Dealing With The Isloation Of Self-Employment As A Birth Worker

Self-employment isn't natural.That's the thread running through this week's episode — and once you see it, you can't unsee it.In this honest, story-led conversation, Niamh shares the part of her own story she doesn't usually tell on the podcast. The unplanned pregnancy in her early 30s. The friendship group that fell away. The antenatal class her now-husband signed her up for because he could see how lonely she was. The breastfeeding group that gave her her closest friends 13 years on. And the baby link group she set up when nobody else in the room would put their hand up.From there, the episode traces how the same lesson — sometimes you join a community, sometimes you create one, but you don't get to skip community altogether — shaped her entire business as an antenatal educator, lactation consultant and mentor for birth and postpartum professionals.Niamh talks honestly about:The community she had as a new birthworker — and the missing piece that nobody had figured out yetWhy she joined a generic, expensive women-in-business membership when she couldn't afford to (and what 30% of it taught her)How history shows us self-employment is a relatively new and structurally lonely way of workingWhy birthworkers are more isolated in their work than at any point in human history — even with all the communication tools we haveWhy so many people walk away from birthwork within a year of training (and what keeps the ones who stay)The role of "someone a little further along" — at the breastfeeding group, in business, in lifeThis is the most personal episode of the podcast so far. And the one that explains, more clearly than anything else has, why the work Niamh does the way she does it.Brilliant at the work. Finding the business side harder than it should be? Making Birthwork Work is a free live masterclass for doulas, IBCLCs, antenatal educators and postpartum professionals. One hour. Tuesday 15 September, 7pm. Get your ticket here yourbirthbiz.com/mbw  Get the Easy Content Creation - Summer Edition trainingConnect with Me InstagramFacebookLinked In