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  Laura Godfrey-Isaacs

Publishing

Laura works in a variety of forms from creative non-fiction and graphic narrative to blogs, articles/chapters in arts, midwifery and interdisciplinary contexts.

​She collaborates with others as graphic artist, writer, illustrator and designer.

See more in the Graphic Work & Illustration section.

Latest Title

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Pregnancy and Birth: A Graphic Guide, published by Icon Books in November, 2025. Written by Laura and illustrated by cartoonist Lilly Williams you can order a copy via Icon Books and all book platforms including Amazon 

Read reviews by Dr Laboni Das on Graphic Medicine & by Sheena Byrom on The Maternity & Midwifery Forum 

The book is a comprehensive guide to pregnancy and birth, with sections also covering the postnatal period, parenting and infant feeding. The graphic form makes information accessible and fun to engage with as well as introducing a series of diverse characters that you follow throughout the book.

'A fantastic new resource with a decidedly inclusive, rights-based approach, this guide makes high-quality information accessible and engaging to every kind of parent.’ Leah Hazard, midwife and author of Womb and Hard Pushed.
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‘This book is truly brilliant - informative, inclusive, accessible and full of personality’ Laura Dockrill, writer, illustrator and author of ‘What Have I Done’ -  Motherhood, Mental Illness & Me’

The JKP Writing Prize

Laura was one of the winners of the JKP Writing Prize - 'Roots and Rebellion'.
In her essay 'Fish and Apple Strudel' she explores the stories of her aunties Ella and Ettie, who survived the horrors of the 20th century, commemorating their Jewish culture through food. The publication featuring all ten of the winning essays is available via JKP Books here.
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The MATERNAL JOURNAL BOOK 

The Maternal Journal Book - a creative guide to journaling through pregnancy, birth and beyond, co-written with Samantha McGowan, published by Montage and Martin, and you can order on all book platforms.
It is an inspiring introduction & support to journaling. Featuring >80 journaling guides created by artists, midwives, doulas and therapists.
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AN ARTIST AND A MOTHER 
Laura's essay, 'How to be a Mother Artist' features in this excellent anthology of 37 contributors - An Artist and a Mother, published by Demeter Press, that speaks to the diverse ways artists balance creative life with the demands of mothering. 
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Mothering Performance

A recent essay & a painting titled,  ‘Despatches from the Front’ explored Laura's experiences of midwifery during the COVID pandemic, is available in this brilliant book Mothering Performance: Maternal Action, published by Routledge - edited by Emily Underwood-Lee & Lena Simic.
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download for free or order a copy

​BIRTH, ART & Culture blog
​Read here

Laura's blog is hosted by All4maternity. It explores the links and interconnections between culture, art and midwifery, providing interdisciplinary perspectives and provocations on birth, intersectional feminism and the body.

LATEST BLOG


The Choreography of Birth and Care
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Being a midwife, this experience – stewarding the passage into life of a new person, and the birth of a family – is no ordinary job. It requires training, expertise, and exceptional concentration and stamina. It also requires incomparable sensitivity and awareness of your body, your presence, your movement, and your interactions in the space, particularly in relation to the woman or birthing person.
Read more

'When a baby's feet tell you everything' - for World Prematurity Day - a version of this piece is available in The Eden Reader

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What appears to be a small bean or peanut emerges on the screen. An animated creature that moves, dances and evades the stenographers grasp.
Read more

ARTICLES 

Laura writes for a variety of publications including: Midwives Magazine, MIDIRS, The Practising Midwife, Perspectives in Public Health, ARM Journal, Mental Elf and Maternal Mental Health Alliance blog.

My Uterus

​My Uterus is a blog about the invisible, ignored & under-researched experiences of menstruation, uterine disease, pregnancy loss, procedures I’ve experienced vs the unwelcome interest in my use of contraception & abortion.
Published by The Maternity & Midwifery Forum in relation to the challenges of the revoking of Roe vs Wade.
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Read

OTHER BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS

The Eden Reader 
The Eden Reader is a book about vegetables, ideas and art. Sometimes poetic, sometimes frank, this international collection of specially written texts are all prompted by Eden – an art project by Canadian artist Mary Catherine Newcomb, where strange living creatures are moulded from aubergines, squash and peppers, whilst still on the plant.

Laura contributes a chapter, including original paintings, looking at the artworks as if they were premature babies, referencing her own experiences of giving brith and issues of prematurity, antenatal testing and midwifery care.


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'On Care'
When Care has no Boundaries - text and drawing 
'This week I went to a baby’s funeral. I went to the funeral alongside three other healthcare professionals. All of us had been caring for the mother, an asylum-seeker, who had no family in the UK..'
On Care, an anthology discusses the politics of caring, support, and the role of welfare in an increasingly neoliberal society.
Edited by Rebecca Jogoe & Sharon Kivland
Published by MA Bibliotheque

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'Salon for a Speculative Future'
Anne Frank - text and drawing 
75 Women Artists nominate an influential woman, share insights and experimental thinking towards a positive future.
Edited by Sharon Kivland & Monika Oechsler
Published by Mabibliotheque 
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'Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing: A Resource for Midwives and Clinicians' Edited by Kathryn Gutteridge.
Published by Springer Nature Switzerland.
'Gathering Storm' - a chapter about Birth in the Media is written with Dr Tracey Cooper.

Mother Art Magazine

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MAM is a new art magazine focusing on artists from around the world producing work about the maternal. The first issue, Stay At Home is a response by 22 artists to their experiences of working at home during the COVID-19 edited by Helen Sargeant, an artist and academic based in Todmorden, Yorkshire, UK. ​The magazine is for sale with proceeds going to charity, Women's Aid.
I have published a series of images of my mastectomy scars, an operation I had during the lockdown - see my blog The Big C in the Big C above, for context.
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