I would be honoured to support you during your pregnancy, birth and postnatally. I'm a highly experienced doula (and a doula mentor for Doula UK) who has supported over two hundred families and I am devoted to you having the best possible experience on every level. I bring many skills to the table including a background in psychotherapy which means I have a deep understanding of how deep and complex every person is. I have training in many skills which can help you understand yourself, assist you to become your most authentic and powerful self and to help you explore the unfolding experience of motherhood (and fatherhood). I am on your side, respecting you at all times offering excellent insightful care and profound compassion. My training also helps me to support those who have had any type of trauma, including birth trauma and childhood trauma. I am a proud mother to four children and gave birth to each of them in different circumstances. My first was a planned section as my daughter was breech, I then had an assisted VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean), a drug-free waterbirth and finally a beautiful home birth surrounded by my family! I love supporting any type of birth but offer particular expertise in supporting VBACs and home birth after cesarean being a VBAC and HBAC mama myself. I am also passionate about supporting cesarean birth and recovery whether cesarean was chosen by mother or if it was unplanned. As I went through each pregnancy, I found myself learning more and more about the many choices available. It struck me how it can be hard to build up trust with the staff who look after you during pregnancy. Yet having consistent emotional support and care at this time is so crucial to feeling positive and able to make the right decisions for yourself, your family and your baby. This is where a doula can make all the difference. I am university educated with a passion for science, evidence and research so I am able to support you to find the information you need to make the right choices for you. I studied languages at university as I love the arts, travel and communication. I then went into care work as it fitted in well with family life but also appealed to my love of people and a profound desire to help others on an emotional as well as practical level. Over the last twenty years, my own journey of motherhood and my empathy with women has drawn me to a career supporting other mothers. First I trained and worked as a breastfeeding peer supporter. I also worked as a volunteer at the Crowborough Birthing Centre.This led me to train as a birth and postnatal doula with Nurturing Birth. Having a family has been the greatest adventure of my life. It is my wish to give all the women I support the best possible start to their own adventure; feeling strong, empowered and confident and above all really looked after. My approach is tailor-made to each client and non-judgemental. It's about finding out what you want and need from your doula, where you're at and how best I can help you to feel the most secure as you go through your pregnancy, birth and beyond. My experience as a doula covers supporting mothers with VBAC, homebirth, waterbirth, induction, hospital birth, birthing centre birth, first-time mums and mothers of several children. To me, every client is an individual with a personality, a past and their own passions which will shape how they want to do things. It's my role to help you do things in a way that works for you. It's my role to heIp you find your independence and strength as a mother. I also believe the doula is there for the whole family. By offering support to a partner, other children, grandparents, the whole family unit is solid, giving mother and baby a good foundation. If desired, I offer pool hire, placenta encapsulation, home cooked food packages, ceremonies (mother blessing, closing the bones, baby blessing/ naming, placenta burial), mentoring (for deep fears, parenting, personal and relationship issues) and having trained as an end of life doula with Sacred Circle CIC, I can support you through any type of bereavement and especially have experience of supporting families who have been through miscarriage and baby loss. Fully CRB checked Clean driving license Excellent references available Previous Support Team Member for NAPAC (highly skilled in supporting mothers who have experienced any type of abuse) Trained by Nurturing Birth as a birth and postnatal doula Breastfeeding peer supporter Volunteered at Crowborough Birthing Centre Postnatal experience with twins M.A. in Modern Languages in French and Spanish Certificate in the Foundations of Counselling and Psychotherapy (CCPE which is UKCP accredited) where I am now in year 3 of my diploma