Essentially Birth

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Essentially Birth

Offering pregnancy massage and aromatherapy in Belfast and Dungannon for a healthy, happy and pain-free pregnancy. Full birth preparation packages available.

DM me with your questions about my services.

21/10/2025

It’s officially the season for blankets and cups of tea.

I like to add a cosy diffuser blend to the mix, and in autumn my focus is warmth, grounding, and keeping winter bugs at bay.

This is the diffuser my gran bought me thirty years ago. It’s one of the old ones that use a little candle flame beneath a bowl of water, and I love the slowness of it.

I also have a more modern ultrasonic one that I use in the dining room.

Many of my clients ask about the safety of diffusing essential oils while pregnant.

Would you love to scent your home for autumn but feel unsure about which oils are safe during pregnancy?

Join my email list! ✨

My next two Saturday Love Letters are all about autumn comfort, how to use your diffuser safely in pregnancy and postpartum with simple blends that ground the whole family and turn your home into an autumn sanctuary.

If you’d like to receive them straight to your inbox, comment “Love Letter” below and I’ll send you the link to subscribe 💌

You’ll find me this season at my clinics between
📍 , Belfast
📍 , Draperstown

holding space for women through pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.

Gentle care. Honest words. Seasonal wisdom.

That’s the ethos that underpins all I do 🤍

14/06/2025

Writing this essay for has been a great privilege.

🌀It’s part memoir, part anatomy, and part envisioning the kind of holistic care I would love for women and their families. 🌀

🌀The question of what makes up the Fabric of Birth has also started to form into a vision for a two-day fascia release for pregnancy and birth workshop in autumn. I cannot wait to breathe life into it and share details soon. 🌀

🌀Meanwhile, comment AIMS for the link to the AIMS Journal this June. It’s all about physiology informed care and it’s a fabulous read!🌀

fasciatherapy

12/06/2025

Essentially Birth is turning 6 this summer and here’s what’s new:

This is a little housekeeping and check-in post to let you know what’s been happening behind the scenes at Essentially Birth.

🌀 There are now a few different threads to what I do:

👋 First and foremost: my hands
My 1:1 pregnancy fascia therapy sessions run on Tuesdays and Fridays at The Little Yoga House in Belfast. Hands-on and completely tailored to you.

🤰🏼 Born Through Yoga
This is the Movement for Birth and Nurturing Newborns programme Tara and I developed.
→ In-person workshops run roughly every 5 weeks (only 5 couples per session, be fast!)
→ Missed the last one? There’s also a self-paced online version you can join anytime.

🧵 Workshops for Professionals
A full weekend workshop for birth workers, yoga teachers, and bodyworkers is coming this autumn:
The Fabric of Birth — fascia, movement, and hands-on release for the pregnant and birthing body. Full details will be in my Saturday Love Letters.

📚 Writing + Substack
You might know I wrote 7 Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Needs to Hear Before Giving Birth: The New Midwife’s R.O.A.D. to Birth Hypnobirth System. (Yes, I know… I tanked the title. But I’m told the book is really amazing.)

I’ve also been writing about my conscious uncoupling from NHS midwifery. That blog series is moving over to Substack, alongside updates on my upcoming novel (short title, promise).

Right now I’m tidying up my email list.

If you’d like to hear from me, whether it’s about my hands-on fascia sessions, my writing, or my workshops, sign up to my Saturday Love Letter 💌

👇 Comment below and I’ll send you the right link:

🖐 Appointment — to book fascia therapy
🤱 BTY — for Born Through Yoga details
💌 Love Letter — to join my email list
📚 Substack — to follow my writing
🛒 Book — to purchase 7 Secrets

Thanks you from the bottom of my heart to all my clients current and past and to everyone who supports me in what I do 💫

Love,
Nicole x

09/06/2025

Are you expecting your baby in August? Let’s make sure you have all the support you need in those early days after giving birth 🌿I have just launched a small number of Essentially Birth postpartum home visit packages for the month of August. These are especially for new mothers who want to feel held, nourished, and supported through gentle mama/baby fascia sessions in your own home.Available as three visit packages where you have the option to choose between:🌀a postpartum body treatment with or without baby skin to skin🌀a supported herbal bath with your baby 🌀one-to-one baby massage lessonAnd of course each session will include:♥️ guidance with early baby care if you want it♥️ a listening space and emotional check inSingle sessions are available and you can let me know which of the above you wish to focus on.💛 If you’re expecting in August and this sounds like something your future self might thank you for, comment AUGUST for the booking link. I’m only taking three mothers and babies each month and your first visit will be on the first Monday, Wednesday or Thursday after your baby is born.Lots of love, Nicole x

07/06/2025

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I documented my break up with the NHS in my blog “My Story of Conscious Uncoupling from NHS Midwifery “.

This has deepened a love for writing that I have felt from when I was a little girl. I used to love writing those little essays about what we did over the school holidays.

When I am not massaging people you’ll find me with my notebook and laptop. I am writing my first novel and I am documenting my progress over on Substack where the writers live. I am also giving my blog series a makeover and adding to it.

If you loved my writing, if you didn’t know about it and are curious about, or if you simply want to support me, please join me. I am new to the platform and I would LOVE to grow a following ♥️

Comment SUBSTACK and I will send you the link xx

02/06/2025

🌿 It’s been a hot minute since I last posted here.

I haven’t been lost, I’ve just been listening.

🌀To the women arriving at my clinic.
🌀 To the ones I’ve been helping to get ready for birth in one-to-one birth preparation.
🌀 And to myself.

When I look back, I can see exactly where I left off. It was late March, when I got sick. By all accounts, I was “better” within a couple of weeks, but it’s taken until now to feel like myself again.

During that quiet spell, I kept returning to what most of my clients ask for, and from that, I created something.

A three-session pregnancy package that brings together fascia-based bodywork, aromatherapy, and passive stretches to help you get more comfy, help with baby positioning, and get ready for birth.

I have three spots left for June.

🕊 Comment “fascia” and I’ll send you the booking link

20/04/2025

Today is Easter Sunday, and I find myself reflecting on the deeper symbolism of this season.

Long before Easter entered the Christian calendar, it marked a time of rebirth, fertility, and emergence. Did you know the word Easter is believed to come from Ēostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn and spring? Her symbols included the hare and the egg—timeless icons of fertility and new life.

(And yes, I have a chocolate bunny and some eggs tucked away for when my daughter comes to visit)

But honestly—just step outside and you’ll see why this is the season we celebrate fertility.

Everything is suddenly green and flowering. I walked up Cavehill on Monday and the bluebells are out, wild garlic will soon be at its most fragrant, and though I haven’t been near the water yet, I suspect there’ll be ducklings already.

Have you seen any yet?

As a former midwife and a pregnancy bodyworker, this time of year has always held something special for me.
It reminds me that conception, birth, and postpartum are not just physical events. They are sacred, spiritual, seasonal. They call us to honour what is emerging, shifting and taking shape within us (like the novel I am writing).

So whether you want to tend to the physical side of pregnancy—those aches, tensions, and discomforts that seem to be inevitable as your belly grows—or you’re leaning into the inner work of this journey, my 60- and 90-minute sessions are created to meet you there.

Comment APPOINTMENT if you want to book a slot, I’ll send you the booking link.

Whatever your plans are for this Easter Sunday, I do hope that they’ll allow some space to rest, breathe and feel renewed.

Lots of love,

Nicole

p.s. There are only TWO spots left for our JUNE Born Through Yoga group! If you are thinking about it, comment BTY and I’ll send you that link, too!.

06/02/2025

Back in the naughties, my most experienced midwife colleagues would say,

“Watch her feet, and you’ll know how the birth is going.”

👣 In labour free movement in the legs and feet help the baby slip lower through the pelvic floor muscles.

Your intuitive movements can also give away how your labour is progressing. There are some tell-tale foot and leg movements that can indicate that the baby is close to being born.

Working on mobility in your feet impacts the mobility in the pelvic floor muscles. Improving the mobility in your feet can be achieved with the right footwear, pregnancy yoga and self massage of your feet.

🎥 Check out the reel to see how easy it can be to support pelvic balance through simple self-care techiques. I do mine whilst doing my admin.

If you'd like me to help you with getting the rest of your body ready for labour, come see me for a 90-minute session. I'll give you a fascia release massage where we release your shoulders, hips and feet. You can see me at any point in pregnancy.

💆‍♀️ Ready to experience this luxury 90 minutes of self-care?

Comment "Appointment" below, and I’ll send you the booking link.
Let’s work together to bring balance to your body!

03/02/2025

Neck & Shoulder Pain in Pregnancy: What's the Connection?

On a physical level your centre of gravity changes frequently and therefore your posture changes.
This can affect your shoulders.

There's an emotional connection to shoulder pain, too.

💭 Neck and shoulder tension is often where we store feelings of being overwhelmed or burdened.
Pregnancy brings with it the expansion of the family and often this can be connected with fear of how you'll manage on a practical level.

Will we be able to afford childcare?
How will a new child change our relationship?
Will we be able to manage with the lack of sleep?

Questions like these are common in pregnancy and quite often we store these worries in our shoulders.

✨ Take a moment to pause, stretch, and release the weight you're carrying—both physically and emotionally. Your body deserves it! 💕

Gentle shoulder movement - performed passively while you rest lying on your side - is part of my pregnancy massage routine. On a physical level we approach your shoulder from all angles. We release your lower back, under your arms and the neck before we massage the shoulders themselves.

Chamomile and citrus based aromatherapy supports you emotionally.

You'll walk away feeling lighter and optimistic for the future.

Comment "APPOINTMENT" to book.

01/02/2025

Happy Saturday!

Here's my new blog post.

Comment BLOG for the link.

Enjoy the read and let me know how you like it ⬇️

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Passion for Birth

I am a midwife, Aromatherapist and Body worker with a passion for helping you find ease in pregnancy and birth.

There are many ways I can help you in pregnancy. You might want to address discomforts or you just might want to have a relaxing massage. My sessions are designed to ease common pregnancy aches and pains and can be enjoyed as a one off treat to yourself. You and your baby bump will be made comfortable lying on your side using a special positioning system. I will use a combination of massage, passive stretches and trigger point release.

My packages of three or six sessions are designed to help you approach birth with confident anticipation. We will be working towards giving your baby more room to align well for birth. I will teach you a stretch routine based on yoga to do at home to help you help your baby into good alignment for birth.

1 session--------------- £45