Hi, I'm Holly
Midwife, antenatal teacher and the person behind Midwife Holly.
I've spent my career supporting families through pregnancy, birth and those first precious, sometimes slightly bewildering, days with a new baby.
Now I bring that experience to my antenatal classes in St Albans, helping expectant parents feel informed, prepared and confident about what's ahead.
My approach is simple.
No judgement. No scare stories. No pretending birth always goes exactly to plan.
Just honest, practical and evidence-based information, explained in a way that actually makes sense.
I've been a Midwife for quite a while...
I started working in the NHS when I was 18 and delivered my first baby as a student Midwife in 2008. I qualified with a BSc in Midwifery in 2011 and later completed a Master's degree in Women's Health in 2021.
Since then, I've supported hundreds of families through pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period.
I've worked across:
Labour wards • Birth centres • Community midwifery • Homebirth • Antenatal care • Postnatal care • Water birth • High dependency maternity care
I've also worked as a labour ward co-ordinator, supporting women and families through both straightforward births and more complex or emergency situations.
And that's really important to how I teach.
Because antenatal education shouldn't only prepare you for your ideal birth.
It should help you feel prepared even if the plan changes.
Why I started Midwife Holly
I've seen first-hand what a difference good antenatal education can make.
Birth can sometimes feel like a completely new language: induction, dilation, monitoring, assisted birth, epidurals, Caesareans, skin-to-skin, colostrum...
And that's before someone hands you an actual baby.
I wanted to create antenatal classes where you could learn about all of this without feeling overwhelmed.
A place where there aren't any silly questions.
Where birth partners feel included.
Where we can talk honestly about both physiological birth and medical intervention.
And where you leave understanding not just what might happen, but why, what your options are and how you can be involved in decisions about your care.
My job isn't to tell you how to give birth.
It's to help you understand your choices and feel prepared for however your baby arrives.
Antenatal classes without judgement
You might be dreaming of a homebirth.
You might want a water birth.
You might already know you want an epidural.
You might be planning a Caesarean birth.
Or you might currently be thinking:
“Holly, I genuinely have no idea.”
That's absolutely fine.
There isn't one “right” type of birth.
My classes are about giving you the knowledge and confidence to understand your options and make decisions that feel right for you, your baby and your circumstances.
Proper qualifications. Real experience. Normal conversations.
I want my classes to feel relaxed, but the information behind them is grounded in professional practice.
My qualifications and training include:
- BSc MidwiferyQualified in 2011
- Master's degree in Women's HealthCompleted in 2021
- Professional Midwifery Advocate
- Newborn Examination Practitioner
- High Dependency Care trained
- TRiM practitioner
Come and learn with me
Friendly, practical antenatal classes in St Albans.
My group antenatal classes are held at The Nest, by Love Montessori, 17 Central Dr, St Albans, AL4 0UX, and cover the things I think every parent deserves to understand before their baby arrives:
- Labour & birth
- Birth choices & interventions
- Pain relief
- Birth partners
- Feeding your baby
- Looking after your newborn
- The early postnatal period
And plenty of time for the questions you've been Googling at 2am.