About me
I believe that birth ranks amongst one of the most amazing and life changing experiences a woman will ever encounter and, as such, every woman has the right to a birth that she can cherish, a birth that will be a positive journey helping to forge the strong bond that grows between a Mother and her Baby and lasts a lifetime.
The reason I trained to become a doula was because of my own experience of childbirth.
My first birth left me feeling let down and disappointed and, with hindsight, I now realise that this was, in part, due to my lack of knowledge of the birthing process and the options available to me.
My second birth was at home in a birthing pool - an overwhelmingly rewarding and uplifting event.
This birth instilled in me the desire to support Mothers-To-Be to help them gain the confidence and knowledge that would allow them to trust in their body's ability to birth their baby and thereby enable them to enjoy a positive birth - something that, whilst every woman's right, is sadly often not the case.
I aim to be a companion, providing as much information as possible to empower the mother and father-to-be to make their own choices. My objective is to ensure that couples feel confident, secure and well informed throughout our time together, from pregnancy, on into birth and beyond.
During your labour I will reassure you and keep you informed of what is unfolding and support Dad so that he feels confident in his role of caring for and comforting his partner and, as a result, enjoys his passage into fatherhood.
I will ensure that you will never be left not knowing how things are progressing or not understanding what is happening and why. Neither will you be left in the delivery room alone for any period of time. I will not impose my opinion on any decisions you make with regard to your treatment or pain relief but will endeavour to present you with all the options so that you can make an informed, well thought out choice that is right for you.
I work closely with fellow doulas Maisie Hill and Siobahn Pearce to provide the assurance to clients of having a backup doula available, birth or postnatal, should the need arise.
I regularly attend training days including:
- 12 Hour Paediatric First Aid Course (Ofsted approved) June 2009
- Experienced Birth Doula Workshop - Nurturing Birth May 2009
- Birth Physiology study day with Michel Odent March 2009
- Hypnobirthing Study Day - February 2009
- International Nurturing Conference- Womb to World 11 Oct 2008
- Waterbirth Study Day, Dianne Garland - September 2008
- Breastfeeding Workshop by Pam Lacey, IBCLC. Approved by Assc of Breastfeeding Mothers designed for teaching 'helpers' - July 2008
- Expectancy Antenatal Course - June 2008
- Sheila Kitzinger Birth Crisis Study Day - June 2008
- Introduction to Accupressure course February 2008
- Birth & Postnatal Doula course with Nurturing Birth (May 2007)
- Introduction to Counselling Certificate 2004
I am a member of:
As a member of Doula UK I undertake to attend annual training days to further my knowledge.
