AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 3
Maddie McMahon. 11 Dec 1969 – 31 May 2026
By Anne Glover
Everyone at AIMS who knew Maddie were deeply saddened and shocked when we first heard she was battling cancer. We just never expected her not to recover as Maddie always exuded so much positivity and hope. We received the devastating news with disbelief and deep sorrow when Maddie passed away peacefully at home on 31st May this year. AIMS has lost a great supporter and advocate for our mission.
Maddie was an AIMS member for 12 years and volunteered on the AIMS Helpline for 4 years. She was always there, at the end of the phone, as long as she had time to grab a cuppa, to have a chat. Everyone says that you always felt better for having a chat with Maddie, and that is certainly true for the many callers to the AIMS Helpline that she took time to support through a tricky situation, or to offer guidance on how to deal with hard challenges during pregnancy and birth. AIMS will always be very grateful to Maddie for her dedication and support. She also steered many of her colleagues, friends and mentees to become members and/or volunteers for AIMS.
Maddie was a dedicated doula and if you ever had the pleasure of meeting her, you would never forget. She was forever kind and full of love, honest and with an incredibly gentle manner. She was devoted to bringing out the best in everyone and founded Developing Doulas, a doula training programme and doula community. She was an inspiration to us all, always striving for good, motivating others in her activism and campaigning work.
There was so much more to Maddie than being a doula, AIMS member and volunteer. She was extremely passionate about breastfeeding and set up her own charity Maddie’s Miracle and co-founded the Cambridge Breastfeeding Alliance. You can read the tribute to her life by Maddie’s Miracle here: https://maddiesmiracle.org.uk/about-maddie/
Maddie’s book on ‘Why doulas matter’ is so valuable to the doula world and the whole birthing community, as is her beloved book ‘Why mothering matters,’ both of which Maddie was extremely proud of. And rightly so! Her love for doulas. Her love for language. Her love for birth. Her love for women. Her love for babies. Her love for breast-feeding. It’s a never-ending list of abundant love. That’s Maddie.
AIMS sends heartfelt condolences to Maddie’s loving family at this challenging time.
And in Maddie’s words:
Maddie’s legacy lives on:
maddiemcmahon.com
https://maddiesmiracle.org.uk/
Maddie’s books Why Doulas Matter and Why Mothering Matters are published by Pinter & Martin
Maddie’s contributions to the AIMS journal:
https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/give-birth-like-a-feminist-review
https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/not-believed
https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/celebrate-grandmothers-day
https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/how-to-have-a-baby-natalie-meddings
https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/birth-trauma-event
Donations in Maddie’s memory to benefit Maddie’s Miracle and Cambridge Breastfeeding Alliance would be welcomed.
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