blast from the past! One of my lovely clients sent me her birth video from six years ago...protecting the first birth! Jade had a beautiful homebirth waterbirth with her baby girl. As people outside the birthing world, Jade and I had a lot in common as Jade is a Veterinary Surgeon and I am horse mad!! So I know a lot of VET's and we loved our visits together, full of pregnancy, birth and animal chats x Thankyou Jade for sharing your beautiful video of Tilly's birth xxoo I treasure our memories

18/10/2025




don't want me sharing Australian homebirth videos, for some reason

🙄

Repost ..
“Although it had been 2 years since Rob and I attended Sheraden’s Kaia Birth course we remained armed with the knowledge and self belief meaning we were well positioned to have a 2nd amazing birth experience…”

Birth story coming tomorrow ✨

YOUR BIRTH CAN FEEL THIS GREAT!
Book in now • Hawkesbury, Sydney and Swansea, Newcastle 📍

18/10/2025

My baby is having a baby!

I put together a little labour care kit for her.

In other news, when you re-post from other accounts, always being careful to cite the account you re-posted from, plus the original content creator that THEY re-posted from - does censure you & slap restrictions on your account, too?

If only they hyper-policed p**n & DV as much as they scrutinise women's accounts.

Cord-burning, as an alternative to cutting the cord with sterile scissors. This couple shows us how it's done. Jo Hunter...
17/10/2025

Cord-burning, as an alternative to cutting the cord with sterile scissors. This couple shows us how it's done.

Jo Hunter is one of our wonderful NSW homebirth midwives. You'll want to follow her!

🌿💜🌿

Repost ..
Instead of clamping or tying off and cutting the umbilical cord, sometimes families choose to burn through the cord. The idea is that it is seen as a gentler, more sacred or spiritual way to seperate the baby from their placenta, a kind of honouring of the transition of life and the baby’s connection to their mother.

Thanks to this lovely family for allowing me share and congratulations on the safe arrival of their sweet baby 🧡










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