Amy’s work weaves together threads of Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, birth preparation and empowered mothering practices to redesign the way the transition to mothering unfolds.
About Me: Amy O’Brien (she/her)
I am a Woman. A Mother. A Classical Chinese Herbalist. An Acupuncturist. A Birth Support Person. A Motherhood Studies Practitioner. I live on the Mornington Peninsula with my two kiddos and my indoor plants.
I focus on the transition to motherhood because after a decade practicing as an Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist preparing women for birth, I became a mother. I saw the reality of the transition for myself. It was not until the moment I birthed my own first child that I realised how woefully inadequate a congratulations card and a follow up email with a non-specific offer of help is for women in their postpartum.
That moment, seven years ago now, motivated me to up-skill to an entirely new level. I studied to become a Birth Support Person (doula) and a Motherhood Studies Practitioner. With this new knowledge overlay I can see with broader perspective how to create the greatest positive impact for women and mothers. How we can elevate individuals experience and our entire cultural story for mothers to create glorious collective change. To Foster Maternal Thriving and Rewrite The Mother Story.
Working with me is designed to be transformational - not transactional. This is so much more than the acupuncture pins and the herbs you may receive during our time together. I am here to catalyse and clarify your thinking so that you can always be aware of the trajectory you are taking. So you can align your choices and actions for these mothering years with your values.
By encouraging new ways of thinking and challenging taken-for-granted assumptions, I intend to build a system that lifts its gaze to a world of maternal thriving.
I want the new pathways and perspectives you gain from our time together to fill your mind for the months and years to come after our treatments. I want it to infuse possibility and ripple change for your entire transitional years. To inform your decisions. And to cradle you in good health.
I was in private practice as an Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist in 2020 when Covid began
Melbourne’s landscape instantly became more complex for pregnant women and mothers. Amplifying the already existing issues of isolation, adding layers of new stress.
I had my babes before Covid and would describe my experience as challenging. I couldn’t move my heart away from the stress this would be having on mothers and family units.
So I decided to head right to the centre. I worked for Victoria’s Department of Health COVID Response in 2021 and 2022.
Through this role I supported hundreds of families when they most needed it. I am incredibly proud of the constant evolution of learning, adaptability and agility that were possible in order to achieve best outcomes for the most vulnerable places and people during that time.
Operating within the sphere of Public Health has allowed me to develop new skills and insights that I intend to weave into my practice.
Qualifications
Bachelor Applied Science (Chinese Medicine) Bachelor Applied Science (Human Biology)
at RMIT University (2003-2007), graduating with Distinction
This five year double degree included a semester long internship in a hospital in China. I also administered acupuncture in the Emergency Department of The Northern Hospital, Epping, weekly for the final two years of my study. Treating pregnant women hospitalised with severe nausea in the ED is where my love for acupuncture in the treatment of acute and severe morning sickness was born.
Professional Post-Graduate Advanced Training in Canonical Chinese Medicine
with Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine (ICEAM) lead by Arnaud Versluys (2011-2014)
When I met Arnaud Versluys I realised there was so much more to Chinese Medicine than what we had been taught in University. With training from ICEAM I can proudly say in the past decade of my clinical practice every single herbal formula and modification I have made have been based on original Classical Chinese Herbal texts compiled thousands of years ago. This study was intense. I found my first grey hair the day I graduated.
Birth Attendant Training
with Rhea Dempsey (2019)
This course expanded my thinking, and opened up the possibilities about how best to support women up to and down from their birthing experiences. I also learned more about the delicate art of holding space for women. This course sparked me to continue to deepen my own learnings about birth story listening, birth trauma, postnatal mental health, and how to prepare ahead of time for the postpartum. It also consolidated my passion for filling the gaps in care for pregnant women and mothers in the early years. I have also had the opportunity to attend births with highly skilled doulas and learnt so much through these opportunities.
Motherhood Studies Practitioner Certification Training
with Dr Sophie Brock (2020)
This course has been the missing piece for me, finally filled. In my years of study and work in ‘holistic medicine’ I have encountered a complete lack of acknowledgment of the systems and structures that have the power to detrimentally impact our health outcomes. This training has helped me to understand how our cultural practices and embedded ideologies influence the situations we find ourselves in. These illuminations have been deeply enriching, and helps provide a framework to understand all the common threads I have been putting together myself over my years in clinic.