Welcome, I’m so happy to have you here
I am passionate about providing women with the tools they need to make an informed decision about the type of birth THEY want.
Not their partner. Not their family. Not the medical professionals.
Birth can be unpredictable. This is why I encourage women to explore all options and come up with a plan for every eventuality. Some of those plans may never see the light of day but it’s vital that you are comfortable with any decisions that are made on the day.
Why have a doula?
It’s well documented that having a doula is beneficial before, during and after birth too!
The WHO recommend that women receive continuous care throughout childbirth but this isn’t always possible. Doulas can help bridge the gap.
Some of the benefits of having a doula are:
Reduced risk of instrumental birth
Reduced risk of Caesarean
Shorter labour
Increased likelihood of initiating breastfeeding
Increased likelihood of establishing breastfeeding and feeding beyond 6 weeks
What is a doula?
The word doula has Greek origins and it means “woman’s servant”.
The role of the doula is to ensure that the birthing woman is safe and comfortable during her labour. Unlike midwives, doula’s are not medically trained so they can’t administer pain relief or offer medical based advice.
I remember being told that a doula is the only one in the birthing room who’s sole focus is the mother. Everyone else is concentrating on the baby. But a doula is there to concentrate on the mother and hold that space for her, however that might look.
Why Moonstone Rose?
I realized that I wanted to become a doula when I was attempting to navigate the maternity system in my fourth pregnancy. I wanted a vaginal birth after 3 sections and these are extremely rare. Women either accept that another section is inevitable and opt for an elective or they’re subjected to the cascade of intervention and it ends in a c-section anyway.
In my experience, I found that the current system isn’t supportive of women who want to birth outside of the guidelines. I wanted to be that advocate and that voice for women, someone to be in their corner when it feels like everyone else is against them.
I gave birth to my fourth baby in the way that I wanted to in June. One of June’s birthstones is a moonstone and one of the birth flowers is a rose.
Moonstones are connected to the divine feminine energy, as well as being a symbol for new beginnings, nurturing and inner strength; all things which I think are also connected with childbirth.
