Bumps and Babies with Ruth

Hi! I’m Ruth, my family live in Raynes Park. I serve Wimbledon, Kingston, Morden, Southfields and beyond. I love getting to know people, chatting, encouraging mums and seeing families flourish. My journey into birth work started in Nepal in the late 70s, my parents were working in community development work in the villages. My mum was brave enough to give birth to me as a preterm baby in a tin Nissen hut in the middle of Nepal, at a time when skin to skin was the only form of incubator and the only pain relief was gas and air.

The way of life in Nepal is very much lived outdoors on the veranda. People are intimately involved in each other’s lives and in their milestones. Whilst birth is more of a private process, everything from then on is very public; breastfeeding, weaning, potty training et cetera. Women are completely looked after for 40 days after the birth by the other women in their community. It really does take a village!

Ever since I was very young I’ve known I wanted a big family. I always believed in my body and knew it was capable of doing most things I threw at it. I do feel very fortunate that I grew up in a culture where birth wasn’t hidden from girls but it was just a part of life. I’d like to pass that same knowledge of birth on to my community, my girls and their

friends.