Anne Gledhill Acupuncturist & Independent Midwife York

03/06/2026

Wise words from Susan!

05/05/2026

Today is International Day of the Midwife and this year’s theme is .

The world is currently short of one million midwives. Investing in midwifery is the single most effective way to save the lives of mothers and newborns and yet the largely female midwifery workforce continues to be undervalued, underfunded, and too often excluded from the decision-making tables that shape their profession.

I’ve been a midwife for over 30 years. And in that time, I’ve learned that midwifery is so much more than a clinical skill set.

Midwives carry extraordinary technical knowledge, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, risk assessment, emergency response. We hold life and death in our hands, often in the middle of the night, often alone, often in circumstances that no protocol could fully prepare you for.

But the skills that make a truly great midwife? They’re the ones that are hardest to teach and impossible to measure.
The ability to read a room. To sense when a woman’s words and her body are telling different stories. To know when to speak and when to simply be present.
Emotional intelligence that runs deep. To hold space for fear, grief, trauma, joy and exhaustion sometimes all in the same hour. To witness the most profound moments of a person’s life and remain steady, warm and fully present.

Resilience that is quietly extraordinary. Midwives go from a bereavement to a birth and back again. They carry other people’s hardest days home with them, and return the next morning and do it all again.

Trust-building under pressure. In moments of vulnerability and uncertainty, women need to feel safe. A midwife’s calm, her presence, her tone of voice, these things are clinical tools as much as any piece of equipment.

This is what we don’t talk about enough when we talk about midwifery.
The emotional labour. The intuition honed over thousands of encounters. The capacity to hold complexity, clinical, relational, ethical simultaneously, without flinching.

To every midwife reading this: what you do is extraordinary. Every part of it.
And to anyone who has been supported by a midwife through one of the biggest moments of their life, today is a good day to remember them💙

05/05/2026

Laura will be a great speaker here.

✨Speaker Announcement: Laura Spence✨

We are delighted to announce that Laura Spence is a speaker at the 11th Annual Make Birth Better Birth Summit. 🎉

Join Laura on Wednesday 3rd June as she discusses Sensory Safety in Maternity Care: A Neurodivergent Lens on Birth Trauma Prevention. This talk explores how neurodivergent sensory overwhelm can be misread in maternity care, increasing the risk of birth trauma, and shares practical, low-cost strategies to improve safety, consent, and regulation.

Laura Spence is a midwife with lived experience of ADHD and over 15 years’ experience in maternity care. She holds an MSc in Perinatal Mental Health and is the founder of NeuroNatal Academy CIC, supporting services to become more neuroinclusive and trauma-informed.

Laura was the coordinator of Guernsey’s first birth trauma service and now works across sexual and reproductive health, including as a Sexual Offence Examiner within a SARC. She is the author of a forthcoming book on ADHD in pregnancy and advocates for maternity systems that reduce harm and better support neurodivergent families.

Wherever you are, you can tune in to the full schedule of speakers and panelists via our live online stream, with recordings included so you can watch back anytime. 💜

👉 Get your ONLINE tickets here: https://www.makebirthbetter.org/annual-birth-trauma-summit

04/05/2026

Calling all neurodivergent parents who have used UK maternity services in the last 5 years. Your experiences wooo yo ld be so appreciated.

Thank you for taking part in this survey. We want to understand the experiences of neurodivergent parents who have used maternity services in the UK. This survey is anonymous, so we will not ask for your name or contact details. It should take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete. You can skip any qu...

31/03/2026

There are multiple studies demonstrating the benefits of continuity of midwifery care on clinical outcomes and yet the NHS hasn’t committed the resources to delivering it, or given midwives sufficient autonomy to create ways of working that work for them. Instead, we hear accounts of poor outcomes, increasing trauma and escalating litigation costs.

28/03/2026

Dora was the person who saw my midwifery potential before I even sat my nursing final exams and not only offered me a place on a midwifery course, but chased me when I didn’t respond to the offer! She made such a huge contribution to midwifery education.

We have Dora Opoku awards for Black and Brown and but WHO was Dora Opoku?

Dora was a midwife and educationist, born in Ghana in 1948 and who sadly died in 2010 at the age of 62. She played a significant role in the development of midwifery education in London. Her passion for education for both students and midwives, and her achievements as a midwifery leader fitted well with the aim of encouraging Black and Brown students and midwives to apply for funding from Iolanthe for self development, training, research or for improving local services.

The 2025 Dora Opoku Award for Black and Brown midwives went to:
Arezou Rezvani, a consultant midwife with the University College London Hospitals, supported by colleague Heather Reeves, to fund service user and translator "thanks" vouchers, as part of their cross-London work to improve communication and health awareness for pregnant women with language barriers.

And the winner of the 2025 Dora Opoku Award for Black and Brown student midwives was:
Kurt Lee, a student at the University of the West of Scotland, who will use his funds to collaborate with charity Amma Birth Companions to create a workshop for his student cohort, entitled "Working with Asylum-seeking and Refugee Families in Maternity Care", to support students to challenge systemic racism and advance equity in midwifery care.

25/03/2026

Thursdays in clinic are often about helping women feel more like themselves again.

Whether that’s:• trying to stay steady during pregnancy• preparing for birth• or navigating the unpredictability of perimenopause

These transitions can feel a lot — physically and emotionally.

I’m Anne, an acupuncturist, midwife and nurse with 30+ years of experience. I bring all of that into how I support you — so you feel heard, safe, and properly cared for.

I have a few Thursday appointments available in York.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed in your body right now, you don’t have to just push through it — there is support available.

Message me if you’d like to talk it through.

23/03/2026

Tuesdays in clinic are often when I see women right at the start of their IVF journey.

If that’s you — planning treatment in the next couple of months — this is the window where acupuncture can make a real difference.

I’m Anne, acupuncturist, midwife and nurse with over 30 years of experience supporting women through fertility treatment and pregnancy.

My work isn’t just about needles — it’s about helping your body feel more regulated, supported, and ready for what’s ahead, alongside your medical care.

I have a small number of Tuesday appointments available in York.

If you’re starting IVF soon and want experienced, calm support alongside your treatment, message me to book or ask any questions.

22/03/2026

If you’re preparing for IVF, navigating pregnancy, or struggling with perimenopause symptoms, who you choose to support you matters.

I’m Anne — an acupuncturist, midwife and nurse with over 30 years of clinical experience supporting women through fertility, pregnancy and hormonal transitions.

This means you’re not just getting acupuncture.You’re working with someone who understands your body, your treatment, and the reality of what you’re going through.

I currently have a limited number of spaces available for:• IVF preparation (particularly if you’re starting in the next 2–3 months)• Pregnancy support and birth preparation• Perimenopause symptoms — anxiety, sleep, mood, hot flushes

My approach is calm, personalised, and grounded in decades of hands-on clinical care.

📍 York clinic — Tuesdays & Thursdays📩 Message me to book or ask any questions

You don’t have to figure this out on your own.