Midwife's Touch with Amanda Redford

21/03/2026

Do you ever feel like something just isn’t quite right… but you can’t quite put your finger on why?

So many of the symptoms I see in clinic are often treated in isolation…

• Hormone imbalances
• Fertility challenges
• Fatigue or brain fog
• Inflammation
• Gut issues
• Skin concerns
• Pregnancy complications

But what if these are not separate issues at all..…?

What if they are connected by something deeper..your cellular health and internal balance?

As a midwife and practitioner, I look beyond symptoms.

I look at..

✔️ Inflammation
✔️ Fatty acid balance
✔️ Nutritional status
✔️ Hormonal environment
✔️ The foundation your body is
working from

Because this is where real change begins.

Whether you are..

• Trying to conceive
• Navigating pregnancy
• Supporting your hormones
• Or simply wanting to feel better in
yourself

There is always a starting point.
And often… it begins with understanding what is happening inside your body.

If this resonates with you, let’s have a conversation 🤍

📩 Message me to find out more or to start your own personalised plan

15/03/2026

Mother’s Day… a day that holds many emotions.

Today we celebrate mothers.
The women who nurture, guide, protect and love with a depth that often cannot be put into words.

But I also want to gently acknowledge that today can feel different for many.

For those who are pregnant and waiting to meet their baby.

For those who are trying to conceive and longing to become a mother.

For those who are grieving a baby they never had the chance to hold.

For those who carry the memory of a child lost too soon.

For women who have lost their own mothers and feel that absence deeply today.

Motherhood is not always straightforward.

It is often a journey filled with hope, love, courage and sometimes heartbreak.

Through my work I have the privilege of walking alongside women and families at many different stages of that journey... from preconception and fertility, through pregnancy, and into postnatal life.

Every story matters.
Every path is unique.

And every woman deserves to feel seen and supported.

So today, wherever you are on that path…

I am thinking of you.

Supporting women through fertility, pregnancy and motherhood in all its forms is one of the greatest privileges of my work.

With love and respect to all mothers, mothers-to-be, those waiting, and those remembering. 💛

Amanda
Midwife’s Touch / insideoutmaternity

13/03/2026

Could something as simple as omega-3 status influence the risk of preterm birth?

A newly published study in Frontiers in Nutrition (2026) has reported an important finding for pregnancy health.

Researchers analysing data from over 9,000 pregnancies found that women who took omega-3 supplements alongside their prenatal vitamins had..

• 36% lower odds of preterm birth
• 35% lower odds of babies being small for gestational age

Omega-3 fatty acids... particularly DHA and EPA ..play important roles in pregnancy, including..

• supporting placental development
and function
• regulating inflammation
• supporting fetal brain and eye
development
• maintaining healthy cell membranes

These findings reinforce something we are increasingly recognising in maternity care..

The internal nutritional environment during pregnancy matters.

When a mother’s nutritional balance is supported, it influences the environment in which a baby grows and develops.

One interesting point raised by the researchers is that baseline omega-3 levels were not measured, so we do not know how many women began pregnancy with low levels.

This is why in my own work supporting fertility and pregnancy health, I offer simple testing of essential fatty acid balance, allowing nutrition to be personalised rather than guessed.

Because when we understand what the body actually needs, we can support pregnancy health from the inside out.

Research reference:
Yakah W et al. Frontiers in Nutrition (2026) PMID: 41567325 (see link on comments)

13/03/2026

COMING SOON....😊

One thing many midwives tell me is this….

“We were never really taught much about fertility or preconception health during our training.”

Yet the health of women before pregnancy even begins can influence fertility, pregnancy outcomes and the developing baby.

Over the years I have worked with many women and couples who are trying to conceive, and through this work I have developed an approach that looks at the foundations of fertility health ..including menstrual health, nutrition, inflammation, lifestyle, and complementary approaches that may support reproductive wellbeing.

I am currently preparing a new Clinical Masterclass for Midwives, where I will be sharing insights and learning from my clinical work supporting fertility health clients.

'Foundations of Preconception Health
Supporting Fertility Before Pregnancy'

This session will be particularly relevant for midwives working in private practice, independent midwives, and practitioners with an interest in fertility and preconception care.

More details coming soon.

Because supporting healthy pregnancies often begins long before conception 🫶

Drop me a DM to register your interest..

13/03/2026

ALL PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD HAVE OMEGA 3 TESTED...

Did you know omega-3 DHA levels in pregnancy may influence the risk of preterm birth?

An important Australian research programme has highlighted something many people don’t realise.

Some pregnant women have low levels of omega-3 fatty acids (particularly DHA) ...nutrients essential for fetal brain development, the placenta, and healthy pregnancy physiology.

What researchers discovered was striking.

Women with low omega-3 status were more likely to experience early preterm birth, but when those low levels were identified and corrected with omega-3 supplementation, the risk of early preterm birth was significantly reduced...

Across multiple trials involving more than 20,000 women, omega-3 supplementation was associated with..

• 11% reduction in preterm birth (

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12/03/2026

Trying to conceive but everything “looks normal”?

There may be a silent factor influencing fertility that is often overlooked.

Inflammation.

When couples struggle to conceive, the focus is often placed on hormones, ovulation, or s***m quality.

But low-grade chronic inflammation can quietly influence many aspects of reproductive health, including..

• Egg quality
• S***m health
• Hormonal balance
• Endometrial receptivity
• Implantation

It is also often associated with conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

The challenge is that inflammation rarely announces itself loudly.
It often develops gradually through factors such as..

• Nutritional imbalance
• Poor omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid balance
• Gut microbiome disruption
• Chronic stress
• Blood sugar imbalance

Over time, this internal environment can affect how cells function, communicate, and repair.

And fertility begins at the cellular level.

In my fertility work I often look beyond symptoms alone and consider the whole internal environment supporting reproductive health, including nutrition, essential fatty acids, gut health, emotional wellbeing, acupuncture, and complementary therapies.

Sometimes fertility support is not about doing more.

It is about restoring balance within the body.

If you are planning a pregnancy or trying to conceive, it may be worth asking..

Is your internal environment truly supporting fertility?

10/03/2026

Endometriosis Awareness Month..

“How many women with endometriosis were first prescribed the contraceptive pill as teenagers…
for painful or heavy periods?

And told this was just part of being a woman.”

Many women living with endometriosis are prescribed the contraceptive pill at a young age.

Often to help manage
painful or heavy periods.

For some women this can provide relief.

However, the pill works by suppressing the natural hormonal cycle, rather than necessarily exploring why those symptoms developed in the first place.

Endometriosis is now understood to be far more complex than simply a “hormone problem”.

It involves inflammation, immune signalling, hormonal communication
and the internal environment of the body.

Another important piece of the puzzle is family history.

Research shows that women who have a mother or sister with endometriosis are several times more likely to develop the condition themselves.

Interestingly, susceptibility can also be inherited through the paternal side of the family, even though men do not develop the condition.

This means some women may carry a genetic predisposition.

But how those genes are expressed can be influenced by the body's wider physiological environment.

This is why many practitioners are now looking beyond hormone suppression alone and exploring factors such as..

• inflammation within the body
• essential fatty acid balance (omega-6 : omega-3)
• gut health and the microbiome
• nutritional status, including vitamin D
• nervous system regulation and stress physiology

Hormones act as messengers.
But the way those messages are received depends greatly on the health of the cells and the environment they are working within.

Interestingly, many of these principles also echo concepts that have existed in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries.

In TCM, conditions such as endometriosis are often understood in terms of imbalance, stagnation and internal heat within the body.

Acupuncture has traditionally focused on restoring balance and improving circulation within the body's internal environment.

Something modern research is increasingly exploring through the lenses of inflammation, immune signalling and hormonal communication.

Many women enquire about acupuncture for endometriosis.
And it can certainly play a supportive role.

I love bringing these approaches together, combining acupuncture with an understanding of..

• nutrition
• cellular health
• inflammation
• nervous system regulation

Guided where possible by evidence and personalised testing.

Many women are surprised to discover that essential fatty acid balance plays an important role in inflammatory signalling within the body.

In clinic I sometimes use a simple finger-prick blood test to look at the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats within the cell membranes.

Helping guide personalised nutritional support rather than guesswork.

Understanding your body's internal environment can be a helpful starting point.

Endometriosis is complex.
And every woman's experience is different.

But when we begin to look beyond symptoms and support the body’s internal environment, we often open the door to deeper understanding and more personalised care.

Because women’s health is never just about one hormone or one symptom.

It is about the health of the whole system... from cellular balance to hormonal communication, fertility and long-term wellbeing.

Supporting women’s health by bringing together ancient wisdom, modern science, and personalised care.

09/03/2026

Did you know inflammation may be linked to many of the symptoms we often attribute to hormones?

From menopause symptoms and fatigue, to fertility challenges, pregnancy conditions, skin health and even postnatal wellbeing.

Hormones are often blamed for so much.

But in reality, hormones are usually responding to the internal environment of the body.

Our cell membranes play an important role in this. They influence how cells communicate, how hormones signal, how inflammation is regulated, and how efficiently nutrients move in and out of the cell.

When inflammation is elevated, or when the balance of fats within our cell membranes is not optimal, this can influence..

• hormone signalling
• energy metabolism
• skin health
• how the body adapts through different stages of life

So sometimes the question is not simply..

“What are my hormones doing?”
It is also..

“What environment are my hormones working in?”

This is why I am so interested in cellular health and inflammatory balance, because these foundations influence many aspects of women’s health... from fertility and pregnancy through to menopause and healthy ageing.

One way to explore this is through the Omega Balance Test, a simple finger-prick blood test that measures your Omega-6 : Omega-3 balance and Omega-3 Index.

I have opened 10 Omega Balance Test places this month for those who are curious to understand their results and receive personalised feedback.

Many people are often surprised by what their results reveal.

Because when we understand what is happening inside the body, we can support it far more effectively.

If you would like to learn more, feel free to message me.

Have you ever tested your Omega balance before?

06/03/2026

✨ Birth Preparation Acupressure Workshop (36+ weeks) ✨

As you move into the final weeks of pregnancy, many women and their partners are looking for gentle, practical ways to prepare for birth.... to feel calmer, more confident, and better supported at home before labour begins.

I see so many women in the final weeks of pregnancy feeling pressure around medical induction.

My work focuses on supporting women and their partners with calm, practical ways to encourage the body’s own natural processes where appropriate... helping them feel more confident and prepared as birth approaches.

This 2-hour birth preparation workshop is designed for pregnant women from 36 weeks and their birth partners.

You’ll learn simple, effective acupressure techniques that can be used in the final weeks of pregnancy and during early labour to support relaxation, comfort and connection.

What we’ll cover..

• Key acupressure points for birth preparation
• Techniques partners can use to support relaxation and comfort
• Supporting natural oxytocin and calm in early labour
• Practical guidance you can use confidently at home
• Time for questions in a relaxed, supportive space

In my clinic, I use these same acupressure techniques alongside acupuncture and aromatherapy to support women in the final weeks of pregnancy...helping them feel calmer, more prepared and more confident as they approach labour, particularly those hoping to support their bodies naturally and reduce the likelihood of unnecessary intervention, where clinically appropriate.

Led by Amanda Redford, registered midwife, fertility and pregnancy specialist, acupuncture practitioner, offering calm, practical support in the final weeks of pregnancy.

💬 What women say..

“Using oils and acupressure helped me feel calm, focused and supported in the final weeks and early labour. Having practical techniques we could use together made a real difference to how prepared we felt.”
Shared with permission

📍 Duration: 2 / 3 hours

👩‍❤️‍👨 For: Pregnant women (36+ weeks) and birth partners

💷 Investment: £95 per couple

📘 Includes a simple take-home guide

✨ This workshop offers a safe, practical way for women and their partners to learn supportive techniques they can confidently use at home in the final weeks of pregnancy.

📩 Message me to book or to find out about upcoming dates

Feel free to share 🙏

01/03/2026

Taking a moment to pause, reflect and recharge before getting back to supporting women and families.

A very special birthday thank you to Mr Redford for the most beautiful evening at The Coalpot restaurant, in St Lucia (you did well 😘)

A stunning setting by the water, incredible food, and the perfect way to end such a lovely day.

Birthdays can be quietly reflective, and this one has been filled with kind messages, thoughtful moments and lovely surprises.

Sometimes the most meaningful celebrations are simply sharing a beautiful moment together.

Feeling very grateful… and this holiday continues to exceed every expectation. ❤️

19/02/2026

𝗙𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Sirtuins, NAD⁺ & Cellular Health

Hormones often receive most of the attention in fertility.
Yet hormones are simply messengers

True fertility foundations begin at a
cellular level.

This is where sirtuins come in..

What are sirtuins?

Sirtuins are proteins inside our cells involved in.

= cellular repair
= inflammation control
= mitochondrial energy production
= DNA protection
= They help the body keep cells
resilient and functioning well.

Why does this matter for fertility?

Egg and s***m health, implantation and early embryo development all rely heavily on..

= strong mitochondria
= balanced inflammation
= protection from oxidative stress
= healthy cell signalling

The NAD⁺ connection..

Healthy flexible cell membranes support mitochondrial function and efficient NAD⁺ recycling for cellular energy and repair.

Sirtuins rely on NAD⁺, a key molecule needed for cellular energy and repair.
The part many people miss..

Healthy cell membranes must be
flexible and permeable for nutrients
and signals to move efficiently into
cells..

When membranes are compromised (often through inflammation or fatty acid imbalance), cellular function can be affected.

Healthy membranes support better signalling, better energy, and better cellular repair..

The bigger picture..

Sirtuins are influenced by factors
such as inflammation, metabolic
balance, nutrient status, stress
levels and mitochondrial health

Fertility is not just about “fixing hormones”.

It is about supporting the cellular
environment that allows hormones
and energy systems to work
properly..

Question: Have you heard of sirtuins before?

16/02/2026

🌿 Hormone Wellness Foundations

Have you ever been told “your hormones are out of balance”… but no one really explains why?

Over the past 6 weeks I have been running a weekly Hormone Wellness Foundations series, helping women understand that hormone symptoms are often not random ....they are messages.

Hormones are chemical messengers… and if the body is under stress, inflamed, nutrient-depleted or struggling with blood sugar stability, hormone communication can become disrupted.

✨ Here is what we have covered so far..

Week 1 – How Hormones Work (chemical messengers + cell membranes matter)

Week 2 – Stress Physiology & Hormone Disruption (cortisol dominance, survival mode vs reproduction)

Week 3 – Gut Health & Hormone Processing (microbiome, inflammation, hormone clearance)

Week 4 – Omega-3 Balance & Inflammation Foundations (omega-6:3 ratio and cellular signalling)

Week 5 – Vitamin D & Micronutrients for Hormone Pathways (vitamin D as a hormone-like signal)

Week 6 – PCOS & Endometriosis Foundations (inflammation, immune and metabolic drivers)

This is the work I love... supporting women through preconception, fertility, pregnancy and postnatal recovery, and from the menarche to perimenopause to menopause transition, by focusing on the foundations that influence hormone health.

And of course, all backed by clinical research ❤️