Discover how Your Birth Biz, founded by Niamh Cassidy, IBCLC, empowers birth professionals to build sustainable, values-driven businesses.
The birth of a child should be a time of joy and celebration. For many families, though, it can also bring overwhelming uncertainty. Amidst the chaos of sleepless nights and endless decisions, there are professionals like doulas, lactation consultants, and antenatal educators who step in to offer support. But what happens when the professionals who provide this vital care struggle to make ends meet? This is the reality Niamh Cassidy faced when she first started her journey in the birth and postpartum space, and it’s one that she’s working tirelessly to change for other birth workers with her education and coaching business, Your Birth Biz.
The Beginning of Your Birth Biz:
Niamh Cassidy’s story didn’t start with business or coaching; it began with a desire to support families during one of the most important times in their lives. After the birth of her children, Niamh, a trained Social Care Worker, became acutely aware of the gaps in support and guidance for new parents. Driven by a passion for making a difference, she trained as a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor, then an antenatal educator, and eventually an IBCLC. Her work was born out of compassion and care for families. ”I genuinely believed that if I was good enough at my work, the business side would just work itself out,” Niamh says. But like many self-employed professionals in care-based industries, she quickly realized that passion alone wasn’t enough to sustain a business.
At first, Niamh juggled her budding business while working full-time. Despite her dedication, she often found herself canceling more classes than she ran, and it seemed impossible to transition into her business full-time. But her determination drove her to create a plan to quit her job and devote herself entirely to her business. Niamh delved into business content, experimented with strategies that felt right to her, and gradually built her practice into one that was fully booked.
It wasn’t long before she received recognition for her expertise. She won awards such as Antenatal Educator of the Year at the EU Business Awards and Social Media Breastfeeding Supporter of the Year from Friends of Breastfeeding. Yet as Niamh’s business flourished, she saw colleagues and peers in the same field giving up, overwhelmed by the struggle of making their businesses financially viable. This gap in business education, especially tailored to those working in the birth and postpartum space, sparked a new mission for Niamh.
Identifying the Gap in Business Education:
As Niamh’s business grew, so did her desire to help others who were facing the same challenges she had encountered. She realized that the problem wasn’t a lack of skill or passion; it was the absence of proper business guidance tailored to care professionals. Most business advice at the time was focused on scaling quickly, distancing oneself from hands-on work, and focusing purely on profits. “Those strategies didn’t just feel unhelpful, they actively conflict with how birth professionals want to work,” Niamh explains.
She also noticed how often hustle culture was normalised in business education for care professionals — long hours, blurred or non-existent boundaries, and burnout framed as the price of success. She knew there had to be another way. Drawing on her own experience and training, Niamh made the bold decision to build a platform that would help birth and postpartum professionals grow financially stable businesses without compromising the integrity of their work or running themselves into the ground. This decision led to the founding of Your Birth Biz.
What makes Your Birth Biz unique is its approach to business strategy and its refusal to separate business success from ethics, wellbeing, and real-world care work. Niamh’s years of experience in voluntary services and health and social care provided her with deep insight into the challenges faced by professionals in the field. She understood that business success doesn’t just rely on strategies; it must align with the values and needs of practitioners.
Through Your Birth Biz, Niamh offers a range of services, including group programs, membership options, workshops, one-to-one coaching, and speaking engagements. Her focus is not on short-term hustle but on building long-term sustainability, helping practitioners move from inconsistent income and overwork to a stable, values-driven business. Through her mentorship, birth professionals learn how to set healthy boundaries, avoid burnout, and ensure their work is both ethically and financially viable.
What Sets Your Birth Biz Apart:
Today, Your Birth Biz stands as a beacon of support for birth and postpartum professionals. Niamh’s approach is grounded in a real understanding of care work, both the emotional investment and the financial challenges it entails. She works with a diverse group of practitioners, including doulas, lactation consultants, and antenatal educators, and encourages networking and peer support among them. While some coaches focus on one specific role, Niamh believes in the value of bringing different types of birth workers together, recognising that many of their challenges — visibility, boundaries, pricing, and burnout — overlap. This holistic approach fosters a sense of community and shared learning as well as opportunities for networking and collaboration.
Furthermore, Niamh is committed to redefining what success looks like in this field. Rather than promoting the idea of business growth at all costs, she emphasizes financial stability, healthy boundaries, and longevity. For Niamh, success doesn’t mean scaling back hands-on client work or chasing after endless profits. Instead, it means being able to pay oneself fairly, rest and spend time with family, and know that the business is sustainable into the future.
A New Definition of Success in Birth Work:
“Birth and postpartum professionals are doing really important work. It benefits families and society, yet so many are struggling behind the scenes. Sustainable income isn’t a luxury, it’s what allows good practitioners to stay in the work long-term,” says Niamh. Her words ring true for the many professionals who care deeply about their work but find themselves constantly facing the challenges of running a business without proper support.
She continues, “Most birth workers aren’t trying to get rich. They just want to do what they love AND to pay themselves properly, to rest without guilt, and know their work is sustainable for the long haul.”
If you’re a birth or postpartum professional looking for a way to build a business that aligns with your values, Your Birth Biz offers the resources and support you need. Visit Your Birth Biz websiteto learn more about how Niamh Cassidy and her team can help you build a sustainable, ethically sound business that supports you and the families you serve. You don’t have to compromise your well-being for success. Start your journey today.
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