“The emotional impact of birth is one that simply can’t be explained, it must be experienced. A joyful and triumphant birth can make a woman feel like she is capable of anything. Yes, thousands of women do it every day…birth though, is by design life changing, overwhelming and it leaves a deep mark on our souls.”
– Sarah Clark- mother of four and natural birth teacher in U.S.A
*Please note that during my break from being “on call” for birth support I will still be offering antenatal workshops, classes and preparation sessions, postnatal support, massages and mother blessing and closing ceremonies.
A doula is an experienced woman [often a mother herself] who offers practical and emotional support to a woman or couple before, during and after childbirth. A doula supports the mother emotionally and physically, enabling her to have the most satisfying and empowering experience of giving birth that is possible, given the circumstances on the day. The doula provides continuity of care that is sadly lacking in our medical system today. Sadly unless you hire Independent Midwives [imuk.org.uk] or plan a home birth with a dedicated home birth team, you are unlikely to have met the midwives who attend your labour.
When people look for a doula they often speak to a few doulas and meet up with the ones they like the sound of. When you have chosen who you would like to work with, there is a basic contract to sign. All doulas are self-employed so their fees are varied, usually according to their experience. For a birth doula you pay a deposit to secure your booking. For postnatal support you agree on a minimum number of hours for the first week or two and pay a deposit to secure your booking, this is usually the first week’s hours. You can always add hours where you need them and your doula will let you know in advance what hours she is available each week.
Choosing your birth team is an important part of pregnancy, make sure it’s the right fit for you. Couples or women will get to know their doula during their pregnancy. During antenatal meetings you will discuss any pregnancy and birth related issues, birth preferences and your hopes and worries about your labour. Your doula will give you lots of information to help you make informed choices about your maternity care. You will get to know each other so that during your labour you can help to create a calm and safe atmosphere which will encourage the natural, physiological birth process to unfold. Doulas provide the much needed continuity of care which is sadly lacking in our health care system today. There is much research that shows that continuity of care massively improves outcomes for mums and their babies
Every woman/ birthing person deserves to have a positive birth experience. It is such a momentous occasion in a woman’s life, for a first time mum she is giving birth and becoming a mother which is a huge change, an adventure and a joy. Women remember each birth for ever, not every detail but the essence of it and the physical and emotional effort involved. If you begin your journey of becoming a parent with an empowering experience it will be easier to have confidence in your ability to look after your newborn baby. I believe that the vast majority of women can give birth naturally without medical intervention that can unfortunately lead to more interventions and sometimes sadly to the traumatic birth experiences that we often hear about. Women need to believe in their ability to give birth, to reclaim confidence in their bodies and trust their instincts which is not always an easy thing to do in today’s society…
Get louder, get bigger and surround yourself with extraordinary love when choosing your birth team. It might be the first time you’ve ever done such a thing, but I promise it won’t be the last.
Domino Kirke -New York-based birth and postpartum doula and the director and co-founder of Carriage House Birth.
WHAT I OFFER AS A BIRTH DOULA
When I am booked to support a client we will arrange a few times to meet up. During these antenatal sessions we will discuss your hopes and fears about labour and birth and/or discuss past experiences and any relevant medical or personal issues. My birth doula package includes 3 antenatal visits, 2 postnatal visits and being "on call" from 2 weeks before your estimated due date [more about the “due date” later…] until you go into labour, whenever that will be, at 38 weeks, 40 weeks and occasionally past 42 weeks
The antenatal visits are for you and your partner/birth partner so we can all get to know one another and I can work out how best to support you both through your labour and birth. We will discuss your birth preferences including place of birth, use of a birth pool, hypnobirthing, breathing for labour and birth, active birth, medication and general hospital practices. We can discuss and practice positions and movements for an active birth, although birth is instinctual I think it’s useful to have some ideas that you are familiar with, breathing and visualisations. We can have more antenatal sessions and less postnatal if you prefer, some clients who are not 1st time parents prefer this arrangement; it depends on what works for you. I also offer an extra meeting for first time parents to discuss breastfeeding and looking after/coping with a new born baby as sometimes the focus is so much on the labour and birth that people don't think so much about looking after the baby and becoming parents!
I will visit you a couple of times after your birth to talk through your birth story, support your breastfeeding/feeding and refer you onto more specialised support if necessary and just check in and see how you are all doing. This support also helps your whole family to relax and enjoy the experience of becoming parents or extending your family by welcoming a new-born baby into your lives.
As I am trained in massage, acupressure and rebozo for pregnancy & labour, I can teach your birth partner some simple techniques to use during labour to help keep you calm and focused, they can be practised in the final few weeks of pregnancy. I use rebozo techniques, massage and acupressure during labour when it’s needed. I can also give you pregnancy and postnatal massage treatments but these are not included in my birth doula package but can be booked with me at my home in Islington. See Massage Practitioner page…
Rachel 2013: “Thanks Sue – We both feel pretty amazing today and just thrilled to have experienced a birth like that…I feel the power! Your presence made an enormous difference in so many ways. Huge thanks”
VBAC mum 2016 "After having had an emergency caesarean for our first daughter, I knew I needed someone by my side who was experienced and who'd seen it all. I really wanted a home birth for our second baby and when we went to see the specialist at Homerton she said that we'd made a fabulous choice with Sue as she is known as 'the doula who helps everyone have a successful home birth' I knew we were in the best hands.
The night our son was born everything happened really fast. Sue was there the whole way. She did counter pressure massage on my lower back during each surge, handed me coconut water and homeopathy when necessary. She was calm. She was my rock. She made me laugh. She was the best mothers (and fathers;) helper we could've ever ever wished for."
March 2018 “A heartfelt thank you for delivering my baby last March, you were invaluable! " from Anna who gave birth to her 3rd baby at home before her midwives arrived [there was a lot of snow and her birth was fast!]
Jessie 1st time mum, home birth Dec 2020 “…you played such a huge role in helping us have the birth we wanted -it’s impossible to put into words what that means to us. Having you at the end of the phone during pregnancy and post partum and by our sides for the birth gave us so much reassurance and peace during such a vulnerable time…”
VBAC x2 mum Jan 2021 “Dearest Sue, There aren’t enough words to say how grateful we are for you being there with us the night that ***** was born, thank you for everything. You will always have a special place in our hearts”
July 2021 1st time mum “ thank you so much for your support throughout this whole adventure with all its twists and turns, it’s been fantastic to have your wisdom at our disposal. Your presence and help at ****’s birth was invaluable. Not to mention your support coming up to it, it kept me steady in rocky waters, trusting my instincts when it was strongly suggested otherwise . And as for after… we were so much calmer knowing we could lean onto you in those early weeks.
Training and experience
All my maternity massage training was taken with the inspirational Suzanne Yates of Well Mother- www.wellmother.org. After supporting pregnant and postnatal clients for a few years and listening to their birth stories [and knowing the pressure that the NHS midwives are under at the moment and the strict guidelines that they should adhere to] I decided to train as a birth doula so I could support women throughout their pregnancies, birth and into the postnatal period. I did further training with Well Mother with their Massage for Labour course in 2006 and have been working as a doula since 2008
I have attended many home births, hospital births [most commonly at Homerton, Whittington, UCLH ] The Royal London, The Royal Free, St Mary’s and St Thomas’s, Barnet General and births in stand-alone birth centres like The Barkantine on the Isle of Dogs. I have supported many water births, active births, hypnobirthing, many successful VBAC’s [vaginal birth after caesarean] many of which have given birth at home, one twin vaginal birth and many medically assisted births and a few caesarean births.
Out of interest I did more doula training with the famous French Obstetrician, natural birth pioneer and author, Michel Odent on his “Paramana Doula” course in Nov 2011. This was very interesting for me as he has a very “hands off” approach to doulaing and as I come from a massage background I like to be hands on, where necessary and appropriate of course! After training with Michel Odent I began working as a postnatal doula, helping to nurture families in the early weeks after their baby/babies are born, offering practical and emotional support and helping to get breastfeeding off to a good start.
I also undertook training to be a Peer Supporter with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers www.abm.me.uk . This training has really helped me support breastfeeding mothers which is invaluable in my work with postnatal mums and their babies. I have supported many first time mothers, solo mums, many pregnant with their second babies and a few mums with twins.
In 2020 I took the amazing https://indiebirth.org/ “Birth Warrior Project -Doula training and Transformation” course. It taught me a lot as well as reminding me of my values and instincts and how important they are for all of us but especially birthing people!
I have recently completed Breastfeeding London’s year long on-line course “Breastfeeding & Human Lactation” in preparation for becoming a Lactation Consultant in the future. It a wonderful course, totally fascinating and I am very happy to say that I passed the course in June 2021.
In order to volunteer at my local hospital and some breastfeeding drop-in groups I trained with the Breastfeeding Network https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drop-in-centres-map/ and I am now a BFN helper with an enhanced DBS certificate
