Welcome to Nicky's Substack, With Woman.

Come on in, the water's lovely.

Greetings Substackers, and welcome to my part of this flowing river of words. You, the reader, are one member of a beauteous shoal … flickering and flashing in the sunlight as you zoom by or linger a while. I write about midwifery and birth, writing, wild swimming, nature and community, so if this appeals, do hang around. I would really appreciate it if you would also pass the word on to your friends and colleagues. Building my tribe is crucial as I work towards bringing my memoir to publication, and each and every reader can help with this, so please recommend this Substack! Every single subscription helps. All are welcome - you don’t have to be a midwife, just interested in the themes of this publication.

Dr Nicky, Radical Midwife

Like all midwives, I’ve heard and told many stories over the years, both in groups and on an one-to-one basis. Storytelling came to be an even bigger part of my life and work when I undertook a PhD in creative writing from the University of Nottingham, graduating in July 2024. I became Dr Nicky Grace, something that still hasn’t quite sunk in. The decision to go back to University at the age of 53 may not have been exactly a sensible move financially, but I knew that writing my memoir as part of a thesis was right for me, a way to tell my story and the story of the time I had a baby, Penny, many years ago. Penny died aged only 9 days, and her short life and the traumatic way she died had an enormous impact on me, as you can imagine. Who knows whether I would have been a midwife without that pivotal experience? I felt the pull to midwifery in a similar way to the pull to write … this is what I describe as a ‘calling’. In fact I see this Substack as an aspect of my calling, another way for me to explore the meaning of my life and work, and to share those explorations with you.

I tend to come at the midwifery parts of my writing from the perspective of a ‘radical’ midwife. Radical not in an extremist sense – I aim to walk what I think of as a balanced path in midwifery. Rather, I mean ‘radical’ as the word is used by the Association of Radical Midwives, that is, back to the roots of midwifery; authentic midwifery if you like. My work explores what we mean by authentic midwifery; midwives have a history of which we can be rightfully proud, but that history (or herstory) is obscure or has been distorted by misogynistic slurs. So my writing (particularly my memoir) aims to record for posterity my time as a midwife, to make my contribution to midwifery herstory. By reading this Substack you are supporting these aims.

Gold-Green Waterwoman

You’ll be reading about my whole life; for me, it’s important to challenge the notion of the professional as separate from and somehow ‘above’ other humans. I write as myself, weaving my own experiences into my explorations, and revealing my struggles and flaws. Are you as passionate as I am about nature and the environment? We humans are as much an aspect of nature as anything else, yet as a species we seem determined to control and even destroy nature. I find immersion in natural outdoor water a balm to ease this awareness. Swimming in a river, lake or the sea allows me to connect with wild nature both in me and around me; for a brief moment I can almost be one with the ducks and dragonflies, a shimmering gold-green waterwoman. It helps.

So you will find this Substack is part midwifery and birth, part nature writing and meditation, and part more activist/political posts. It’s not possible to separate these though it can be quite difficult to find a balance for posting here on Substack and social media. You will find me writing about colonialism and genocide as well as the climate and nature because I believe all these issues are linked. It would be a lot easier and less scary to keep quiet about politics but there has always been an impulse within me towards justice and against oppression. This impulse has motivated me as a midwife and childbirth activist and in the wider political movement.

Let’s build community together

I love Substack as a platform because it’s aimed at building community rather than simply providing ‘content’ for ‘consumers’. It’s wonderful to connect with you. I do mean ‘connect’. I believe that when we read, we experience an energetic connection between reader and writer. I’ve written about this in my (as yet unpublished) memoir, With Woman, in a piece called ‘On why writing is like homeopathy’ but you will have to wait for publication of the memoir to find out how on earth writing is like homeopathy - no spoilers! And speaking of the memoir, the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that With Woman is also the title of this Substack publication. I love the phrase ‘with woman’ because that is the old English meaning of the word ‘midwife’ and carries a great deal of meaning for me. Men are more than welcome as readers, and I include men in my work and my writing. But my calling as a midwife is to be ‘with woman’, hence the prominence of that phrase in my work.

I want us to be part of each other’s communities, so do give me a nudge if you’re a subscriber to my Substack publication Nicky Grace: With Woman but I haven’t yet subscribed to you.

Subscribe and join me

I’ll be sharing stories from my everyday life plus occasional political/activism pieces and the posts will go into your email inbox if you subscribe. I have currently paused paid subscriptions, but I would value your help in building the community so please spread the word and recommend this Substack - you really will be supporting my writing and my midwifery and birth activism.

I am very grateful for your support and I hope you will join me and be part of the With Woman community.

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