My journey with Womb to World: how it began
Art was always my safe place
As a child, I never really felt like I belonged - but when I was drawing or painting, I felt good, and worthy. It was the one space where I could be myself. That quiet creative space held me when nothing else did.
But over time, that joy got tangled up in perfectionism and the pressure to perform. Life tells us to focus on serious things, proper things, things that would “lead somewhere.” - and that our art isn't 'good' if it's not realistic, extravagant, profound, hung in a gallery. After school I stopped creating altogether (apart from joyful crafty bursts at special occasions), and looking back I can see something important inside me had quietly shut down.
Pregnancy helped me remember
When I became pregnant with my first daughter, something shifted as I had this fabulous purpose behind creating. I found myself drawn back to painting - making watercolour birth affirmations and watching lots of YouTube tutorials with my beautiful big belly on maternity leave. It felt nourishing, like some part of me was waking back up.
The name Womb to World came to me during that time (and I even set up an Etsy shop in 2019 - three years before I added a listing). I didn’t fully know what it would be, but I felt the spark of something - like maybe one day, this could become something that was meaningful to other mothers too. But I wasn’t quite ready to share it yet. It seemed like something a difference kind of woman would do - a confident, capable one. I made our doula a felt collage of our favourite ultrasound picture as a thank you gift, with 'Womb to World' stitched inside.
Birth trauma and a spiritual turning point
After my hoped-for home birth turned into a traumatic forceps delivery and a harrowing NICU stay, everything felt raw. My inspiration and confidence disappeared - and art was forgotten again in the joys and challenges of early motherhood, and trauma recovery.
It wasn’t until I was pregnant again and working with a Sacred Intimacy Mentor that things began to open. I started learning about the chakras, about grounding, about embodiment and energy and inner child healing. I began paying attention to my body and my energy in a different way - and my creative flow returned.
My first Etsy listings (and deep imposter syndrome)
In those early days, I made things just for myself - diagrams to help me understand birth, simple visual tools to make labour feel less overwhelming, little paintings that felt healing to make. A doula friend suggested I list them on Etsy and, with a lot of hesitation, I did.
It felt exposing. I wasn’t sure if my drawings were 'good enough', or whether I had the right to be sharing these things. But people started buying them - cervix illustrations, birth education posters, printable affirmations. And it slowly seemed realistic that there was value in what I could make - that people needed these things too.
Building Womb to World Art
From those early pieces, something real started to grow. I kept painting and sharing, adding to my shop slowly. Original paintings, and digital downloads for doulas to use with clients. Then later came products: mugs, lanyards, badge reels, stationery and gifts. And not just for doulas and mothers, but other birth workers and breastfeeding supporters too.
After we exhibited at the Maternity and Midwifery Forum event in Bath in September 2024 and met so many lovely students I realised I was missing a trick - and started designing more things with them in mind, and eventually opened this website just for them - the Student Midwife Shop.
It has been wonderful how many student midwives send kind messages and want to help give feedback on new products and designs. I feel so excited along with you- standing at the beginning of your journey, learning to support women through something sacred. I have so much respect for you - the people who have the power to make change in maternity - one woman and one baby at a time.
Juggling motherhood and creativity
Most of what I make has happened in snatched moments - nap times, late evenings, weekend bursts. I home educate, and life is full and messy. Sometimes I paint with a child on my back in a carrier. Sometimes there are half-finished cups of tea and drawings drying on messy worktops. But I keep going, bit by bit, because it matters to me.
This work doesn’t just support others - it holds me too. And I want my daughters to see that it’s possible to follow what feels meaningful, even when the path is winding and imperfect. And that they too have the power to create anything, and make a business out of nothing but their own ideas and passions.
When I want to focus on creating something - I spread out crafty bits on the table and we all create together.
What I’ve learned
Healing isn’t a straight line, and creativity isn’t either. Some days I feel bold and open and ready to share everything I’m working on. Other days I feel small and unsure and like I want to hide. But I’ve learned to keep going gently, to rest when I need to, and to trust that the energy always returns.
My art has helped me process so much - trauma, motherhood, identity, purpose - and now it helps others too. That still feels a little unbelievable sometimes, but also like the most natural thing in the world.
