Susan is a professor of midwifery at AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand, a Certified Havening Techniques Practitioner® and a Mindfulness Life Coach. She has worked in health care practice for 44 years. For over 30 years she has practised as a midwife in a variety of settings, home, birth centers and hospitals in several countries in a variety of roles (clinical practice, education, research, supervision and leadership). Susan helped set up a south London group practice in the mid 90s and then went into self-employed independent midwifery practice serving London. Then she took up post as the first UK NHS consultant midwife in Cambridge UK where she set up a birth centre and organised the provision for a waterbirth service.

Susan immigrated to New Zealand in the mid 2000s where she set up a remote self employed independent rural midwifery service on the Kaipara. After several years Susan also begun work as a senior midwifery lecturer at AUT University in Auckland NZ and following completion of her PhD and a funded postdoctoral research project she gained a professorial chair in midwifery at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2015. In 2019 Susan returned to New Zealand and took up her 2nd professorial position at AUT in New Zealand where she continues part-time.

Susan completed her Honours degree at Kings College University of London in the early 90s, her honours dissertation explored the experiences of maternity care providers working with HIV/AIDS in the early 90s in Sub-Sahara Africa (Malawi), her Masters (MSc) was completed at Surrey University in 2000, her MSc dissertation examined midwifery intuitive decision making and the diagnosis at the onset of labour. Her PhD examined the lived experience in and around the moment of birth in a variety of circumstances and perspectives. Her PhD thesis revealed how all births are significant and meaningful; despite the type of birth. The thesis showed how there is a special time at birth, named, Kairos time, a unique quality of being together, a unique space and embodied experience – a time that can be disrupted. The thesis proved to be a labour of love.

Susan writes and publishes regularly in midwifery journals and is on the editorial board of 3 peer reviewed journals and contributes as reviewer on various professional journals. In addition she has authored 4 books. Her recent professional and research interests are psycho-emotional and spirituality of childbirth, joy and fear cultures in and around childbirth, including trauma and challenging births. She is always keen to connect with others who seek deeper knowing, meaning about life’s purpose.

Susan is passionate about health, psychological and emotional wellbeing. After years in health care research, education and practice she has moved into providing Havening and mindfulness couching. As a Havening Techniques Practitioner®, she provides a type of psychosensory therapy that works on lessening the impact of trauma whilst building resilience and wellbeing. She is also a mindfulness life coach and adds this to sessions when indicated to support and sustain wellbeing. She provides sessions for people in New Zealand and globally either in-person or via a confidential Zoom link – whatever is practicable and preferred.