Offering pregnancy massage and aromatherapy in Belfast and Dungannon for a healthy, happy and pain-free pregnancy. Full birth preparation packages available.
DM me with your questions about my services.
14/06/2025
Writing this essay for has been a great privilege.
🌀It’s part memoir, part anatomy, and part envisioning the kind of holistic care I would love for women and their families. 🌀
🌀The question of what makes up the Fabric of Birth has also started to form into a vision for a two-day fascia release for pregnancy and birth workshop in autumn. I cannot wait to breathe life into it and share details soon. 🌀
🌀Meanwhile, comment AIMS for the link to the AIMS Journal this June. It’s all about physiology informed care and it’s a fabulous read!🌀
fasciatherapy
12/06/2025
Essentially Birth is turning 6 this summer and here’s what’s new:
This is a little housekeeping and check-in post to let you know what’s been happening behind the scenes at Essentially Birth.
🌀 There are now a few different threads to what I do:
👋 First and foremost: my hands
My 1:1 pregnancy fascia therapy sessions run on Tuesdays and Fridays at The Little Yoga House in Belfast. Hands-on and completely tailored to you.
🤰🏼 Born Through Yoga
This is the Movement for Birth and Nurturing Newborns programme Tara and I developed.
→ In-person workshops run roughly every 5 weeks (only 5 couples per session, be fast!)
→ Missed the last one? There’s also a self-paced online version you can join anytime.
🧵 Workshops for Professionals
A full weekend workshop for birth workers, yoga teachers, and bodyworkers is coming this autumn:
The Fabric of Birth — fascia, movement, and hands-on release for the pregnant and birthing body. Full details will be in my Saturday Love Letters.
📚 Writing + Substack
You might know I wrote 7 Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Needs to Hear Before Giving Birth: The New Midwife’s R.O.A.D. to Birth Hypnobirth System. (Yes, I know… I tanked the title. But I’m told the book is really amazing.)
I’ve also been writing about my conscious uncoupling from NHS midwifery. That blog series is moving over to Substack, alongside updates on my upcoming novel (short title, promise).
Right now I’m tidying up my email list.
If you’d like to hear from me, whether it’s about my hands-on fascia sessions, my writing, or my workshops, sign up to my Saturday Love Letter 💌
👇 Comment below and I’ll send you the right link:
🖐 Appointment — to book fascia therapy
🤱 BTY — for Born Through Yoga details
💌 Love Letter — to join my email list
📚 Substack — to follow my writing
🛒 Book — to purchase 7 Secrets
Thanks you from the bottom of my heart to all my clients current and past and to everyone who supports me in what I do 💫
Love,
Nicole x
09/06/2025
Are you expecting your baby in August? Let’s make sure you have all the support you need in those early days after giving birth 🌿I have just launched a small number of Essentially Birth postpartum home visit packages for the month of August. These are especially for new mothers who want to feel held, nourished, and supported through gentle mama/baby fascia sessions in your own home.Available as three visit packages where you have the option to choose between:🌀a postpartum body treatment with or without baby skin to skin🌀a supported herbal bath with your baby 🌀one-to-one baby massage lessonAnd of course each session will include:♥️ guidance with early baby care if you want it♥️ a listening space and emotional check inSingle sessions are available and you can let me know which of the above you wish to focus on.💛 If you’re expecting in August and this sounds like something your future self might thank you for, comment AUGUST for the booking link. I’m only taking three mothers and babies each month and your first visit will be on the first Monday, Wednesday or Thursday after your baby is born.Lots of love, Nicole x
07/06/2025
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I documented my break up with the NHS in my blog “My Story of Conscious Uncoupling from NHS Midwifery “.
This has deepened a love for writing that I have felt from when I was a little girl. I used to love writing those little essays about what we did over the school holidays.
When I am not massaging people you’ll find me with my notebook and laptop. I am writing my first novel and I am documenting my progress over on Substack where the writers live. I am also giving my blog series a makeover and adding to it.
If you loved my writing, if you didn’t know about it and are curious about, or if you simply want to support me, please join me. I am new to the platform and I would LOVE to grow a following ♥️
Comment SUBSTACK and I will send you the link xx
02/06/2025
🌿 It’s been a hot minute since I last posted here.
I haven’t been lost, I’ve just been listening.
🌀To the women arriving at my clinic.
🌀 To the ones I’ve been helping to get ready for birth in one-to-one birth preparation.
🌀 And to myself.
When I look back, I can see exactly where I left off. It was late March, when I got sick. By all accounts, I was “better” within a couple of weeks, but it’s taken until now to feel like myself again.
During that quiet spell, I kept returning to what most of my clients ask for, and from that, I created something.
A three-session pregnancy package that brings together fascia-based bodywork, aromatherapy, and passive stretches to help you get more comfy, help with baby positioning, and get ready for birth.
I have three spots left for June.
🕊 Comment “fascia” and I’ll send you the booking link
20/04/2025
Today is Easter Sunday, and I find myself reflecting on the deeper symbolism of this season.
Long before Easter entered the Christian calendar, it marked a time of rebirth, fertility, and emergence. Did you know the word Easter is believed to come from Ēostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn and spring? Her symbols included the hare and the egg—timeless icons of fertility and new life.
(And yes, I have a chocolate bunny and some eggs tucked away for when my daughter comes to visit)
But honestly—just step outside and you’ll see why this is the season we celebrate fertility.
Everything is suddenly green and flowering. I walked up Cavehill on Monday and the bluebells are out, wild garlic will soon be at its most fragrant, and though I haven’t been near the water yet, I suspect there’ll be ducklings already.
Have you seen any yet?
As a former midwife and a pregnancy bodyworker, this time of year has always held something special for me.
It reminds me that conception, birth, and postpartum are not just physical events. They are sacred, spiritual, seasonal. They call us to honour what is emerging, shifting and taking shape within us (like the novel I am writing).
So whether you want to tend to the physical side of pregnancy—those aches, tensions, and discomforts that seem to be inevitable as your belly grows—or you’re leaning into the inner work of this journey, my 60- and 90-minute sessions are created to meet you there.
Comment APPOINTMENT if you want to book a slot, I’ll send you the booking link.
Whatever your plans are for this Easter Sunday, I do hope that they’ll allow some space to rest, breathe and feel renewed.
Lots of love,
Nicole
p.s. There are only TWO spots left for our JUNE Born Through Yoga group! If you are thinking about it, comment BTY and I’ll send you that link, too!.
06/02/2025
Back in the naughties, my most experienced midwife colleagues would say,
“Watch her feet, and you’ll know how the birth is going.”
👣 In labour free movement in the legs and feet help the baby slip lower through the pelvic floor muscles.
Your intuitive movements can also give away how your labour is progressing. There are some tell-tale foot and leg movements that can indicate that the baby is close to being born.
Working on mobility in your feet impacts the mobility in the pelvic floor muscles. Improving the mobility in your feet can be achieved with the right footwear, pregnancy yoga and self massage of your feet.
🎥 Check out the reel to see how easy it can be to support pelvic balance through simple self-care techiques. I do mine whilst doing my admin.
If you'd like me to help you with getting the rest of your body ready for labour, come see me for a 90-minute session. I'll give you a fascia release massage where we release your shoulders, hips and feet. You can see me at any point in pregnancy.
💆♀️ Ready to experience this luxury 90 minutes of self-care?
Comment "Appointment" below, and I’ll send you the booking link.
Let’s work together to bring balance to your body!
03/02/2025
Neck & Shoulder Pain in Pregnancy: What's the Connection?
On a physical level your centre of gravity changes frequently and therefore your posture changes.
This can affect your shoulders.
There's an emotional connection to shoulder pain, too.
💭 Neck and shoulder tension is often where we store feelings of being overwhelmed or burdened.
Pregnancy brings with it the expansion of the family and often this can be connected with fear of how you'll manage on a practical level.
Will we be able to afford childcare?
How will a new child change our relationship?
Will we be able to manage with the lack of sleep?
Questions like these are common in pregnancy and quite often we store these worries in our shoulders.
✨ Take a moment to pause, stretch, and release the weight you're carrying—both physically and emotionally. Your body deserves it! 💕
Gentle shoulder movement - performed passively while you rest lying on your side - is part of my pregnancy massage routine. On a physical level we approach your shoulder from all angles. We release your lower back, under your arms and the neck before we massage the shoulders themselves.
Chamomile and citrus based aromatherapy supports you emotionally.
You'll walk away feeling lighter and optimistic for the future.
Comment "APPOINTMENT" to book.
01/02/2025
Happy Saturday!
Here's my new blog post.
Comment BLOG for the link.
Enjoy the read and let me know how you like it ⬇️
31/01/2025
Please share far and wide ♥️
30/01/2025
Smell something you like the smell of.
It could be an orange, some basil, a flower or even your favorite shampoo.
Personally, I like essential oils.
Our sense of smell is incredibly powerful.
It is estimated that 75% of the emotions we experience every day are affected by smell and one of the fastest ways to reach the emotional part of our brain is through familiar scents. Studies suggest that it only takes 250 milliseconds for your favourite smell to be recognised in the brain. Relaxation follows within minutes. After only 3 minutes of inhaling lavender essential oil participants in a study study felt significantly more relaxed and more optimistic.
Smell is the most natural way to regulate stress and this is what makes aromatherapy so valuable in pregnancy and birth. Not only can an aromatherapy massage help you with pregnancy pain but anchoring a smell you associate with relaxation is invaluable in labour.
Comment AROMA for my favourite diffuser blend to anchor in pregnancy and use in labour for a calm and relaxed birth.
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I am a midwife, Aromatherapist and Body worker with a passion for helping you find ease in pregnancy and birth.
There are many ways I can help you in pregnancy. You might want to address discomforts or you just might want to have a relaxing massage. My sessions are designed to ease common pregnancy aches and pains and can be enjoyed as a one off treat to yourself. You and your baby bump will be made comfortable lying on your side using a special positioning system. I will use a combination of massage, passive stretches and trigger point release.
My packages of three or six sessions are designed to help you approach birth with confident anticipation. We will be working towards giving your baby more room to align well for birth. I will teach you a stretch routine based on yoga to do at home to help you help your baby into good alignment for birth.
1 session--------------- £45
3 sessions-------------- £125
6 sessions-------------- £245
Sessions available every Monday at Lisburn Chiropractic. PM me to book your slot.
Disclaimer:
During your Essentially Birth sessions I will act solely in the capacity of a massage therapist and not as a midwife. It is important that you attend your antenatal care appointments and consult your antenatal care provider with any concerns you may have about your pregnancy. Whilst I will be touching your baby belly to massage it, I will not make any assessment a midwife would make.
