|
Motivation
Sylvie was motivated to write a book about normal, healthy birth when she realised what
many women were experiencing as an alternative to ‘the healthy processes’. She became aware of
the frustration and disempowerment that often results from so-called
‘pain-relief’ and unnecessary medical management and felt moved to help women
avoid similar problems in the future. Beginning to understand what might be the
reasons behind women’s negative experiences, she set about formulating the ten
steps outlined in the various editions of
Preparing for a Healthy Birth. She put her theories to the test
(on a very modest level), when she had her own third baby at the age of 43. Of
course, she had already experienced the benefits of optimal birth when she had
her first baby in Sri Lanka (with a ‘hands-off’ obstetrician in attendance) and
in England (with Michel Odent in attendance). For her third baby, she was
supported by the NHS. When she began researching and writing Countdown Sylvie
started receiving accounts from other women, men, children and professionals so
she decided to be systematic about collecting material. Michel Odent also
provided ongoing help and support and wrote the Foreword to Countdown.
In recent years, Sylvie has mostly worked from home, taking on writing,
reviewing, research or editing commissions and marking MA assignments (for a
Distance Master’s in teaching English as a foreign language). She sometimes
teaches or lectures at Durham University and continues to write for Cambridge
University Press.
Sylvie supports Michel Odent’s work through occasional editing. She is also a
regular writer for
Weight
Watchers and sometimes contributes articles to other magazines
or websites, such as
The Lady (An A-Z of Cricket) or Confectionery Production (A 100 Years
of Cadbury Dairy Milk) and
www.40plustravelandleisure.com
(Reasons to Roam).
Click
here to see 'No Pain, No Gain', one of Sylvie’s articles about natural birth
in
The Green Parent (It's reproduced under
'But what about the pain?').
Click
here
to read one of Sylvie’s articles about travel.
Click
here
to read an article about cooking with flowers—a Weight Watchers piece.
Click
here to read a humourous piece about having a ferret as a pet....
|
|
Sylvie pregnant
with her first daughter
Work experience
Before having children, Sylvie worked as a teacher of working adults, teacher
trainer and manager, working in Europe, North Africa, South Asia, South East
Asia, the Middle East and the Far East. Her first book—Teach
Business English (Cambridge University Press 2000)—is a synthesis of her
experience in the field of teaching and managing Business English courses. In
2001 she was a keynote speaker at the conference for the BESIG (Business English
Special Interest Group) of IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of
English as a Foreign Language) in Berne, Switzerland. She spoke about the
importance and logistics of addressing clients’ needs when providing Business
English training. More recently, from 2002 to present, she has taught or
lectured occasionally at Durham University.
|
