Services
I offer a range of services and support to help expectant parents make informed decisions about their birth and provide a stress-free and confident start to parenthood.
Bump & Birth
We would begin with an initial no-obligation consultation at your home so we can get to know each other, discuss your pregnancy and birth plan and decide if we would like to work together.
If we decide to proceed, we would have two prenatal visits where we can discuss your upcoming birth. Some examples of topics include:
How you would best like me to support you and your partner and what you can expect from me as your Doula
Your expectations and hopes for your birth
Your birth preferences and the options available to you.
The process of labour and birth
What to expect and how to prepare for a good postpartum experience
Ways to help with pain relief including massage techniques
Some of the support I would offer includes:
Answering any questions by phone or messages throughout your pregnancy and early labour
Being on-call from 38 weeks until the birth of your baby
Being with you through labour and birth offering continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to you and your partner
Being with you immediately after the birth to offer initial breastfeeding support and helping your baby latch on properly
A visit in the first week to celebrate the birth of your baby, discuss the birth and answer any questions about the early postnatal period
This is an example of the Bump & Birth service, which can be tailored to suit you and your partner.
Postnatal Support
I offer emotional and practical support following the birth of your baby. My aim is to empower your family to have a positive postpartum experience and feel confident and able to look after each other. I facilitate this by:
Helping with light housework in order to create a relaxed environment where you can concentrate on caring for your baby
Offering different practical options of support and helping you decide what works best for you
Looking after siblings so that you can have uninterrupted one-to-one time with your baby or vice versa!
Keeping a watchful eye on your baby in order to provide you with time and space for you to look after yourself
A non-judgemental listening ear
Offering encouragement and suggestions as well as signposting places you can get extra support, should you need it
Providing suggestions and help with infant feeding along with practical newborn tips.
I’m very flexible and my role is to support you and your partner with the day to day running of your household so that you can concentrate on getting to know your new baby and recover from the birth.
Meals & Baking
I’m a passionate cook and baker and specialise in cooking nutritional meals with fresh ingredients. Some of the support I can offer includes:
Filling up your freezer before baby arrives or preparing a meals when I visit each session
Providing recipes for you (or me) to prepare your own quick and nutritious meals
Baking cakes, bread and other treats, which can be offered to visitors or stored in your freezer for another time.
Preparing healthy baby food to store in the freezer in advance of baby weaning, especially useful for if/when you go back to work
I enjoy baking with children and I’m happy to offer this as part of my postnatal support for families.
Antenatal Preparation
At this difficult time of restricted services in hospitals, many are only allowing one birth partner into Birth Centers and Labour Wards and some antenatal classes have been moved on-line or removed altogether. I am therefore able to offer one-to-one antenatal preparation sessions where I could either come and visit you in person or, if you prefer, on Google meet. I can offer 3 sessions where I can help you and your partner prepare for the birth and discuss any queries you may have. Topics covered include:
Birth physiology
Path to Birth
Stages of labour and common behaviours seen in women
Options for third stage of labour
Pain management
Cesarean birth
Induction/augmentation
Massage techniques
Breathing techniques
Birth preferences
Basic breastfeeding information
What to expect in the first weeks after your baby has arrived
Mentoring
I can also offer a “mummy mentoring” service.. We can arrange 1 or 2 calls a week for the first 6 weeks.so that I can support you and help you understand how the baby is developing over those first crucial weeks. You can ask questions and check to see if what you are experiencing is “normal” or whether you should seek further advice. There are so many changes over these first weeks in the 4th Trimester and due to Covid, you may not feel comfortable having someone with you in person for that practical help, but just having that reassuring chat can have huge benefits to your mental wellbeing and can help reduce stress. I am also happy to arrange a messaging service in between calls if there is something you’re not sure about but it can’t wait until the next scheduled call.
Gift Vouchers
These are a fantastic gift for anyone about to have their baby. Quite often we get so much “stuff” which we don’t really need or only use once or twice. Why not ask for a gift voucher when friends and family ask what you might want as a birth gift. Even a few hours of doula support can make all the difference to any new parent.