Jenna Rutherford

About Me

I am a 37 year old doula, pregnancy yoga teacher and mother of two (my son, born in 2011 and my daughter, born in 2014).  I live with my husband in Wimbledon.  I am an avid reader of all things birth and parenting, I am currently making my way through Birthing from Within by Pam England and Ina May’s new book, Birth Matters.

After a difficult birth and initial post natal period with my own son, I started looking into ways I could help new mothers who might also be struggling.  This opened up a whole new world to me of doulaing, birth work and empowerment.

I believe women deserve to choose how and where they have their baby and should be given every scrap of information necessary for them to make this choice as informed as possible to best suit them and their families.  I am here to help you achieve your birth wish in whatever way I can by offering emotional and practical support at a life changing time in your lives.  I am there for you and your needs, whatever they may be.

Since beginning my doula journey I have attended my initial preparation course with Maddie McMahon (author of ‘Why Doulas Matter’) at Developing Doulas in November 2013 and have also attended a number of workshops to extend my doula knowledge:

Natalie Meddings – Workshop for birth workers from the author of ‘Why Home Birth Matters’ and ‘How to Have a Baby’ (May 2018)

Maddie McMahon – Breastfeeding Case Studies Workshop (Jan 2018)

Zara de Candole – Postnatal herbs for healing workshop (Sept 2017)

Cherie Lathey at Yoga Mama – Pregnancy and Postnatal Yoga training (April 2017)

Sara Wickham – Recipes for Normal Birth (Feb 2016)

Kate Rosati – Tongue tie specialist and breastfeeding expert CPD day (June 2015)

Natalie Meddings  – Making Mothers a Map workshop for efficient labouring (April 2015)

Stacia Smales-Hill – Rebozo Workshop for comfort measures in labour (Nov 2014)

I founded the Birth Confidence workshops with Erin McGuigan to create a workshop which supports the NCT and other preparation courses but also fills the gaps that we as doulas see are missing in birth preparation.  We hope women who attend our courses leave feeling more relaxed and confident about their births. Courses are held in Surbiton and Kingston.  Please have a look at our websites for more details.

I also run Pregnancy and Postnatal yoga classes in Surbiton and Hersham, please look me up @breathemamayoga on Facebook for my class schedules.

I have experience so far in working at Kingston Hospital, St Thomas’s Hospital, St Helier Hospital, St Peter’s Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.  I have attended home births, water births and hypnobirths as well as inductions and c-births.  I have supported single Mums, couples and birthing partners and also organise placenta encapsulation.   I have a TENS machine which I lend to my clients for free and an extensive birth book library.

I am currently also offering shared care with Erin McGuigan if I can’t offer sole care due to other commitments – we are both Doula UK recognised birth doulas.

TESTIMONIALS

Please go to my website for more testimonials.

‘There are times in life when you just know something feels right… meeting Jenna was like that.  Both my husband Grant and I walked back from our first ‘positive birth meeting’ really pumped and excited… we were like – ‘she’s AWESOME!’… Grant who’d known nothing about what a doula was 3hrs beforehand was as keen as I was to have her part of our birth.

All births are a unique journey it seems and mine was no different, I went into labour at over 43weeks, a challenge I hadn’t foreseen and one that came with a lot of stress and pressure from the world around me.

Jenna didn’t make choices or decisions for me.  She allowed me to make my own and stayed with me whilst I went through the process of trying to figure that out… she didn’t judge me, she held me… and in late pregnancy it turns out that this is a really rare and beautiful gift 😉

I’m eternally grateful that Jenna was there from the moment I needed her in early labour all the way through to Finn being born… and not just there – really present.  To be fair I chose her as I felt a strong connection and bond… yet during the labour it was like she merged into my energy field… and knew when to stroke my hand… or would pass me water just as I realised I needed it… and would know the small question or comment I needed to hear in order to help me go within and regroup myself… In something as intense and unknown as labour it’s just incredible to have someone who can be the ‘constant, reassuring pillar’ so that you don’t have to… and so you can always find your way back to a familiar centre when you need it or when it all feels too much.  Jenna was an amazing pillar for me.  She still is.  Thank you x’

​Olivia & Grant, March 2017

​​’Jenna has been an absolute privilege to not only meet, but to have as my doula.  I couldn’t have wished for anyone more perfect.  She was so very nurturing and spiritual, yet down to earth…an absolute rock at a time when I felt very vulnerable.  Words cannot describe the strength she pulled out of me, to create the birth experience I wanted.  I sincerely wish she had been at all my births!  My partner found her amazingly supportive and my children adored her!  She will always hold a special place in our hearts and I can throughly recommend her…thank you Jenna! xx’

Sara & Steve, December 2016

‘As soon as you came in, there was a sort of quiet calm, which spread from you to everyone around.  I wasn’t sure there was much need for me after you arrived but not only did you support Cat but you really helped me find my place and see where I could help and support her.  It was just amazing having you here.’

Anna, Birth partner, October 2015

‘Jenna was a fantastic support to us in the late stages of our pregnancy, during the birth and after. Jenna was like a sea of calm and comfort during an exciting, but also a somewhat daunting time! After only a few chats with her I felt empowered and confident in myself both for the labour and afterwards as a new mother. Her suggestions and ideas around the birth truly helped during labour, and I have no doubt that my ability to keep relatively calm during labour was largely thanks to her.’

Clare & Dave, September 2015

‘Thoughtful and empathetic, Jenna provided consistent support throughout. She supported my wishes to avoid an induction by referring me to the evidencebasedbirth.com website as well as the AIMS website and encouraged me to call the AIMS support helpline as well as making me aware that I was within my rights to ask for a meeting with my hospital’s Supervisor of Midwives when I was still unhappy after being pushed towards an induction by my consultant. Jenna helped me realise that I always had a choice in the matter.
Jenna was very supportive and kept in touch with me with messages of support and reassurance. During labour, Jenna provided constant emotional support for me and my partner. She was very good in keeping the choices I’d made beforehand in mind and reminding both me and my partner of them but not pushing the point. The choice was always up to us. During the active labour stage, Jenna was happy to let my partner take the lead in supporting me but it was good to know she was there to step in if needed. We thought everything that Jenna did was spot on and can’t think how it could have been improved.’

Eva & Rob, July 2015

‘Although circumstances meant that I didn’t end up using Jenna as a birthing partner she still supported me towards the end of my pregnancy and was always there to help me with any questions and concerns I had about giving birth and she was an extremely positive and helpful support post birth. I could not recommend her more and any mother-to-be would be lucky to share her birthing experience with the calm, kind and positive force that Jenna is.’

Karina, March 2015

•My clients are happy to be contacted for references•

www.theminimalistdoula.com

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