http://www.postpartummatters.co.uk/

Postpartum Matters CIC, The Women's Health Hub, 79 Park Road, Hartlepool (2026)

11/02/2026

I’m really excited to share that we will be hosting a community conversation with around rights-respecting care in pregnancy, birth & postpartum ❤️

We are bringing together women, birthing people and birth professionals for a day of honest conversation, shared learning, and connection

Join us on Friday 13 March at ❤️

We are inviting service users who are either currently using the maternity services across the North East, or have used the maternity services in the last six years. As well as anyone who advocates for, works with and supports families in the perinatal period.

This is an opportuity to learn about human rights and childbirth, but also feed into the conversation about what support is needed for service users, to understand and advocate for those rights.

Things that are helpful to know -

✨It’s free to attend, there is food and refreshments available and support for travel if needed

✨Children are very welcome to be brought along.

✨There’s disabled access and the site is within walking distance of Newcastle train station.

✨A breakout space will be provided so if people are talking about things that you don’t feel comfortable with, or you’re not ready to listen to, you can take yourself out the conversation.

There is a form to register your interest - you can find it in my bio or comment birthrights below and I’ll DM it to you ❤️ you can also email me at zoe@postpartummatters.co.uk with any questions or support needs you might have 🥰

I’d love to see you there - please do share and tag anyone else who might benefit or be interested - your pregnant friend, your antenatal teacher, everyone is welcome 😊

Thank you 🙏🏻
Zoe xx

10/02/2026

TW miscarriage 💔

Apparently it’s generational but I find it horrifically uncomfortable when people don’t know everything about me so here is my overshare.

At the end of January I found out my IUD had failed and I was pregnant.

Not for the first time, my firstborn is an IUD baby but unfortunately it didn’t work out as well this time 💔✨.

I have all kinds of feelings about that - about how validated my grief has been when losing this unplanned baby at 34 compared to the abortion pressure I received with my successful IUD pregnancy at 22.

Going through this has also made it impossible to ignore how much care matters. Community care. Because whilst I received blood tests and scans and plans from the NHS, I did not feel cared for.

I am grateful for the -

People who shared practical information about what to expect.
People who dropped off soup, flowers, cards, teabags ❤️
People who offered walks, distractions and childcare so I could get to appointments.

I’m really grateful for the support around me and for the work I do. Work that has meant I am surrounded by so many people who know how to care so well. I have been very well looked after and loved 🙏🏻

I’m going to be moving slower over the next few weeks/ month and I thank you for sticking with me 🙏🏻❤️

Zoe xx

26/01/2026

This weekend I washed my car magnets.
Light pink. Absolutely filthy. Didn’t think that one through at all 😅

It’s one of those tiny, boring, weird admin jobs you don’t see when you imagine “running a business.” Not glamorous. Not impactful. Just… necessary.

And it feels extra strange doing things like this while the world feels so loud. So much harm. So much suffering. So much scrolling and witnessing and not knowing what to do with it all.

There’s something grounding about doing a small, physical task with your hands. About stepping out of your phone and the collective trauma and back into your own life for a moment.
That in itself is a privilege — to be able to look away, even briefly. But helpful if it means we can keep moving forward.

So I’ll wash the magnets.
And I’ll keep showing up where I can.
And it will keep not feeling like enough.

The link to donate to UNFPA is still in my bio 🤍

Sending you all love,
Zoe 🌻

15/01/2026

✨Some magic from the last seven days✨

✨I supported a wonderful family to bring their first baby into this world ❤️ and have cared for and held them in their first week at home

✨I held a beautiful closing ceremony for a mother who birthed her first baby back in October, wrapping up her hips and her whole self as well as 8 months of support together in such a gentle way

✨I have supported other clients with accessing support, with deep listening & information sharing

✨I have walked alongside and worked with some amazing folks - which has felt great but, more importantly, has led to others being supported so much more than if we were walking all alone

~sending love to

& Riki from NeuroClean 🙏🏻❤️

It feels so good to be able to give people true, bespoke support specific to them - not feeling all the pressure to be all the things by myself but knowing I have some amazing people around me who can step in to build a lush circle around families at such a vulnerable time ⭕️

I have availability for doula support from mid-May 🥰 you can book a free, no-obligation chat with me via the link in my bio, I’d love to meet you ❤️

Sending love,
Zoe xx

🌻

06/01/2026

✨Happy 2026✨

This month is VERY busy. With births 🥰. With antenatal and postpartum care 🥰. With new client consultations and prep for a new round of my Mindful Bookbinding course 🥰. With writing funding bids for Women’s Health Hartlepool and running my free, fortnightly creative journaling sessions 🥰.

I have so many thoughts and things I’d like to share with you but I haven’t the time to make them Instagrammable so I’m just showing up to say I’m here for the in-person support & chats and I’d love to connect - you can book a cuppa with me via the link in my bio.

I hope your 2026 is full of joy 🌻

Zoe xx

✨

26/12/2025

I hope you’ve had a gentle and happy festive season, whatever that’s looked like for you. I know this time of year can hold many different feelings and I’m holding space for all of them ❤️.

I’m inviting anyone who’d like to join me for some quiet journaling tomorrow. Nothing fancy or heavy. Just a notebook, a warm drink, and a little time to slow down.
I’ll be at Women’s Health Hartlepool, 10am till 12pm - with all the warm drinks and the biscuits and the journaling materials to guide you through the above prompts 🥰

For those who can’t make it, I thought I’d share it here for you join in - you can zoom in on your phone or drop me a message and I’ll send you a copy 😊

Here are the prompts inspired by unicursal labyrinths, one path and no wrong turns.

✨Labyrinth as self reflection✨

a)
When I imagine reaching the center,
what is waiting there for me?
is it clear, blurry or uncertain?
How does that feel in my body?

b)
If there are no wrong turns here,
how might I meet this moment
exactly as it is - with more
gentleness, ease or compassion?

c)
How do I usually respond when
the way forward feels indirect or
progress feels slow or repetitive?
How would I like to respond to this
instead?
How can I help myself bridge that gap?

✨

Sending love,

Zoe xx

✨

💛

09/12/2025

It feels really vulnerable to share this, but the Women’s Health Hub is at a point where community support genuinely matters more than ever. 💗

If the Hub has ever been a safe place for you - or if you simply believe that women and birthing people in the North East deserve somewhere warm, free, and supportive to land - I’d be so grateful if you could consider helping us stay open.

Even the smallest regular donation (£3 a month!) helps us keep the doors open, the kettle on, and our support groups running. It really is the “lots of us doing a little” that makes the difference. ✨

👉 You can donate here: www.postpartummatters.co.uk/donate 🔗is in my bio too

And if you can’t donate right now, sharing this post or mentioning us to a friend or local business honestly helps just as much.

Thank you for being part of our community, it means more than you know. 🫶

Zoe xx

06/12/2025

✨No Instagram December✨

The Christmas tree is up, I’m juggling kids in two different schools, with two different sets of Christmas events, I have lots of birth support coming up 🥰❤️ and so I won’t be very active on Instagram this month.

Please do head over to the Women’s Health Hartlepool page for details of our Christmas hamper project (for you to donate or to nominate someone to receive 🙏🏻)

We are still holding some sessions over the winter break too - including creative journaling, with meee 😊, on December 27th - you can find our timetable in my bio ❤️

And if you’ve found this looking for support during pregnancy, or with birth or postpartum, then do feel free to book a free, one hour connection chat with me - that link is also in my bio 🥰

Sending love and wishing you a wonderful time, however and whatever you celebrate this winter,

Zoe ###

✨

24/11/2025

Postpartum care is so individual ❤️

This is a lovely basket of goodness for one of my doula families today 🥰
Home-baked sourdough, kale & lentil soup, and a few other bits that might help or bring a moment of support.

What people need postnatally depends on so many things…
✨ their birth experience
✨ their family support circle
✨ their feeding choices, and how well they’ve been supported with that

The list is endless, and I always try to meet every postpartum exactly where they’re at, offering the support they need, not the things I assume they need ✨

That’s why I’m really excited to be collaborating with & in my new packages ❤️

With both my Nurtured package and my Nurtured Together package , you can trade in one of your postpartum care sessions for a support session with either of them 🥰

You can choose a home visit + breastfeeding support with Pippa, or to travel to Sunderland for a full with Lindsey ❤️

Because being able to choose your postpartum support means you get care that actually fits you.

Not a one-size-fits-all plan, but a mix of warmth, practical help, and specialist support that reflects what you need in real time.

And that’s what people come to me for: flexible, responsive care that feels personal, steady, and genuinely supportive.

Sending love,
Zoe x

PS: I’m already fully booked for January, and enquiries for 2026 are coming in 🥰 so if you’re thinking about doula support, you’re really welcome to book a free chat through the link in my bio ❤️

🌻

20/11/2025

Me and the cat are not impressed with the weather 😆❄️

Still this week has been a good one 🥰
I’ve ~
✨Attended the North East doula meet up, caught up with some local doulas and even spied a seal in the Tyne!

✨Baked two sourdough loaves 😍 and am really excited for next weeks postpartum sessions where I’ll definitely be bringing the bread ❤️

✨Planned and built collaborations for a funding bid around home birth provision in our area 🥰

✨Booked & paid the first instalment for my Level 3 training in sports massage with - I am so excited to be able to offer this level of massage to my future doula clients 🥰

✨Finally ordered some of those car magnet things to advertise my services 😅

This season has also seen me building some really beautiful relationships with other local doulas and practitioners too ❤️ and I’m really looking forward to what’s to come.

I’d love to hear from you 👇🏻
How has your week been? Has the weather changed your plans or have you been able to carry on regardless?

Wishing you a lovely rest of the week,
Zoe xx

✨🌻✨

12/11/2025

A year ago today, one of my wonderful doula clients birthed her baby at home after a previous caesarean, supported by NHS-funded independent midwives 💫

She fought so hard throughout her pregnancy to access that care, and it was an absolute honour to walk alongside her. 🥰

Her determination helped us push for better home birth support across Sunderland, Durham & Darlington, and for a little while, we made real change ❤️

What we all thought would be a huge step forward (the NHS funding private midwives) turned out not necessarily to be the gift we hoped for. And a year on, I’m still supporting families facing the same barriers and heartbreakingly limited options for home birth.

The landscape has shifted so much in 12 months, a lot of it not in a good way. At times it has felt heavy and hard, but looking back at photos from that incredible birth reminds me why we keep going ❤️.

Because every time a woman stands for what’s right for her, it ripples outwards and benefits us all ✨

Happy birth-day 🥰 sending you so much love

Zoe ###

10/11/2025

When I first started this work, I wanted to change things.
I wanted to campaign, gather evidence, fight to make things better.

But over the years, I’ve just watched outcomes get worse.
And that immense energy I put in just felt wasted.

Recent headlines - home birth being labelled dangerous, midwifery courses being told not to teach ‘normal birth ideology’ - are a reminder of that.

I have strong opinions about it all. I’ve seen how fear and over-medicalisation can lead to poor outcomes.
But I can’t bring myself to shout about it anymore.

Physiological birth is not an ideology.
It’s real. It happens. I’ve seen it many times - and I’ve lived it myself.

I’m not here to convince you. And I’m not here to fight the system anymore. That will play out how it does.

But I am here to support anyone who wants something different - anyone who wants to birth undisturbed, in trust, connected to their body.

And I’m here for all the others who stand with me 💛 - especially those who are still shouting about it 🫂

We can still make a difference.
One birth, one family, one moment of trust at a time.

Sending love,
Zoe xx

🌻

Postpartum Matters CIC

11/02/2026

10/02/2026

26/01/2026

15/01/2026

06/01/2026

26/12/2025

09/12/2025

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24/11/2025

20/11/2025

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