If you've found my page and you're looking to get to know me, we are one step closer to rewriting Your Birth Story.
I hope you choose me to be your guide on this transformative journey,
Love Nicole
I wasn’t always “into” birth. In fact, I was the opposite.
I was a corporate career climber, structured, strategic, and very used to being in control. Pregnancy didn’t feel like something to lean into… it felt like something to get through with a reward of a baby
I found the idea of labour completely overwhelming, often saying "how is 'that' getting of of 'there?'....
But then something unexpected happened.
The only antenatal class near my office in waterloo was hypnobirthing. Which honestly I thought sounded like we'd be sat around chanting and beating drums, not really my vibe. But the teacher was different. No fluff. No vague spirituality. Just science, physiology, and the connection between the brain and the body. As a senior manager teaching other leaders and sales people in the organisation about behaviour, decision-making, and how people respond under pressure, this was a language and a concept i was already familiar with. So when birth was explained through that lens, the nervous system, hormones, environment, it clicked instantly.
And I went all in.
By the end of my pregnancy, I was deep in the research, the evidence, the psychology of a pysiological birth. Birth, in my mind, had completely been reframed.
When labour arrived, I felt calm, empowered and able to surrender. And if I’m honest? I thought it was all me.
All the preparation. All the mindset work. I’d cracked the code.
So when people said, “you were so lucky to have a good birth”…It made me really cross. Perhaps a little to prove them all wrong, I left my corporate career and set up Your Birth Story, delivering scienced based hypnobirthing classes to 100's of expectant families. I honestly believed that I was preparing them to have a birth just like mine......
But what I naïvely, and perhaps arrogantly, didn’t realise then what I now see so clearly is this:
I was lucky.
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I went into spontaneous labour at 38 weeks, avoiding the induction pathway many women face and that I definetly was not prepared for
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A delayed tube meant I missed a growth scan so there was no “big baby” label placed on me and I had no idea this scan was optional
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The birth centre was open and the pool was available, something i now know is unusual
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My husband is actually a scientist so was all in on Hypnobirthing, a luxury that I know many women don't have
So yes, through Hypnobirthing, my mind was prepared. But the system? The environment? The timing? it was all luck.
Time and time again, despite believing my classes were the best around because they were not cookie cutter mainstream Hypnobirthing, the same stories were coming up from the families i worked with. Women doing "everything right"…but still feeling rushed, pressured, or derailed. Not because their bodies had failed them or because their mindset wasn't "positive" enough. But because the system isn’t designed for physiological birth. It’s designed for efficiency, timelines, risk management. And I recognised it immediately because I came from that world.
That realisation changed everything and I decided to start preserving birth more deeply.
Now, I help you protect your birth experience in a system that isn’t built for it, so you can navigate the NHS with clarity, confidence, and strong, consistent support so you can move through the NHS feeling clear, confident, and deeply supported, while trusting your body, your hormones, and your nervous system to guide you into a powerful birth.
The version of me, beyond birth
Choosing a doula isn’t just about skills and experience, it’s about connection. The families I support often tell me they felt at ease with me right away, like being with an old friend. That’s exactly how I hope you’ll feel too, so let me share a little about who I am beyond birth work…
Water
I’ve always felt most at home in the water. My children’s names, Kai, meaning “ocean,” and Dylan, meaning “born from the sea” are a reflection of that deep connection. I’m a typical deep-thinking Pisces, and it was on the water, teaching windsurfing in Greece, that I first met my husband. Surfing, wild swimming, and kayaking bring me peace and perspective.
Water reminds me to flow, adapt, and trust the tides of life.
Earth
The mountains and wild places ground me. I’ve worked ski seasons in Norway and Austria as a mountain guide, and I still feel most alive hiking, camping, or simply being surrounded by nature.
When we found out we were expecting our first baby, the first thing we bought wasn’t a buggy, it was a camper van. Travel and adventure are part of our family’s DNA, and even with little ones, we’ve kept that spirit alive.
Fire
Some of my happiest moments are sitting around a fire with family and friends, laughing until my belly hurts.
My party trick is spinning fire poi, i've been spinning since i was 15 and just love the movement and energy of doing it.
Fire represents my passion: for family, for community, and for carving out a life full of connection, laughter, and meaning.
Wind
I’ve always been drawn to wandering, to traveling, to learning, to moving into the unknown. Years ago, whilst in the National Gallery of Aboriginal Art I was captivated by a piece called The Curious Wanderer.
It showed emu footprints crossing the plain. Emus are explorers: they move forward without hesitation, never stepping backward, even when they already have water, safety, and comfort. That image stayed with me, and while traveling in Thailand, I had the emu footprints tattooed onto my foot with bamboo. It is a constant reminder to keep moving forward, to explore, to grow, and to trust the wind as it carries me.
A past life
Birth wasn’t always my path. I spent over a decade leading strategic and sales teams across the wine industry and third sector.
And while it may seem like a completely different world, I quickly recognised the same patterns of hierarchy, pressure, and decision-making within complex systems.
Now, I use that experience to support you in navigating birth with clarity and confidence.
Do we connect beyond birth?
When we share who we are beyond birth, the stories, the quirks, the elements that shape us, we build a deeper kind of trust. Birth isn’t just a physical experience; it’s emotional, spiritual, and profoundly personal.
The more we connect as people, the more grounded, safe, and supported you’ll feel as you step into your own birth journey. Just as water, earth, fire, and wind have shaped me, it’s the connections we make together that will shape the way you remember your birth.
