I offer emotional and practical support to families in and around Gloucestershire.
Welcome
My aim is to work with the mother- to- be to prepare her for the journey that lies ahead. To support and empower her to achieve everything she wants from her labour and birth, and to experience her journey into motherhood with her.
I will provide a constant famililar face throughout the labour and birth process and beyond, which unfortunately is lacking in modern midwifery. I strongly believe that a well supported and encouraged woman can explore her birth preferences and is more likely to have an empowering and fulfilling experience of pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Women who have Doula care are: - less likely to be dissatisfied with their birth.
- less likely to feel a loss of control during labour.
- labour is likely to be shorter and less painful.
- more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth.
- likely to have a decreased chance of caesarean section by 50%
and more benefits....- helps fathers participate with confidence
- increases success in breastfeeding
- have less postpartum depression
My Services
I offer a free no-obligation introductory consultation~ this enables us to get to know each other. I will suggest that we meet somewhere mutual, completely pressure free to enable you to see whether my services are right for you. It gives us the opportunity to discuss your exact individual needs, explore your ideas and wishes on birth and how you would like me to support you throughout your labour and birth.
If you decide after this meeting that you would like me to be your Doula then we can then arrange and discuss further appointments.
BIRTH DOULA
(I am currently undergoing the recognition process through Doula uk)
I include two antenatal visits with my birth doula support, normally between 34 and 37 weeks and lasting around 2 hours.
The main objective of these is to provide you with all the necessary information to allow you to make informed decisions and more importantly, empower you so when the time comes you trust your body and instincts in getting on with the birth process.
We will look at and discuss topics such as:- Birth Physiology and your preferences and choices.
- The atmosphere and environment that will be the greatest advantage for an empowering and fulfilling labour.
- Birthing positions, comfort measures, relaxation techniques, coping strategies, complimentary therapies.
- Any issues you may have with previous pregnancies and birth experiences
- How I can support you and your birth partner in the way you want during your labour and birth.
- Any expectations of your upcoming birth. The clearer you are in your own head about what you are happy with, what you will tollerate and what is non-negotiable, the easier communication will be with your health care provider. The more prepared you are for your birth, the more ready you will be to open yourself up and let go of any tension that may inhibit you.
We can also discuss and prepare a birth plan or review it if you have already made one.
I will ensure your preferences are always heard.
I will be 'on-call' from two weeks prior to due date and two weeks after due date,(38-42 weeks) which means you can contact me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until baby arrives.
Unlimited texts, phone calls, emails~ from when you book me you can call/text or email me if you have any concerns, anything you wish to discuss or guidance in a particular area.
When labour begins, I will be there as soon as you feel you need me to be, and stay with you for the duration of your labour and birth, providing love and support, helping you feel as comfortable, confident and as safe as possible. I will stay until you feel comfortable and happy after the birth. There may be times during your labour when you want to be alone with your partner and have some privacy. I will respect this and leave you alone, but will be close-by incase you want me.
I also include a minimum of one postnatal visit of 1-2 hours to come and see you once you are home, to debrief your birth and help with any initial worries you may have, perhaps with feeding, bathing, sleeping, and discuss the postnatal period. If you feel you would like anymore visits, these can be arranged. If you have any concerns we can discuss these also
POSTNATAL DOULA
I offer emotional and practical support to you in the Postnatal period. As a Doula, I am non-judgemental and offer support and encouragement to aid your transition into motherhood as relaxed and stress-free as possible.
I can offer suggestions and practical tips to help with your day to day routine. We can discuss any concerns and issues that may arise. I am not there to tell you what to do! My work is about empowering you as a mother/couple/family, to encourage you to develop your own philosophies and to follow your instincts~ laundry,
As a Postnatal Doula the services I offer vary depending on what you feel you need support with, so i will be flexible to help meet your needs.This can be an opportunity for you to de-brief your birth. I can also help with practical issues such as:- food shopping,
- look after baby whilst mum rests,
- occasional housework,
- occupying older siblings
- providing information on local support/parent & toddler groups
- anything else that will ease yours and your families transition into parenthood.
I successfully breastfed 4 of my children and also bottlefed, enabling me to help with any feeding issues. I am also a trained Breast feeding peer supporter so have a lot of knowledge in this area.
I can simply be there for a chat and company and provide a listening ear! I am happy to support in anyway I possibly can.
About me
Hello, my name is Rachel and I live with my partner Ben and our five children in Woodmancote, Cheltenham.
I consider myself to be a warm and friendly person, very reliable and trustworthy.
Since having our first child I have been extremely fortunate to be a stay at home mum, of which I love every minute of! Previous to this I worked as a nanny and at a private childrens day nursery, so have always been around babies and children. After having my first son, seeing all that goes on and going through the wonderful experience, I felt very passionate about everything related to child birth and enjoyed watching television programmes and reading books that had anything to do with pregnancy, labour, birth and breastfeeding!
My life long ambition was to train to be a Midwife, that was until I read and learnt about the role of a Doula. My first learning of Doulas was whilst watching a tv programme when pregnant with my daughter, 'Mum plus one'. I felt incredibly inspired, everything about this 'job' was perfect for me. To be able to support women and their families, to be part of an incredible journey at this most precious time in their lives would be an absolute privilege. There really could be no better job! I started researching courses and spoke to another trained Doula so i could understand a bit more about their role. I couldnt wait to sign up to a course!
Since completing my course I had my fifth baby, this was fantastic as I was able to put my training into practise! Even after having four children I was totally amazed just how much I learnt, it was incredible. I felt and believed I really could have a natural birth, with minimal interventions and listening to my body and birth my baby the way nature intended. This is exactly what i did and I had a wonderful labour and birth.
I am a trained 'Nurturing Birth', Birth and Postnatal Doula. My training provided me with an indepth understanding of physiology and anatomy and an appreciation of different birth situations including VBACs and also different methods of pain relief. I am currently working towards the certification process with Doula UK which means I am working under close supervision of an Assessor Mentor, so at present my status is that I am a trainee Doula and my pricing reflects this. What I lack in experience as a Doula, I make up with my first hand knowledge and experience of my own births of my five children, all of which were incredible but very unique. I have personally experienced inductions, had a spinal block in preparation for a caesarean section and had a ventouse and forceps delivery.
I am also a trained Breast Feeding Peer Supporter. I volunteer weekly at a local Breastfeeding support group.
Much of a Doulas knowledge and experience comes from her commitment to continual learning. I also enjoy researching and reading articles to further my knowledge. Most of the learning will come from those I am privileged to support on this journey.
I am a non smoker/drinker and hold a clean full Uk driving license
Service Categories
Doulas
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