Postpartum Matters CIC

09/12/2025

It feels really vulnerable to share this, but the Women’s Health Hub is at a point where community support genuinely matters more than ever. 💗

If the Hub has ever been a safe place for you - or if you simply believe that women and birthing people in the North East deserve somewhere warm, free, and supportive to land - I’d be so grateful if you could consider helping us stay open.

Even the smallest regular donation (£3 a month!) helps us keep the doors open, the kettle on, and our support groups running. It really is the “lots of us doing a little” that makes the difference. ✨

👉 You can donate here: www.postpartummatters.co.uk/donate 🔗is in my bio too

And if you can’t donate right now, sharing this post or mentioning us to a friend or local business honestly helps just as much.

Thank you for being part of our community, it means more than you know. 🫶

Zoe xx

06/12/2025

✨No Instagram December✨

The Christmas tree is up, I’m juggling kids in two different schools, with two different sets of Christmas events, I have lots of birth support coming up 🥰❤️ and so I won’t be very active on Instagram this month.

Please do head over to the Women’s Health Hartlepool page for details of our Christmas hamper project (for you to donate or to nominate someone to receive 🙏🏻)

We are still holding some sessions over the winter break too - including creative journaling, with meee 😊, on December 27th - you can find our timetable in my bio ❤️

And if you’ve found this looking for support during pregnancy, or with birth or postpartum, then do feel free to book a free, one hour connection chat with me - that link is also in my bio 🥰

Sending love and wishing you a wonderful time, however and whatever you celebrate this winter,

Zoe ###

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24/11/2025

Postpartum care is so individual ❤️

This is a lovely basket of goodness for one of my doula families today 🥰
Home-baked sourdough, kale & lentil soup, and a few other bits that might help or bring a moment of support.

What people need postnatally depends on so many things…
✨ their birth experience
✨ their family support circle
✨ their feeding choices, and how well they’ve been supported with that

The list is endless, and I always try to meet every postpartum exactly where they’re at, offering the support they need, not the things I assume they need ✨

That’s why I’m really excited to be collaborating with & in my new packages ❤️

With both my Nurtured package and my Nurtured Together package , you can trade in one of your postpartum care sessions for a support session with either of them 🥰

You can choose a home visit + breastfeeding support with Pippa, or to travel to Sunderland for a full with Lindsey ❤️

Because being able to choose your postpartum support means you get care that actually fits you.

Not a one-size-fits-all plan, but a mix of warmth, practical help, and specialist support that reflects what you need in real time.

And that’s what people come to me for: flexible, responsive care that feels personal, steady, and genuinely supportive.

Sending love,
Zoe x

PS: I’m already fully booked for January, and enquiries for 2026 are coming in 🥰 so if you’re thinking about doula support, you’re really welcome to book a free chat through the link in my bio ❤️

🌻

20/11/2025

Me and the cat are not impressed with the weather 😆❄️

Still this week has been a good one 🥰
I’ve ~
✨Attended the North East doula meet up, caught up with some local doulas and even spied a seal in the Tyne!

✨Baked two sourdough loaves 😍 and am really excited for next weeks postpartum sessions where I’ll definitely be bringing the bread ❤️

✨Planned and built collaborations for a funding bid around home birth provision in our area 🥰

✨Booked & paid the first instalment for my Level 3 training in sports massage with - I am so excited to be able to offer this level of massage to my future doula clients 🥰

✨Finally ordered some of those car magnet things to advertise my services 😅

This season has also seen me building some really beautiful relationships with other local doulas and practitioners too ❤️ and I’m really looking forward to what’s to come.

I’d love to hear from you 👇🏻
How has your week been? Has the weather changed your plans or have you been able to carry on regardless?

Wishing you a lovely rest of the week,
Zoe xx

✨🌻✨

12/11/2025

A year ago today, one of my wonderful doula clients birthed her baby at home after a previous caesarean, supported by NHS-funded independent midwives 💫

She fought so hard throughout her pregnancy to access that care, and it was an absolute honour to walk alongside her. 🥰

Her determination helped us push for better home birth support across Sunderland, Durham & Darlington, and for a little while, we made real change ❤️

What we all thought would be a huge step forward (the NHS funding private midwives) turned out not necessarily to be the gift we hoped for. And a year on, I’m still supporting families facing the same barriers and heartbreakingly limited options for home birth.

The landscape has shifted so much in 12 months, a lot of it not in a good way. At times it has felt heavy and hard, but looking back at photos from that incredible birth reminds me why we keep going ❤️.

Because every time a woman stands for what’s right for her, it ripples outwards and benefits us all ✨

Happy birth-day 🥰 sending you so much love

Zoe ###

10/11/2025

When I first started this work, I wanted to change things.
I wanted to campaign, gather evidence, fight to make things better.

But over the years, I’ve just watched outcomes get worse.
And that immense energy I put in just felt wasted.

Recent headlines - home birth being labelled dangerous, midwifery courses being told not to teach ‘normal birth ideology’ - are a reminder of that.

I have strong opinions about it all. I’ve seen how fear and over-medicalisation can lead to poor outcomes.
But I can’t bring myself to shout about it anymore.

Physiological birth is not an ideology.
It’s real. It happens. I’ve seen it many times - and I’ve lived it myself.

I’m not here to convince you. And I’m not here to fight the system anymore. That will play out how it does.

But I am here to support anyone who wants something different - anyone who wants to birth undisturbed, in trust, connected to their body.

And I’m here for all the others who stand with me 💛 - especially those who are still shouting about it 🫂

We can still make a difference.
One birth, one family, one moment of trust at a time.

Sending love,
Zoe xx

🌻

05/11/2025

This year has been really hard when it comes to funding. Grants have been hard to find, competition feels endless, and the politics of local funding continues to feel tricky.

There’s so much amazing work happening out there, and so many people doing incredible things for their communities ❤️ it’s just been a tough space to navigate.

Honestly, there have been so many moments I thought I’d have to tell you all we’d be shutting our doors in the future.

But today we won one 🙌🏻

Thank you so much for believing in us 🙏🏻🥰

This support has reminded me why we keep going, and it means we can keep doing what we love—holding space, supporting our community, and showing up for each other.

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. To everyone who’s been with us on this journey, your support keeps this little dream alive. 💛

And if you’re new here and wondering what I’m going on about - head to the Women’s Health Hartlepool 🔗 in my bio to see all the wonderful, free peer-support we have available 😊

Sending love,
Zoe xx

30/10/2025

27/10/2025

In the second session of Elixir - a group programme I am participating in about the pelvis - Katy from asked me to write the story of my pelvis in a few sentences.

The story of my pelvis came out like a poem
Refined and reflected on during my morning pages today, facilitated by the lovely Kate from .circlesessions

I thought I’d share 🙏🏻❤️
My poem and my gratitude to all of the wonderful women in my life. Who have held my hips, my pelvis, my sadness and my joy. Who continue to hold me as I shapeshift and grow into all the women I’m still meant to be.

Sending love ✨,
Zoe xx

24/10/2025

There’s been a lot of noise about home birth lately… and I just want to say this.

It doesn’t actually matter what I think about home birth being safe (though for the record — I do 100% do believe it is ❤️).

What matters is what you think.
What you feel in your body.
What helps you feel safe.

My role as your doula isn’t to convince you that home birth is the best or safest option — it’s to help you figure out what feels right for you.
To hold space while you find the information, support and confidence that help you feel grounded in your choices — wherever and however you birth.

Because safety isn’t just about statistics or settings.
It’s about feeling safe in yourself, in your environment, and in the people around you.

So if you’re pregnant right now and thinking about where you might want to give birth, maybe take a quiet moment to check in:
✨ How do I actually feel about birth?
✨ What do I need to feel safe in labour?
✨ What thoughts or fears do I need to release to feel safe in birth?
✨ Who can support me with that?

No need to overthink your answers ❤️. No need to feel like you even need to have all the answers. Because these things are often messy and complex and that is okay 🫂.

Please do reach out if you feel that speaking to someone would help 🙏🏻

With love,
Zoe x

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P.S. Ways I can support you —
✨ Doula support through pregnancy, birth and postpartum — my availability is from March 2026
🌸 Closing ceremonies, pregnancy massage and other ceremonial bodywork
🫶 Free creative journaling at Women’s Health Hartlepool every other Sunday

You can book a free cuppa & chat through the 🔗 in my bio if you’d like to connect more ❤️

22/10/2025

The day after you give birth, I give myself space too 🌀

I take it slow — no rushing, no moving straight on. Just space to breathe, to feel into how things unfolded, and to sit with the emotions that might have came up for me

Sometimes that looks like journaling about what I witnessed, and how that made me feel. It’s important for me to process those feelings first, because they’re mine and not yours and, as your doula, I need to be able to hold you postnatally too ❤️

I like to reflect on the things I want to remember, and the things I want to learn from.

It’s how I tend to myself and my practice — gently weaving what happened into reflection and growth, so I can keep meeting you with presence and care.

There are also little rituals that help me come back to centre: a warm cup of tea, yoga, baking something nourishing (usually for a door-drop for you 🥰)

And there are ways I’m held too — by meeting with other birthworkers, sharing stories, receiving mentorship and listening support, remembering that this work is never done alone. (Sending love to & for yesterday ❤️🙏🏻)

Because birth doesn’t end when the baby arrives — it ripples through all of us.

And part of my role as your doula is to honour that — the integration, the slowing down, the deep exhale after all that energy and love and witnessing. 🌿

With love,
Zoe xx

⸻

P.S. Ways I can support you —
✨ Doula support through pregnancy, birth and postpartum - my availability is from March 2026
🌸 Closing ceremonies, pregnancy massage and other ceremonial bodywork
🫶 Free creative journaling at Women’s Health Hartlepool every other Sunday.

You can book a free cuppa & chat through the 🔗 in my bio if you’d like to connect more ❤️

17/10/2025

There’s been a lot of heavy stuff in the news about birth lately — and it’s completely understandable if it’s left you feeling anxious or unsure.

So much of the support I offer — in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum — is about gently exploring those fears and helping you find calm and trust in yourself.

Because you are the one experiencing this — and you are capable of birth. ❤️

I know this in my bones. I know this without ever having met you.
You are capable of growing, birthing, and nourishing this baby — safely, wholly, and beautifully.

Even if you never read a birth book, never do a hypnobirthing course, never go to a single antenatal checkup…

You can birth your baby. ❤️

Birth doesn’t have to feel terrifying or unsafe.
It can be supported, grounded, and deeply your own.

If you’ve been feeling worried — from the news, from family stories, or just the weight of it all — you’re welcome to book a free hour-long consultation with me. 🥰
It’s a space to talk things through, share a cuppa, and breathe a little easier.

You can book via the link in my bio. ❤️

Sending love,
Zoe xx

P.S. these cards from are so beautiful 😍 I can’t wait to share them with clients at antenatal sessions next week ❤️

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