I'm always working on something and coming up with ideas. I feel that a sense of being in a community is one of the most important parts of life, to develop our sense of belonging and interconnectedness.

I have found an international home as both a Friend and volunteer within the European Doula Network. I am blessed with the privilege of working with many doula pioneers from many countries. I am one of three Core-Organisers, with a number of roles and projects in motion: from supporting refugees to connecting with international organisations of doulas, midwives and doctors.

In my year in the Paris region, I connected with a flourishing local doula community and also attended the Ethics and Positioning training of Doulas de France.

In Versailles I formed and facilitated The Positive Birth Movement group, which met every month to chat about birth. These woman-to-woman peer groups encourage open and non-judgemental discussion focusing on various birthing topics. I also supported a number of pregnant friends who found themselves navigating pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period during the pandemic. This included setting up 'Meal Trains' where local community members cooked and delivered food in the post partum period or during illness.

I have been heavily involved in developing the EDN's Doula Solidarity and Support initiative to help support doulas supporting refugee women, a cause I feel deeply about. I am available to offer pro bono support.

Now I am settled in the Basel region I have been reconnecting with friends and contacts within the birth world: La League de la Leche, Mignon and Magical Café.

I attended my first birth in 2019 in an amazing and rare 'double-doula' scenario with my doula 'marraine' ('god'mother), Dr Špela Peternel (PhD Biomedecine, DONA Advanced Trainer). The hospital was keen to encourage more doulas becoming active through the mentorship of a highly skilled and experienced doula. I found myself captivated during her childbirth education classes, which I attended following the DONA International Doula and Breastfeeding workshops, held in person with Elena Carillo, DONA Advanced Trainer.

Since 2020, during these challenging pandemic years of upheaval and change, I have dedicated a lot of my time to supporting the European Doula Network as an a Friend and Volunteer and now treasurer and one of three Core-Organisers with a number of roles to juggle. I feel blessed to work with amazing doulas, many of whom are pioneer doulas and doula-trainers in their own countries.

In 2020, for World Doula Week, I teamed up with Anita Budak to create and launch the first EDN Doula Survey which had over 600 responses from 21 countries. Summer 2020, in a team of 5 volunteer doulas we created and organised the first EDN Online Conference in September, inviting speakers on key doula topics including racism, disability, refugees, death, doula care and much more.  I am now working with Špela Peternel on the results of our second EDN Doula Survey, which also counts responses from over 600 doulas.

In 2022 I created an EDN focus group committed to doing everything possible to share information to help Ukrainian doulas, some of whom I feel very closely connected with. The Doula Solidarity and Support hub I co-created with Ukrainian doulas helps facilitate local and Ukrainain doula support for refugees located in countries all across Europe. Resources are shared and accessible in the language of the country as well as other languages used by refugees to help doulas and birth workers best support vulnerable mothers-to-be and new mothers.

In 2023 I lead an EDN focus group with the goal of promoting doulas at a global level with doctors and midwives. This project brought around a wonderful collaboration between international doula organisations from Europe and both North and South America: ICEA, DONA International and Red Mundial de Doulas. I was honoured to be co-hosting at the three doula tables at the FIGO Doctor's World Congress in Paris in October 2023 and then taking part in the International Childbirth Initiative sessions. In the same week EDN colleagues were promoting Midwife:Doula relations at Midwifery Today, Badwild Bad, Germany.

I am in regular contact with doulas in France (Grand Est and Yvelines), Germany (Black Forest) and Switzerland (North-West). I am a member of Doula Netzwerk Schweiz. Connecting with other doulas is so important - we learn so much form each other and about ourselves when we come together! Our communal energy helps us provide the best support possible for each other and for the people we care for.

During recent years I have participated in Dreambirth and Hypnobirthing training, as I genuinely believe that there is a power in the harmony created when our mind and body get the opportunity to experience the sadly rare sensation of being one.

I have been working on deepening my understanding and self-awareness through the 'Resiliency for Birthworkers' course and continue to improve my knowledge and practice of using the rebozo through further training. Breastfeeding is an area I have gained personal experience over many years and I am fascinated by learning the latest developments in the study of the infant microbiome. I practice Qi Gong and feel particularly drawn to the sense of calmness and vivid energy this creates. 
I am curious about future training in trauma-informed care and as a Thana Doula (End of Life/Death Doula), being a doula will always be a life-long journey of discovery!

I am certified as a doula with Nurturing Birth.