what happens when instinct becomes extinct?
Jane Hardwicke Collings
The medical model breeds fear and distrust in our body's and our innate intuition
We have become cogs in a machine that devalues us and tries to package us into a neat, convenient process
The truth is that life is raw, untameable, messy, magnificent and unpredictable
Every rite of passage we experience changes us in every way possible
Every experience shapes how we live the rest of our lives
I have spent over 20 years tending births and deaths outside of the medical system, learning directly from the women in my community and i continue to seek the guidance of wise elders today. I truly believe that this traditional way of sharing knowledge and experience is what's so severely lacking in our culture right now.
In my work as a Mentor i am honoured to hold and guide women as they walk this sacred path of remembrance.
My continued work with Mothers lights me up each and every day - i see you, because i am you,
Clare
xx
my journey so far...
I'm mum to two teen girls Lola & Evie, wife to Steve, caretaker of a menagerie of animals, dedicated doula & all round nurturer, unschooling our family in the Worcestershire countryside. If i'm not digging in my garden i have my head in a book or i'm cooking up a big family dinner!
I'm Romany Gypsy and grew up witnessing birth, death and motherhood within authentic community. Realising at an early age that the traditions that held me were not 'the norm' i feared being seen as different and spent decades hiding my authentic self and the magic of these practices.
This disconnection seeped into the births of my daughters - i froze and felt helpless and vulnerable. I had no trust in myself , in what i knew birth to be and went onto spend years in the grip of postnatal anxiety, PTSD and postnatal depression as a result of these traumatic birth experiences.
I also suffered the heartache of unexplained infertility and 3 devastating pregnancies that ended too early (i don't use the word miscarriage - my body did not miss carry, there is no blame- it has taken me decades to truly let any 'guilt' around this go) The grief was unbearable and pushing it down, numbing myself from feeling it was the only way i could cope.
The thing is, even if we try our best to ignore grief our body stores it in every cell. It festers and finds a way through the cracks. It impacts our lives on every possible level. The only way out really is through.
Is this easy? Not one bit.
Is it vital? Absolutely
I continue to walk alongside women experiencing grief and loss and to mentor doulas who feel called to explore more traditional practices.
After working exclusively with women choosing to birth outside of the system that failed me I have gone on to write over 40 courses - many of which have been used by NHS Trusts all over the UK and have provided GRT Cultural Humility training for leading training providers, universities and charities.
My work now focuses on bringing birth, death and grief home through tradition, ritual and somatic practices- not just to our physical spaces but to our animal bodies.
My Professional Qualifications include: Sacred Circle 12 month Death Doula Training - 2025 - ongoing 10 Moons Radical Birthkeeper Path - Joy Horner (Independent Midwife) & Jady Mountjoy (red school Mentor) BA (hons) Integrated Working with Children & Families Early Years Teacher Training (QTS) Deepen Your Roots - 13 Moons Deep Ecology Study Mother Nature Circle Facilitator - Applewood Permaculture Centre Permaculture Design Certificate - ongoing study Doula Training - Birth & Postnatal Antenatal Teacher Training Breastfeeding Peer Support Biomechanics of Birth - Molly O' Brien Ayurvedic Nutritionist Certification Baby Massage & Yoga Teacher Closing the Bones Training 200 & 500 hr Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher Fertility, Pregnancy, Postnatal & Menopause Yoga Teacher Training PGCert Coaching and Teaching in Higher Education Massage Therapy - Fertility, Pregnancy & Postnatal Medicinal Herbalism & Astro Herbalism - School of Evolutionary Herbalism Babywearing Certification - Dr. Rosie Knowles 13 Moons Matriarchal Medicine School (2023 & 2024) Laura Hart Swann 13 Moons 1:1 Mentorship - Laura Hart Swann - ongoing Worcestershire MNVP Volunteer (Maternity & Neonatal Voices Partnership)
Grief Tending
