If you are here because you are having a baby, first of all, wonderful news and  congratulations. This is such a special and exciting time for you.  As a doula and a lover of all things birth, I want you to have the best possible experience, therefore the more you know about your birthing body, the better birth can be, so its always good to have a one to one with someone who is experienced in the birthing world and who wants to support you to have the best possible experience. Perhaps this is your second, third or more, baby.  Sometimes a first birth can be a bit traumatic for some women or just didn't go as well as they would have liked, sometimes there are many questions that need answered as to why things didn't go well and you are thinking that this time around you will perhaps have a doula. I'm happy to talk through previous birth experiences and help you plan for a more positive birth. When it comes to birth, natural is best.  Our bodies are designed to birth babies but when we are put into an artificial environment which isn't conducive to natural birth, things don't always go well.  I like to encourage the natural, to help women understand their body and to trust their body's ability to birth their baby. I want women to tap into their innate ability to give birth, to connect with their birthing body and follow its lead and to utilise movement and positioning to improve outcomes. The best environment for a natural birth is in your home, in your space, where you can have the quietness best suited to nature and natural. If you are thinking about and considering a homebirth, please feel free to contact me, I have attended many homebirths and am always happy to meet and chat about birth (one of my favourite subjects) with no obligations. So a little about me, I am a mature doula, some might call me a grandma doula and I'm proud of that. My interest in birth goes back a long way, starting in the 1980s when I had my own children, then in the 1990s after my last child started school, I studied midwifery at the then Glasgow College of Nursing and Midwifery.  My passion is birth and I wanted to somehow improve the birthing experience but soon found out that this wouldn't have been an easy road to go down as a midwife within the NHS, so instead of NHS midwifery I turned to the Doula/Birth Support world, the support that is offered by a doula is on a more personal level and was the best route for me to take, where I am able to get to know my mummas and help them plan for the best possible birth. I have a lot of experience supporting women in our maternity hospitals who have been from many different cultures and countries, many of whom couldn't speak English, so I am used to working with interpreters. For several years I was involved with the Red Cross Mums Project in Glasgow and took referrals from them of pregnant women who were seeking asylum, who were alone in our city and in need of someone to care for them and give birth support. Because of my work with the Red Cross, I went on in 2018 to co-found a very successful Scottish Charity that supports that same group of women,  I knew that there was a great need for birth doulas for these women and as I was the only volunteer doula in Glasgow in this role for a couple of years, I knew a need for a separate organisation with the goal of serving this particular vulnerable group was desperately needed, and with this in mind, myself and another founded the charity. I have also had the privilege of volunteering in Birthing Homes for poor women in both the Philippines and in Africa, and have worked alongside some amazing midwives. I have also volunteered at a Birthing Clinic in Mexico.  I trained as a doula to advanced level and taken part in many extra midwifery/doula workshops over the years.  I also have a certificate in 'Cultural Competency and Respect in the Provision of Maternity Care'. I love women and I love to help them have the best experience possible when birthing their babies, I want them to know beforehand the best ways for the best outcomes and we will have gone over this during pregnancy.  I'm an advocate of undisturbed birth, so often at the birth I don't need to do much other than hold space for you and to encourage calm, darkness and quietness, and let birth unfold, I am often a silent observer, but I also often will step up when needed, to perhaps make suggestions, or to comfort and encourage and generally be there for you. Drop me an email if you want to chat about your upcoming birth, or talk through past birth experiences.  I'm always happy to meet up and you can tell me your story and your thoughts and we can go from there. Looking forward to hearing from you.