About Sarah

Sarah J Buckley (born 1960) is a trained GP/family physician, an internationally-acclaimed writer on gentle choices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting, and mother to Emma, Zoe, Jacob and Maia, all born gently at home, 1990 to 2000.

Over the last ten years, Sarah's articles have been published in The Age (Melbourne), Mothering (US), MIDIRS (UK), Midwifery Today (US), The Mother (UK), Byron Child (Aus), Natural Parenting (Aus), Wellbeing (Aus/NZ), Nexus (Aus/NZ), Living Now (Aus), and The Complete Mother (Canada) among others, and her work has been incorporated into books including Loving Mama, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler, and Parenting by Heart. She has presented at numerous conferences and has been interviewed on issues related to birth and mothering for TV, radio, and for educational and birth-related DVDs. Sarah is also a member of Mothering magazine's website expert panel.

Sarah's writing critiques current practices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting from a scientific as well as a personal viewpoint. She encourages us to be fully informed in our decision-making; to listen to our hearts and our intuition; and to claim our rightful role as the real experts in our bodies and our children.

Sarah's interest in birth comes partly from her father and grandfather, both of whom practiced as GP-obstetricians in her hometown: Whangarei, New Zealand. Sarah trained in medicine and as a family physician before moving to Australia in 1987. Sarah also holds a Diploma in Obstetrics.

Her understanding of birth and mothering as a journey of transformation has evolved through her own experiences, and has deepened through her participation, ongoing since 1992, in women's circles with Shivam Rachana (author of the book Lotus Birth) and the Melbourne-based International College of Spiritual Midwifery (ICSM), of which she is a founding member.

Sarah has experienced almost everything that she writes about, including instinctive pregnancy; ecstatic birth; attachment parenting, co-sleeping, long-term breastfeeding (Sarah has been pregnant, breastfeeding, or both for more than 15 years), lotus birth, raising babies without nappies/diapers, and gentle discipline.

Sarah has collected her best published articles from the last ten years, and updated every one, for her book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: The wisdom and science of gentle choices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting, which also has more of Sarah's personal background and stories, including the birth stories of her children. Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering was published in late November 2005.

Sarah's personal interests and hobbies include yoga and meditation, which she has practiced for over 20 years, as well as camping, bushwalking/hiking, swimming, world music, and dancing.

Sarah lives in the semi-rural outskirts of Brisbane, Australia with Nicholas, the love of her life, and Emma, Zoe, Jacob, Maia, their dog Tassie, horse Miah, four chickens, two rats, one budgie and two cockatiels.

Some of Sarah's published articles include:

• Reclaiming Every Woman's Birth Right The Age (Melbourne), November 29, 1996
• The pleasure of extended breastfeeding (Courier Mail, May 7,1998)
• Attachment parenting- an introduction (Courier Mail June 17,1998)
• The cosiness of co-sleeping (Newsletter of Nursing Mothers of Australia, Winter 1999
• Weighing the Risks: What you should know about ultrasound Mothering Sept/Oct 2000, no 102
• Doing no harm at birth Courier Mail, Brisbane, Jan 5, 2002
• Ecstatic birth- nature's hormonal blueprint for labour Mothering, March/April 2002, no111
• Ultrasound- cause for concern Nexus Oct/Nov 2002
• Epidurals- real risks for mothers and babies Birthkit, Autumn 2002
• Undisturbed birth- nature's hormonal blueprint for ease and ecstasy Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health Summer 2003 (Vol 17 no 4)
• Ten tips for safe sleeping Natural Parenting Spring 2003
• Drugs in labour- an overview Midwifery Today 2004, no 71
• The foundations of gentle discipline Natural Parenting, Spring 2004
• Prenatal diagnosis- technological triumph or Pandora's box? Byron Child Sept-Nov 2004
• Maternity care- risks and benefits Doctor Q, magazine of the Australian Medical Association Queensland Branch, Dec 2004

Sarah's articles have been translated into Estonian, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, and Spanish.

Sarah has also presented the following lectures:

• Epidural Epidemic. Women Power and Birth lectures, ICSM, Melbourne, August 1997
• The Science and Beauty of Birth. National Homebirth Conference, Byron Bay, September 1999
• Giving Birth: The Endocrinology of Ecstasy , National Association of Childbirth Educators Conference, Surfers Paradise, March 2000
• Leaving Well Alone: A Natural Approach to Third Stage, Festival of Birth, Melbourne, November 2000
• Keeping Third Stage Normal. CAPERS Conference, Brisbane
• Normal birth: Why and How. Keynote address at National Homebirth conference, Perth, October 2004
• A second look at third stage. International Confederation of Midwives, Brisbane, July 2005.
• Birth and the hormones of attachment. Keynote address at OC Doulas conference "Bridging the Gap: Addressing Current Birth Practices and their impact on Mother/Infant Attachment". Irvine CA, November 12 2005. www.ceaoc-conference.com
• Undisturbed birth: the ecstasy and the evidence. Keynote address at Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health International Congress, 'Birth and the 21st century family: challenges and opportunities from conception through infancy', San Diego, November 17-20 www.birthpsychology.com/congress/05/index.html
• Sustainable living festival, Melbourne, Feb 17 to 19 2006. Lectures Saturday and Sunday on 'raising babies without nappies' and 'Healing birth is healing the earth' www.slf.org.au
• Changing women's attitudes to pain. Lecture at Preparing for Birth and Parenthood Conference, Sydney Feb 25 2006 See www.birthinternational.com

Click here for Sarah's schedule for 2006/7

Sarah's current professional interests include:

• Cord clamping, third stage of labour, lotus birth (non-severance of cord)
• Undisturbed birth, hormones of labour
• Impact of obstetric interventions on mother and baby
• Prenatal diagnosis and impact on mother-baby relationship
• Life-long impact of obstetric delivery
• Breastfeeding and extended breastfeeding
• Nutrition and mind-body medicine, including acupuncture and homeopathy

Sarah is a member of :

• Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
• Australian Medical Association
• Maternity Coalition
• Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services
• Homebirth Australia
• Home Midwifery Association Qld
• Australian Breastfeeding Association
• International College of Spiritual Midwifery
• Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health
• Mothering website expert panel
• Editorial board for Medical Veritas

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