Mother of 3 home born children (one unassisted). Professional midwife and doula with the record of service of 30 years. Expereince of assisting of over 2,000 births in the USA, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Marianne lived and practiced over 40 years in Cape Town, South Africa.

"I believe we are all on a spiritual journey, breathing courage and vigour into life. Birth is the first important transition. I am privileged to be a midwife for 30 years.

I studied nursing, then midwifery and subsequently, when I was pregnant, I breathed deeply through the 12 hour experience of birthing my firstborn son. I knew I had tapped into a secret and powerful source of love and energy within myself. Later, when my children were growing up, I studied a degree in Psychology and Philosophy at university, which fueled my interest in neurobiology, and how the brain functions and develops from conception onwards. I was lucky enough to be one of the research assistants for the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) Research Project by Dr Nils Bergman at Mowbray Maternity hospital for 3 years from 2000 – 2003 and continue to actively promote skin to skin contact of mothers and babies. I was fortunate to conduct a follow-up study with Professor Ann Bigelow, on the long term effects of KMC on mothering capacity and child development. I completed a Psychology Honours research project on postnatal depression thereafter. I have presented data on KMC at the Post Natal Depression Conference and Homebirths in Cape Town data to the staff and students at the University of Cape Town. I have also attended The Paramanadoula Course with Dr Michel Odent.

Teaching and sharing knowledge is a strong aspect of my midwifery practice. I have mentored midwifery students, as well as medical students, from across the globe including New Zealand, Austria, Germany, the U.S. and South Africa. As an American Academy of Paediatrics Instructor, I teach ‘Helping Babies Breathe’ skills to students and midwives. I have attended several conferences across the world including Midwifery Today Conference, the APPPAH conference, and the SOMCANZ conference in New Zealand at which I was a speaker. I am a NARM preceptor at present .

I have served on the editorial board of consultants for the South African Journal of Natural Medicine and have published articles on pregnancy, birth and parenting. I am a member of the Infant Mental Health Association in Cape Town, and a founding member of the committee for the Midwifery and Birth Conference in South Africa (www.midwiferyandbirthconference.co.za).

I have attended about two thousand births, both in hospitals and at home, although I am a strong homebirth proponent and advocate for women. We know now, from scientific research, that hormones of love and transcendence can be released in peak doses during lovemaking, labour, birth and breastfeeding. How a baby is born and how well a woman is treated when she gives birth is the matrix from which a child will grow into a future we have not yet imagined."