Naturopath
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy)
Personal health experience:
Infertility, recurrent miscarriage, uterine fibroids, postpartum depletion, hormonal acne, caesarean section and VBAC recovery
My kids: eczema, tongue tie, childcare illnesses, constipation, sleep disturbance, sensory processing issues
Available: Thursdays: 9am-2pm and Fridays: 8am-4pm
Get to know me
I always knew I wanted kids and, like many, spent my teens and early 20s convinced an accidental pregnancy was imminent. It came as a huge (and unwelcome) shock when my husband and I decided to start a family and I experienced six miscarriages over the course of two years. After the sixth miscarriage, it was finally determined that I had a small fibroid in my uterine lining and it was suspected that it was impacting blood flow to the foetus and causing the miscarriages. I had the fibroid removed and fell pregnant with my son two months later.
After a textbook pregnancy, I ended up with an unplanned caesarean section due to ‘failure to progress’ — which I now think was more a case of the obstetrician failing to give my body time labour the way it needed to.
Despite this unexpected start to motherhood, I was fortunate that my son took to breastfeeding like a champ. He was gaining weight steadily, sleeping like a typical newborn and I didn’t have any nipple pain. So it wasn’t until a few months into his life when his sleep had regressed to the point of waking every 20-30 minutes all night every night that I thought something might not be right.
I booked with an incredible IBCLC who quickly determined that my son had two severe tongue ties, which meant he wasn’t able to get enough milk each feed so would quickly become hungry and wake again for another feed. At 5 months of age we had both ties lasered off and set about helping him heal, which included trips to a paediatric chiropractor to relieve the tension in his head and neck from the ties. We thankfully noticed an immediate improvement in his sleep, although it wasn’t until he was 2 years old that he slept through for the first time.
When we decided to try for a second baby, I was nervous about more miscarriages but instead we discovered that now we couldn’t fall pregnant at all. It took 14 months to conceive and in that time we both did a lot of work on our health, working with both a naturopath and Chinese Medicine practitioner to help our fertility.
Despite a number of curveballs, including a pandemic, I was able to achieve my goal of having a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) and it was incredibly healing. It wasn’t until I came down from the birth high that I realised just how depleted I actually was and how the deep fatigue I felt was more than just standard life-with-a-newborn fatigue. I had never felt so tired and despite napping every day and getting reasonable sleep at night, I couldn’t shake the fatigue. I spent the next few months nourishing my body with traditional healing foods, like broths and congees, and utilised herbal medicine to restore my vitality.
I slowly emerged from the fog and before I knew it my son was almost 4 years old and after breastfeeding him through
We quickly realised after my daughter’s birth that she too had severe tongue ties but this time we got onto it sooner and had them revised when she was a few weeks old, allowing us to have a smooth breastfeeding journey for two years.
Fast forward to today and we still co-sleep with our kids, and I’m a big advocate for attachment style parenting but also supporting parents to feel empowered to do what is right for their family – not what society tells them to do.
We have experienced almost every childcare illness possible, along with eczema, keratosis pilaris and gut issues such as constipation from food intolerances. So I know what it’s like to be deep in the trenches of parenting young kids, while also trying to work, and when they get sick it can be the thing that tips you over the edge. Having another outside perspective on your health and your kids’ health can make all the difference in how quickly things get back on track. I’d love to be that person for you.
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