Client Privacy Notice

Last updated: September 2026

This notice explains how your information is handled once you become a client, including the more personal details shared around pregnancy, birth, and feeding. For how this website itself handles data (cookies, the contact form, the newsletter), see the Website Privacy Policy.

1. Who I am

Jessamyn McArdle, Creative Birth + Breastfeeding, midwife and IBCLC lactation consultant, based in the UK.

Contact: mcardle.jess@gmail.com

I am the Data Controller for the information described in this notice.

2. What information I collect

  • Your name and contact details

  • Information you share ahead of, during, or after a session, including relevant health, pregnancy, birth, and feeding history for you and your baby

  • Notes I take during consultations, to help provide and follow up on your care

  • Messages exchanged via WhatsApp during any agreed follow-up period

  • Payment details: payment is made by bank transfer, so I only hold the bank details needed to receive payment (such as your name and the transaction reference); I don't collect or store card details

3. Special category data

Much of what's shared with me, about your health, your baby's health, or your birth, is "special category data" under UK GDPR, meaning it needs extra care. I collect only what's relevant to supporting you, and I rely on your explicit consent, given when you book a session, as the legal basis for processing it.

4. How I use your information

  • To provide birth preparation, breastfeeding support, and related consultations

  • To follow up with you after a session, including via WhatsApp where agreed

  • To keep accurate records of the care provided, in line with professional guidance

  • To keep basic financial records for tax and accounting purposes

I don't use your information for marketing without your clear, separate consent, and I never sell your information.

5. WhatsApp follow-up

WhatsApp is owned by Meta and may process messages on servers outside the UK/EEA, including the US. If you'd rather not use WhatsApp, let me know and we can arrange an alternative, such as email or a phone call.

To help me protect time for clients and my own family, WhatsApp messages are replied to Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

6. Booking via Acuity Scheduling

Appointments are booked through Acuity Scheduling, which is part of the Squarespace family of products and is covered by the same Squarespace Privacy Policy. Acuity processes your name, contact details, and appointment information on my behalf as a data processor. Squarespace (including Acuity) participates in the UK-US Data Bridge and/or uses Standard Contractual Clauses to ensure adequate protection for data transferred outside the UK. You can read Squarespace's Privacy Policy at squarespace.com/privacy.

7. Who I share your information with

  • Service providers who support running the business (e.g. Acuity Scheduling for bookings, secure note storage)

  • Other health professionals, only where necessary for your care and with your knowledge (for example, if a referral is needed)

  • Legal or safeguarding obligations: in rare cases, I may be required by law to share information with relevant authorities, particularly where there's a safeguarding concern for you or your baby

I don't share your information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

8. How long I keep your information

  • Client and session records (including health-related notes): kept for X years (there should be an IBCLC guidance for this)

  • Financial records: kept for 6 years, as required by UK tax law

  • WhatsApp follow-up messages: deleted after the follow-up period ends.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data I hold about you

  • Ask for inaccurate or incomplete data to be corrected

  • Ask for your data to be deleted, where no legal or professional obligation requires it to be kept

  • Object to or restrict how your data is processed

  • Withdraw consent at any time (this won't affect anything already done before you withdrew it)

To exercise any of these, get in touch: mcardle.jess@gmail.com. I'll respond within one month.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. I'd always welcome the chance to resolve any concerns directly first, though.

10. Keeping your information safe

Records are stored securely, with password-protected devices and limited access. I review my practices regularly to keep your information safe.

11. Changes to this notice

I may update this notice from time to time, for example, as my services grow. You'll be given the current version at the time of booking.