Alison Silvester – SW6

About Me

PLEASE NOTE:

I AM AVAILABLE FOR POSTNATAL AND NIGHT SUPPORT

I AM CURRENTLY NOT TAKING ON ANY BIRTH CLIENTS

I live in Fulham SW London with my husband and two grown up daughters.

I believe that birth ranks amongst one of the most amazing and life changing experiences a woman will ever encounter and, as such, every mother to be has the right to a birth that she can cherish; a birth that will be a positive journey which will help 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 is 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 enable them to trust in their body’s ability to birth their baby and thereby 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. I work hard 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 provide support to 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 in the delivery room alone for any period of time. It is not my role to impose my opinion or tell you what decisions you should make with regard to your treatment or pain relief but to endeavour to present you with all the options so that you can make an informed, well thought out choice.
First Aid Course – Safe and Sound 22 March 2014

La Leche League Breastfeeding Peer Counsellor.

Spinning Babies Workshop with Gail Tully (March 2012)

Homebirth Study Day December 2010 __ Maria Coveney

Breastfeeding: Attachment and positioning with LC Deborah Robertson: July 2010

Dr. Jack Newman Breastfeeding Study Day – May 2010

The Nurturing Project Seminars – Changing paradigms – Exploring the contemporary context of postnatal depression – November 2009

12 Hour Paediatric First Aid Course (Ofsted approved) June 2009

Advanced Doula Workshop __ 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

Water birth Study Day, Dianne Garland – September 2008

Advanced Breastfeeding Workshop 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 Acupressure course February 2008.

Birth & Postnatal course with Nurturing Birth (May 2007)

Certificate in introduction to Counselling 2004

As a Doula I have had the privilege of sharing in the miracle of birth with my clients both at home (homebirth) and at the following hospitals/birth centres
St Georges Hospital, SW17 (Carmen Suite and Delivery Suite)
Labour Ward, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, SW10
Birth Centre, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, SW10
The Kensington Wing, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, SW10
Queen Charlottes Hospital, W6 (Birth Centre and Labour Ward)
St Thomas Hospital ( Birth Centre and Home from Home unit)
St Mary’s Hospital, W2 ( Birth Centre and Labour Ward)
The Portland, W1
The Whittington Hospital, N1
Kings College Hospital
Princess Royal University Hospital Farnborough.
I have experience of helping women labouring naturally with hypnobirthing, breathing techniques, water, and TENS and/or with the help of entinox,pethedin and epidural. I have also supported women who have birthed by c-section births and induction.
BIRTH PACKAGE:
An initial meeting (free of charge) to get to know you
3 antenatal visits and one postnatal visit
As much support via telephone and email as you wish throughout.
24 hour on call support from 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after your due date.
Support throughout your labour until after baby is born and you are settled comfortably and baby has fed.
A postnatal visit giving you the opportunity to talk about your birth.
POSTNATAL SERVICES:
Women are not meant to shoulder the huge responsibility of motherhood alone. In an ideal situation the extended family would be able to provide continuous support at this early stage of parenting. However, the modern family is all too often nuclear and separate from the local community network. Parents often have no previous experience of newborn babies until they are holding their own. This can be an unsettling and, at times, even frightening experience, creating feelings of isolation.

As a postnatal doula I help to guide the newborn parents and baby through the early days as a family by offering help and support in your home.

At our initial meeting (free of charge) we can work out the exact role that you would like me to fulfil as your doula. However, as a general rule my philosophy is to mother the mother: showing you how to care for your new baby, be that bathing, changing, settling or just taking care of him/her while you get some rest. I will help you to establish breastfeeding or bottle feeding and reassure and support you whilst you find your feet.
After your baby is here, during my visits, once baby and Mum are settled and happy, I will help to carry out the practical chores that still need to be done, such as looking after your other children, taking care of the laundry, emptying the dishwasher etc. I will also cook lunch for you and am very happy to prepare the evening meal for you to reheat later on.

__(This list is by no means exhaustive, please call to discuss your requirements and/or to arrange a visit for us to meet.)
Testimonials – Birth :
I really feel that I could not have done it without Alison. I never believed that I could give birth naturally and always thought that I would need an epidural. Alison was like a mother to me and kept C as calm as possible. I really trusted her and she was there every step of the way_„П (Michelle)
__Talking to Alison about my previous birth experience allowed me to face my demons and work towards building on a positive experience. Alison was an amazing influence __ calm and in control, she observed, assisted and was there for me at every point. From our first meeting we knew that we wanted Alison at our birth. I feel that Alison’s relationship with us and the way in which she cared for us during W’s birth, totally healed old wounds and made me realise what natural birth is. It was a privilege to have her there_„П. (Jenni and Neil)
__It was wonderful to be able to talk through everything with Alison before the birth and raise all the questions we had. My appointments at the hospital were usually over within five minutes and my husband could never attend as they were during office hours. Alison came to our house and stayed as long as needed which was invaluable to us and especially to my husband_„П (Catherine).
__Alison actually managed to get me excited about the birth whereas I had been dreading it, especially after my first experience. She made me realise that a natural birth could be very achievable. Her support, encouragement and calming nature allowed me to labour for the majority of time at home and made the whole experience so enjoyable. The natural labour I had always wanted! (Olivia)
Testimonials __ Postnatal :
__We had a good relaxed rapport with Alison making it easy to talk about any issues that had come up from colic to how to breastfeed and different positions to help cope with reflux. If she didnt know the answer she would go away and find out for the next visit or if urgent text/call that evening_„П. (Nicola)
__Alison helped me massively. I was less stressed about handling a new baby and it was great not to have to worry about the household chores. Alison also helped me greatly with Baby M which made me feel confident_„П (Barbara)
__I think her support and knowledge about breastfeeding was really invaluable __ partly just encouragement to keep going and partly technical help. (Lucy)
__Alison offered reassurance which was really helpful in the early days of being a parent. Her help around the house was invaluable and really took the pressure off me allowing me to enjoy becoming a Dad rather than just doing all the chores all day. It definitely helped L to relax a bit and gain confidence as a new Mum too._„П (James)
Alison is so friendly but unintrusive encouraging and supportive. She knows exactly what to do to help without having to ask. I was always happy and refreshed on the days that Alison was here. I would have a doula (Alison) again without doubt. (Jemma)
References available upon request.
For more testimonials please see my website http://www.birthingdoula.co.uk