About Us.
Felicity Hughes
Registered Midwife / International Board Certified Lactation Consultant IBCLC
Alongside years in Midwifery and Lactation Consulting, I am a Mum to 4 beautiful kids. I have worked with families for more than 20 years, firstly as a primary teacher, both in UK and Australia before following my heart into Midwifery.
After the rather traumatic birth of my first child, I felt driven to work with women as they transition into motherhood, eventually studying a Bachelor of Midwifery at UTS. I trained at RNSH and following graduation, worked as a midwife at Westmead Hospital before achieving my lifelong dream of becoming an IBCLC in private practice in Sydney.
I am passionate about the importance of the postpartum period and founded Motherhood Matters so I could work with parents to help them build their confidence to quieten all the noise and listen to their instincts, whether it's their first time or their fifth. I truly believe that women and their families need empathy, information and nurturing support at this most critical transition of their lives and I’m honoured to be part of the journey.
I have a special focus on function and have undertaken a wide range of specialist training and ongoing professional development. I am trained in Orofacial Myofunctional therapy having trained with Australian Orofacial Myology Collaboration and the Centre for Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy. I have completed the Masterclass of Oral Habilitation of the Breast-feeding Dyad. I completed the foundations of reflex expression and integration level 1 & 2 with Rhythmic Movement Training International. I have completed Craniosacral Therapy Foundations course Level 1 with Upledger Academy and have completed courses with Bridget Ingle RN RM IBCLC OMT, Tongue Tie Institute, Ellen Carlin SLP, Dr Bobby Ghaheri ENT, Dr Alison Hazelbaker PhD IBCLC CST and completed Sleep and Science with Dr Tracy Cassels PhD to name a few.
I worked with University of Technology, Sydney, to create and lecture in the first, stand alone breastfeeding subject for the Bachelor of Midwifery and Graduate Diploma of Midwifery programs. I founded the Motherhood Matters Pathway 3 Program to teach and guide those aspiring to be IBCLCs.
Harriet Blannin-Ferguson
Registered Midwife / International Board Certified Lactation Consultant IBCLC / Child & Family Health / Neuroprotective Developmental Care
I’m Harriet, I live on the Central Coast with my husband, miniature sausage dog and three boys. I have been in the world of Midwifery for the past 13+ years working in Public & Private Hospital settings and attending Homebirths across Sydney and Central Coast as a second Midwife. I currently run my own business The Breast Help offering Lactation Consulting and Parenting Services both face-to-face and virtually.
I love to share my knowledge on all things pregnancy, birth, babies, breastfeeding and early parenthood to families wanting to learn more or needing support during challenging times.
With my credentials, I am able to offer support to families from pregnancy all the way into parenthood - It’s a fantastic thing to create these professional relationships with wonderful families and support them in different ways from when their baby is in the womb up and throughout the formative early childhood years.
For me as a new mum in 2016, I was already an experienced Midwife but I struggled with aspects of breastfeeding that didn’t include just my baby’s weight. He gained beautifully, but I could not articulate why it didn’t feel like it was all functioning the way I felt it should! We experienced quite the spectrum of challenges, but the responses I would receive from health professionals were dismissive to my concerns and made me feel like my experience of breastfeeding wasn’t valuable.
Alongside the breastfeeding challenges, I had a baby that didn’t value sleep the way I was told babies “should” sleep. After seeking professional sleep help I quickly realised that the words “evidence-based gentle sleep” was a marketing term that didn’t fit my own definition of those words. I knew sleep training was not for me as I wanted to respond to my baby and breastfeed on demand, so when I had the time and space (after my boys left babyhood!) I sunk deep into studying holistic sleep approaches and became accredited in Neuroprotective Developmental Care. The challenge I faced as a Mother wanting to both breastfeed and optimise sleep drove me to offer all that I have learnt to help families like my own. I am now that space in between sleep training and “doing nothing”.
I have continued my studies to offer holistic perspectives on all the challenges I help families troubleshoot. Craniosacral Therapy Foundations course Level 1 with Upledger Academy was completed in 2023 and compliments my clinical background well. I’m excited to start chipping away at the list of courses I have lined up for 2024 which include LLLT Laser Safety, Holistic Mastitis Care and many more.
My goal is to provide the type of support for families that I needed as a new Mother. Non-judgemental and approachable, sharing information and advice that can be added to the parenting toolkit to make any transition a little bit easier.
I was genuinely blessed to meet and work with Felicity (even though I met her years too late!) - the way she spoke, her knowledge and the direction she helped me find was exactly the answers I needed. With her background of knowledge, she was able to educate me on not only what I experienced, but ways of supporting families with a holistic approach that thinks “outside the box” and why all motherly instincts are trustworthy!
As my education around babies, biology and breastfeeding continues to grow, it allows me the space to offer holistic family-focused lactation and parenting consulting services in a way that I am very proud of.
Cathy Nagy
Practice Manager
Cathy brings a wealth of organisation and experience to Motherhood Matters. A mother of 3 herself, Cathy knows the unique challenges of motherhood and brings her knowledge both professionally and personally to her role. Cathy understands what it is to be a new mum and will work with you to select the best option unique to you and your baby’s needs.