Our Story

My Journey

My name is Mel Howells and I run Serene Births in the beautiful city of Boorloo/Perth in Western Australia, providing individually tailored pregnancy and birth support services to women and their families in the northern suburbs. I have had the privilege of calling Perth home since 2012 after relocating from the UK and I currently live with my partner, his daughter and our two fur babies. I worked as a Registered Midwife in the UK, but since moving to Australia I have re-trained as an Early Childhood Educator. For the past ten years I have specialised in the education, development and research of children aged 0-2 years.

Returning to the Birth Space

As much as I love working with young children and their families, I have always felt an internal pull back towards birth work and in 2021 I had what I can only describe as a “light bulb” moment. I enrolled in a doula training programme and began to offer birth support services. Whilst I loved this aspect of my job, the universe had other plans and I found myself teaching birth education classes, which I now focus on full-time.

Reclaiming the Birth Experience

Women are constantly being told that it is the outcome which matters most – healthy baby, healthy mum – and the very idea of women having a positive birth experience is often belittled. I truly believe that a woman’s birth experience is fundamental to her wellbeing, yet this is too often overlooked, and the focus is on the “safe delivery” of a healthy baby. Even the word “delivery” implies that somebody else did all of the hard work! This is YOUR pregnancy and YOUR birth; nobody else but you can do this BUT you can surround yourself with people who believe in you and will support you without judgment. This isn’t about having a natural, drug-free birth or avoiding interventions at all costs. It’s about going into your birth with knowledge, confidence and control.

My Vision

Every woman and her birth team deserve access to high-quality independent birth education that doesn’t cost the Earth. My unique approach to birth education focuses on practicality, balancing my clinical knowledge as a midwife with the holistic skills of my doula training. With me, you get the best of both worlds!

Why Serene Births?

Serene Births reflects my personal philosophy that ANY birth can be a truly magical experience - all you need are the right surroundings, the right support people and the belief that this is possible.