About Me

 
 

Hi, I’m Alison. I’m a midwife, birth educator, reflexologist and fertility coach.

Originally from a small village outside Penrith, I grew up on the family farm before leaving Cumbria in my teens to attend university.

In 2009 I decided to retrain as a midwife and moved to Manchester, where I took on a student midwife post at a big and busy obstetric unit. I learned a lot in Manchester, but my passion was always in physiological birth so I moved southwards in 2012 to take a job working in a Homebirth Team in Surrey.

 
 

My favourite thing about midwifery has always been in supporting women and birthing people to achieve their best possible birth, whatever that looks like. After 5 years specialising in homebirths down south, I migrated back up north and graduate to a midwife led birth centre in Kendal, which is where you’ll still find me on “the day job”. More recently I qualified as a Professional Midwifery Advocate, which means I have additional training in the practical and emotional support of midwives as well as families.

I started teaching private birth education classes in 2017, not long after I moved back to Cumbria. In other parts of the UK I had been used to supporting couples who had access to a host of antenatal options such as classes at the local hospital, the NCT, or hypnobirthing. When I realised how little was available in our area I knew something needed to change. I’m a very logical and pragmatic person, so teaching hypnobirthing is a great way to pass on my knowledge and experience to expectant parents no matter what type of birth they might choose. The course I teach, by The Birth Uprising, is a great fit - No Bull, No Fluff, No Nonsense Hypnobirthing. It really does what it says on the tin!

Working a slightly more 9-5 job has also given me the opportunity to expand my training in my other area of expertise - fertility and reproductive health. I love the magic of the female body, but find it frustrating how little we are taught about how to work with it. Periods are painted as an inconvenience and the inner wisdom of our cycles is lost.

That might sound a bit out there, but the menstrual cycle is a very scientific marker of your overall health. I work with women, couples and people with reproductive health issues to optimise their cycles, tackle issues like period pain, and maximise their chances of getting pregnant.

See below for a list of my qualifications and training, or use the links to find out more about my services.

 
 
 
 

My qualifications:

  • Bachelor of Midwifery (Hons) The University of Manchester 2012

  • Wise Hippo Birthing Instructor 2017

  • VTCT Complementary Therapies 2019

  • Maternity Reflexology 2019

  • Reproflexology (Part One) 2020

  • Reproflexology (Part Two) 2021

  • The Birth Uprising Hypnobirthing Instructor 2021

  • Professional Midwifery Advocate 2024

  • Resus Council UK Instructor (Out of Hospital Newborn Life Support) 2024

Recent/Ongoing Additional Study:

  • Childbirth Physiology with Rachel Reed 2022

  • Reclaiming Childbirth Course

  • Rachel Reed’s Childbirth Collective (Current Member)

  • Biomechanics for Birth 2023

  • Advanced Biomechanics for Birth 2023

  • NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Nutrition and Health 2023

  • Spinning Babies Workshop Host 2023