Welcome to Serene Births

Perth, Western Australia

Located in Woodvale, we provide private and small group antenatal/birth preparation classes in the northern suburbs of Perth. However, if you live out of the area but really resonate with our philosophy please feel free to contact us and we can discuss your needs.

Contact Us

A little bit about us…

Welcome! My name is Mel Howells and I am the creator of Serene Births and the Practical Birth Preparation Series. This is birth education with a difference!
My journey into the world of pregnancy and birth began in 2008 when I started training to become a Registered Midwife. It was a difficult decision to make but I chose to leave midwifery altogether when I relocated from the UK to Australia in 2012 and for the next 10 years worked in early years education.
However, birth work has always stayed within my heart and in 2022 I took a leap and launched my own business to provide much-needed support and guidance for women and their families during their journeys into parenthood. I strongly feel as though our current maternity care system does not serve women as well as it should. I want to try and bridge this gap by providing high-quality birth education that leaves couples feeling confident and well-informed for the journey ahead.
For more in-depth information about me and my journey, click on Our Story.
For more details on the sessions we offer, and to book in with us click on Book Classes.
For more information on hiring a doula for birth support and other pregnancy and birth topics, click here to be taken to the Serene Births Blog and browse my articles.

Check out the latest posts on the Serene Births Instagram Feed!

📣 Our Etsy shop is finally open for business!

✨ Check out my digital birth affirmations, available in 4 different designs and instantly downloadable for you to print out at home.

✨ The idea to make my own birth affirmations came from stocking my b

Basic human needs disguised as “self-care”

✨ When you are a newborn mother, the things on this list sure feel like luxuries at times, but it’s feeding the classic mother-martyr narrative. What do I mean by this?

✨ Western culture

📣 The latest edition of @the_practising_midwife_aus is available to members now!

✨ For this issue, I had the absolute privilege of reviewing ‘Scars of Gold’ by @sharonstoliar which details her heart-wrenching birth story, and takes us o

Saturday night doula dates? You bet!

✨ When you book birth support with me, I work around the needs of you and your family. Weekends work better for you? No problem. Want to split our meetings up into smaller chunks so you get more sessions? Of cour

❓Are you ready to take charge of your birth experience?

✨ Join me as we take a practical approach to birth education, with my new antenatal classes launching in July at the fabulous @ladieshq_ in Wangara.

✨ I’ll walk you through the physiolog

In Australia I’ve come across so many healthcare professionals who are completely opposed to optimal cord clamping & often my clients are more informed than their care providers on the latest evidence. It’s not a fashion, it’s b

📣 Serene Births is relocating!

✨ Things will be a little quieter than usual on the Serene Births social media pages for the next few days as my little family moves into our forever home 💛

✨ I will still be supporting women and their families in t

If Catherine’s book “The Birth Map” isn’t in your labour and birth library then take advantage of this amazing offer! Download the ebook for FREE until 4th May.

Posted @withregram • @birthmapping Until May 4th, you can d

Antenatal anxiety affects up to 1 in 5 women.

✨ If you’re feeling stressed, nervous or anxious about pregnancy then you are not alone!

✨ Pregnancy and becoming a parent are huge, life-changing events so it’s only natural that we experi

5 reasons why you should consider independent birth classes…

1️⃣ We are very passionate about what we do! Many hospitals don’t have dedicated birth education midwives so they rotate staff into the role of teaching antenatal classes. Som

📣 Introducing…Practical Birth Preparation Classes 📣

✨ Our new service is now LIVE!!!

✨ I am so excited to be able to offer you my very own antenatal classes, which will eventually be held monthly (births pending!) at the most wonderful ven

📣 Upcoming antenatal classes at Perth Pregnancy Centre 📣

✨ Join me for one of the upcoming set of classes at @perthpregnancycentre in Clarkson. Facilitated over two evening sessions, we’ll cover all things labour and birth before looking at

Shout this nugget from the rooftops! Often in clinical practice, those babies who need immediate skin-to-skin contact with their mothers the most are denied this, being swiftly whisked away to the resus trolley for assessment and often leaving the mo

6 weeks, 3 mamas supported and 3 beautiful babies born 🥰

Each mother’s journey was unique, raw and awe-inspiring, and I can honestly say I learned something new from each experience, both about birth and about myself.

Tonight I’m raisi

CW - slides contain examples of disrespectful communications relating to Caesareans.

April is International Caesarean Awareness Month

✨ If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that my philosophy around birth focuses on re-t

How do you approach decision-making during your pregnancy?

✨ Are you a researcher? A gatherer of information? Seeking out lots of different thoughts and opinions?

✨ Do you only use the information given to you by your maternity care providers?

✨ D

Have you checked in with your birth partner?

✨ Birth partners play such a crucial role in our labour and birth experience, yet traditional antenatal classes often leave them feeling unprepared for the road ahead.

✨ We don’t see real-life birt

I want to take a moment to acknowledge all of the mamas who have brought their babies into this world via Caesarean.

✨ In my eyes, you are warriors.

✨ In my eyes, you are strong.

✨ In my eyes, you are amazing.

❓I’d love to know whether Cae

Gosh I haven’t done a FAQ Friday for ages!

✨ Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear cut yes-or-no answer to this question. In short, it depends on the obstetrician you have booked with.

✨ If you are going through the private system for your

✔️ 5 things I want every pregnant woman to know about birth!

📺 Firstly, what we see on our screens and social media has a lot to answer for. Birth is portrayed as scary; as a medical event we need to be “saved” from. Birth does NOT have

A doula is a trained professional who offers continuous emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labour, and shortly after childbirth. Their primary role is to empower and guide women and their partners through the birth process, helping them feel confident and cared for. A doula is also an excellent source of support and knowledge for your birth partner, as well as providing comfort and reassurance that they are not alone as they support you through your journey.

I personally think that the biggest benefit of having a doula as part of your birth support team is consistency and continuity of care from a person you know and trust. This is especially relevant if you have chosen to birth in a hospital. A doula provides different pillars of support throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period. Your doula works solely FOR YOU - they are not bound by hospital guidelines or employed by an organisation and will support you unconditionally, however you choose to birth.

A recent Cochrane review (which you can read by clicking here) of the research evidence demonstrated that women who had a doula present during their labour and birth were:

39% less likely to have a Caesarean section.
15% more likely to go into labour spontaneously.
31% less likely to be unhappy with their birth experience.

Evidence Based Birth have written an excellent article about doulas, including a detailed summary of the Cochrane Review and key information on the role of a doula. Click here to read it.