THIS, I knew, was what I wanted to do.

Originally from Britain and now based in Bangkok, I am a certified breastfeeding specialist (CBS). I am also currently under clinical mentorship, in preparation to sit my IBCLC boards in Apr 2026.

I have lived in Asia since 2011, mostly in Nepal, Myanmar and Thailand. Having worked in international development and then run a yoga retreat business, nursing my own kids was a world-changer for me.

I was astounded by just how difficult this natural process had become in the modern day, with so many factors conspiring against women to fulfil their nursing goals. Conflicting information, misinformation, and information that makes women doubt their instincts and abilities – to doubt even the benefits of breastmilk – derail what should be one of the most rewarding and nurturing experiences a mother and baby can share.

Beyond my own experiences, I watched outstanding women battling circumstances and systems to nurse their babies – slogging night and day to make more milk, crying through the pain of a poor latch or mastitis, breastfeeding their NICU babies, their twins, their babies with medical conditions, mums with medical conditions. After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal I saw the impacts of nursing infants separated from parents and women trying to feed in impossible circumstances. After the coup in Myanmar, I saw formula-feeding families unable to source formula and no support to relactate, clinics shut down so women couldn’t access help, and the only lactation consultant in the country forced to flee. There are simply too few lactation consultants in the world.

THIS, I knew, was what I wanted to do.

I spent a year studying lactation under gold-standard lactation education providers LER. This accredited me as a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist. I am now pursuing IBCLC Board Certification through the intensive UC San Diego clinical lactation mentorship program - the most rigorous accreditation for healthcare professionals specialising in lactation. This grants me access to world class IBCLC clinical supervision, helping my goal to ensure my practice is evidence based and informed by the very latest research. I was also one of a 12-member global taskforce serving to democratise access to gold-standard clinical lactation training for practitioners in resource-poor settings.