Speaking & Teaching
Birth. Women. Bodies. Traditional knowledge. Community. And the conversations we sometimes avoid having about all of them.
I have been teaching, speaking and facilitating conversations about birth and women’s lives for more than three decades.
My work has taken me from intimate circles of women sitting together on the floor to conferences, classrooms, community gatherings, professional trainings and international events.
I have delivered a TED talk, taught doulas and birthkeepers around the world, spoken with healthcare professionals and maternity organisations, and facilitated gatherings exploring everything from birth physiology and postpartum traditions to menstruation, herbs, racism, autonomy and the politics of whose knowledge we value.
And I still love it.
Invite me to speak
I am available for speaking engagements, conferences, panels, podcasts, interviews, workshops and guest teaching in the UK and internationally.
I particularly love gatherings where there is space for genuine conversation rather than simply standing at the front of a room delivering information.
Because people bring knowledge with them.
My job as a teacher isn’t simply to fill a room with everything I know. It is to bring knowledge, stories and questions into the space and create the conditions for everyone there to think, remember, question and contribute.
What I speak about
My work crosses birth, women’s health, traditional knowledge and social justice, so talks and workshops can be created specifically for your audience.
Some of the subjects I regularly teach and speak about include:
Birth & birthkeeping
Birth physiology, doula support, traditional midwifery, creating supportive birth environments, homebirth, autonomy, informed decision-making and what it really means to accompany somebody through birth.
Traditional postpartum care
The first 40 days, motherwarming, food as medicine, herbs, belly care, rest, warmth and what different cultures can teach us about caring for women after birth.
Menstruation & the womb
Menstrual physiology, menstrual literacy, menarche, shame, the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, menopause and reconnecting women with knowledge about their own bodies.
Herbs & traditional medicine
Plant medicine, oils, kitchen remedies, traditional preparations and the ways knowledge about plants has travelled between women, families and cultures.
Doulas & the future of birthkeeping
Mentorship, training the next generation, scope of practice, sustainability, community birth work and protecting the relational heart of doula work.
Race, culture & maternity care
Racial disparities, cultural safety, Islamophobia, bias, advocacy, listening to women and examining the systems surrounding pregnancy and birth.
Women’s autonomy
Consent, power, decision-making, navigating healthcare systems and keeping the woman at the centre of her own care.
Traditional knowledge, ancestry & lineage
Who taught us? Where did our practices come from? What has survived? What has been lost? And how do we share traditional knowledge respectfully without pretending that everything belongs to everyone?
Community, care & women’s circles
What happens when women gather, share stories and begin treating lived experience as knowledge again.
I don’t only talk about birth
Increasingly, my teaching follows women across the whole arc of life.
Menarche.
Menstruation.
Sexuality.
Pregnancy.
Birth.
Postpartum.
Perimenopause.
Menopause.
Ageing.
Grief.
Death.
These aren’t separate little boxes.
They are part of a much bigger conversation about bodies, transitions, care and how knowledge moves between generations.
That is the conversation I am most interested in.
Workshops & guest teaching
Not everything needs to be a keynote.
I also create workshops and longer teaching sessions for organisations, universities, doula and midwifery schools, women’s groups, community organisations, retreats and professional gatherings.
These can range from a short guest session to a half-day, full-day or multi-day programme.
I am particularly happy to create something specifically for your community rather than bringing an off-the-shelf workshop.
Tell me who will be in the room.
Tell me what conversations are already happening.
Tell me what you want people to leave thinking about.
We’ll begin there.
Online speaking & teaching
I am also available for online events, podcasts, panels, interviews and guest teaching.
Online work has made it possible for me to sit at my kitchen table and suddenly find myself in a room with women in five different countries.
I rather love that.
So geography doesn’t need to stop us working together.
International invitations
I teach internationally throughout the year and am very happy to combine speaking or teaching invitations with my existing travels where possible.
If you are inviting me specifically to your country or event, we can discuss travel, accommodation, visas where necessary and how to make the visit worthwhile.
That might mean one keynote.
Or it might mean building several days around the visit: a public talk, a professional workshop, a women’s gathering, student teaching or time with local birthkeepers and traditional practitioners.
I particularly welcome opportunities for exchange, where I am not simply arriving somewhere to teach but also have an opportunity to listen and learn from the people already doing this work locally.
Watch me speak
In 2015 I had the wonderful and slightly terrifying experience of giving a TED talk.
You can watch it here.
You can also find more of my teaching, conversations and interviews through Red Tent Doulas and my online channels.
Fees
Speaking and teaching fees vary depending on the event, location, preparation required and whether you are inviting me for a talk, workshop or longer programme.
For international invitations, travel and accommodation will normally be additional.
I am also open to conversations with grassroots, community and not-for-profit organisations working with limited budgets.
Please ask.
Invite me
If you would like to invite me to speak, teach, join a panel, appear on your podcast or create something for your organisation, I’d love to hear what you’re imagining.
Send me:
where you are in the world
what you’re organising
who it is for
your proposed date
the subject you’d like me to explore
whether it is in person or online
And tell me a little about why you thought of me.
Then let’s see what we can create together.
