Sarah’s Experience

I've worked in childcare for over 35 years, and for the past 30 of those, my focus has been newborn care as a UK-trained maternity nurse. It's work I still love — every family, every baby, every early morning feed has taught me something, and I've never lost the sense of privilege that comes with being welcomed into a family's most vulnerable and precious days.

Over the years I've supported families through almost every challenge the newborn stage can bring — reflux, food aversion, difficulty linking sleep cycles, premature babies, and the quiet, often unspoken anxiety that comes with new motherhood. I've cared for twins and multiples on several occasions, and I have a particular love for the rhythm and teamwork that comes with helping two babies (and their parents) find their feet together.

My experience spans live-in maternity positions across Australia, the UK, and Europe — from 24/7 newborn care in a family's own home, to respite support for parents returning to work, to helping families relocating internationally settle in with their first child. Along the way I've built lasting relationships with many of the families I've worked with, some of whom I've supported through two or three children.

Wanting to deepen the support I could offer, I went on to complete my training as a Certified Birth and Post-Natal Doula through the Australian Doula College, and more recently gained my Sleep Consultant Accreditation and COPE Perinatal Mental Health Certificate. Combined with decades of hands-on breastfeeding, settling, and newborn care experience, this means I can support families not just practically, but emotionally — through pregnancy, birth, and the fourth trimester, with a deeper understanding of the mental health challenges new parents can face.