The Southwest Indie Midwife

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The Southwest Indie Midwife

Independent, private midwife. Homebirth specialist

Holistic, physiology centred care

Plymouth, Devon & Cornwall. Aromatherapy, hypnobirthing, biomechanics.

Independent, private midwifery services in Devon & Cornwall. Full continuity of carer and guaranteed access to home birth with an experienced and skilled homebirth midwife. I want you to be at the centre of your care. i value relational care, with a physiology first approach. Helping you to understand how and why your body works to ensure a positive birth experience. I will always prioritise the s

afety and wellbeing of you and your baby and am a fully qualified and NMC registered midwife. I am trained in managing obstetric emergencies, Newborn Life Support and Immediate Life Support and carry out yearly skills and drills to ensure my skills stay up to date. I am able to provide a range of care packages, from the full pregnancy, homebirth and postnatal care continuum, hospital birth packages including where you are choosing a planned caesarean birth as well as enhanced antenatal or postnatal support. I can offer individual appointments or a package of care depending on your needs. I am trained in biomechanics for birth, hypnobirthing, aromatherapy, massage and reflexology and can offer tailor made sessions for you to enhance your pregnancy and plan for a positive birth. To find out if I am right for you I offer a free online meeting of approx 30 mins where you can have the opportunity to meet me, ask any questions you may have and decide if what i can offer will suit you and your needs.

27/04/2026

We believe that information is power

So we set up a free online homebirth group where you can come find out more, hear real stories from real homebirth families and bust the myths and mysteries on anything homebirth

Facilitated by & Mel from The Southwest Indie Midwife we are a pair of experienced homebirth midwives with decades of homebirth and physiological birth between us.

We want you to have all the information to make choices that feel right for you and your baby ✨

Tomorrow we have a really special story of a powerful and redemptive homebirth after caesarean. This powerful mama birthing her baby in the pool in her living room. Not one to miss 💪💪💪

Very limited space left, DM for ticket information (it's free!)

23/04/2026

Ah goodbyes are hard!

I can't believe it's over a month ago this gorgeous little baby was born so powerfully in the pool in the living room of this wonderfully families home 💞

Always so in awe of the power of women and that I get to stand by their side as they bring their babies in to their arms.

This birth was magic

A VBAC of a nearly 4kg baby born with the caul still intact and the her veil lifted from her face as she came out of the water.

Wow birth really is something else!

And the most beautiful name for her which was such a surprise 🥹

Thank you for trusting me with this privilege 💞✨🍥

14/04/2026

Continuity of care Vs conveyor belt care

Knowing your midwife

She's the one who comes to see you in your home

So that when she arrives to care for you in labour, there is no resistance, no worry about your birth plan not being respected. She knows you and she only makes you feel safer to go deeper in to labour land and through that portal of birth 🍥

She is the same familiar pair of hands that care for you and your baby for a full month after your baby is earthside.

This Vs

Seeing 6 different midwives in a clinic during your pregnancy

Unknown and unfamiliar faces on labour day or perhaps a change in birth location because of staff shortages

Clinic based postnatal care.

Perfunctory, functional but not with that same feeling.

The first example is called continuity of care. It is proven through huge research studies to improve outcomes for mother and baby time and again and improves almost every measurable outcome in maternity care.

It does exist in pockets of the NHS but you may have to search for it and request it, and you may have a postcode lottery.

I work like this because relationship based care means safety. For you. For your baby. It means you feel safe to make choices that feel right for you and to make them in a way where you feel held and supported.

Interested in this kind of care?

Head to my website for more information or hit message to start a conversation.

Link in bio

28/03/2026

Let's normalise investing in maternity care

Whether that's antenatal education

Hiring a doula or independent midwife

Deeply investing in your own self care and learning deep self trust

Using lactation support services

These aren't just nice to have's

Antenatal education and good birth support and advocacy have evidence based improvements in outcomes

Continuity of care from a known midwife improves almost every measurable outcome in maternity care.

So while we think it's totally normal to spend thousands of pounds on weddings, baby showers or any other big life events, we forget that while the NHS will provide you with the basic care required, it is also a system leaving over a third of women with birth trauma, 50% of women having a surgical birth (with over half of those being unplanned)

Let's get real about where 'just trusting the system leaves you....not because the staff don't care about you and your baby deeply, but because it is built on flow, conveyer belt and mass production of care.

Once you know this you start to see it differently and realise that you only get to have this baby once, it's time to invest in being prepared.

25/03/2026

Birth is a hormonal event

It needs you to feel deeply safe and held to unfold

That doesn't come with strangers in the space

That doesn't come with feeling observed

That comes with being held by those that know you and that you trust.

Birth needs relationship based care to work at its best, and physiological birth should be treated with the gentle reverence it deserves.

This isn't just our opinion, this is supported and evidence by a huge volume of research that tells us outcomes for women and babies are better with continuity of care

You deserve to have a pregnancy, birth and early mothering in the living care of midwives who know you, provide you with gold standard care and respect birth as a hormonal event that needs the gentle care and respect it deserves.

We are specialists in continuity of care and in physiological birth, particularly homebirth.

If you want to explore how care can look with private midwifery care, get in touch for a free enquiry appointment

24/03/2026

Just leaving this here as a quiet message that you CAN have a birth like this, where your midwives leave you tucked up and cosy in bed with your new baby.

But it won't happen by luck or by chance.

You need to get educated about the system and how it works ....

Do the deep work on building your own self belief

Prepare for a homebirth - evidence says this increases your chance of everything being straightforward

Understand your unique risk factors. Being classed as high risk does not exclude you from homebirth, you just need to understand your own unique and personalised care needs.

Seek continuity of care with a midwife. It's gold standard for a reason. Improving outcomes for you and your baby across the board.

Ever grateful to be in the birth space with

Sending love and oxytocin

✨

16/03/2026

Sometimes birth doesn't go as we expected it to. Currently 50% plus of women giving birth in the UK are likely to end up with a caesarean birth and at least 30% of them will be unexpected.

Give yourself permission to grieve the birth you didn't have if that is how you are left feeling, but also know that you didn't do anything wrong.

In the days and weeks that follow caesarean birth you can give your body the best chance of healing with rest.

Make sure you keep on top of pain relief as this will help you to feel like you can manage and have low expectations on your body to do anything other than gently care for your baby.

I love the 5 days in bed, 5 days on the bed, 5 days around the bed for any birth. But deep permission to rest and heal is particularly important for any surgical birth.

Some gentle movement every day will help keep your bowels moving and help prevent blood clots. You should also drink plenty of water and consider stool softeners to help prevent constipation. Think about your diet to nourish your healing. In some cultures certain foods that are warm and easy to digest are preferred and these are often also nutrient dense and high in fibre, helping your body and gut to replenish after birth.

Take all the help offered. Provision of meals or care for other children are great ways for friends and family to help.

Spend lots of time having skin to skin, this is great for binding, building your babys microbiome and getting breastfeeding off to a wonderful start.

If you find yourself thinking about your birth lots there are a number of talking therapy options open to you. From birth after thoughts through the NHS to private birth debriefs.

Consider if you would like the idea of a rebirthing ceremony where you and your baby can be held in reverence and supported with intentions through your postnatal journey in to matresence. This is something I can help arrange and support you through as an additional service if this is something you wanted to explore.

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09/03/2026

Connection, relationships, your birth team and navigating birth and life with a new baby.

This is what I live and breathe with you, helping you navigate choices, nurturing and deep knowing.

Want to find out more about independent midwife support? DM me for a free meet up to see if this kind of care feels aligned for you

08/03/2026

A friend just sent me this picture....it's 2006/2007 and I had just qualified as a breastfeeding peer supporter.

I met some of the most wonderful women on this course and through the years of volunteering that came from this.

Midwives, health visitors and other wonderful mums that I walked the journey of early parenthood with.

I am still in touch with some of these women today and these women inspired me to take a path to midwifery.

Because women inspire me. With their strength, tenacity, and general awesomeness.

And that's why I am a midwife. To stand in awe and reverance of women. To walk by their side and show them some of the wisdom that was gifted to me along the way.

Thank you to all the wonderful women at Plymouth Latch On. An inspiration all round ✨

07/03/2026

Interested in what independent care looks like?

Care without the barriers.....

No worrying about short staffing

Care based on relationships which makes you feel safe

Expert care from a midwife with over a decade of experience and a foundation built in physiological care

Integration with NHS services if needed

19 years of breastfeeding expertise

Let's have a cuppa together to find out if I'm right for you.

Limited 2026 availability for full birth care.

Address

Plymouth

Website

https://linktr.ee/southwestindiemidwife

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