Kirstie Broughton

About Me

Hi I’m Kirstie,

I trained as a birth and postnatal Doula in 2017. I have a wonderful daughter who is 5 years old and a 14 year old step son. I’m married to Steve and we all live in the middle of the countryside between Chelmsford and Ongar in Essex.

I am a doula mentor for Doula UK and feel honoured to support new doulas on their journey to becoming recognised. I enjoy networking and building relationships with doulas in my local area and further afield.

I am passionate about your voice being heard through your transition to becoming a parent for the first or a subsequent time, after all the maternity service is here for you, so your opinions and experiences are essential to the smooth running of the maternity system.

I am certified with FEDANT (Federation of antenatal educators) and have insurance for my doula services. I am also registered with Zest Midwives and work alongside independent midwives.

I worked as a nanny for various families when I left college, but then decided to try working in London in finance for a while, I got caught up in London life and stayed there for 15 years. After feeling very unfulfilled for the majority of this time I’ve recently been given the opportunity to do what I love, working as a Doula and within various roles in the birth world. I’m passionate about all things pregnancy, birth and baby, but also about empowering women and people in to realising they have choices in the world of maternity care, after all it’s your body and your baby!

I will support you in any way I can so that you feel confident in making your own informed decisions. I have access to a knowledgeable network of birth and baby professionals who can offer evidence based research to help you make these decisions, that are ultimately individual to you. I won’t judge your choices or tell you what to do, I will simply provide you with the facts. I’d love to hear from you and we can have an informal chat on the phone or meet for a cup of tea. There’s no pressure to book.

Below is just a snippet of the services I can offer, I will tailor a bespoke service to your needs.

Birth Doula support: My aim is to make you feel safe, supported, loved and empowered to achieve your best birth possible, for you to take away happy memories of such a special day. You will receive my physical, emotional and practical support before birth, during birth and afterwards until you are comfortable for me to leave. During labour and birth you will have access to my birth pools, peanut and birth balls,  Elle TENS machines, aromatherapy kit, and to the contents of my famous doula bag! There will be no need for you to pay for these items separately.

I can support any birth type e.g. hospital, home, birth centre, water, active birth, VBAC, caesarean birth, surrogacy, birth after loss, birth for same sex couples, physiological births or births using any pain relief options that you desire. I will support your birth partner (if you have one) and will work alongside your midwife and doctors. It’s in everyone’s best interests to get along and work together to achieve the desired outcome of a positive birth experience. I will hold your hand, mop your brow, bring you drinks and snacks but I can also advise on optimal foetal positioning, how to sustain energy, active birth positions, breathing techniques for the various stages of birth, I can support you through surges (contractions), offer affirmations and visualisations and explain what’s happening. I will be there for anything you need and to remind you that you are an amazing, strong and powerful person who can do this! As I’m a pregnancy yoga teacher I can incorporate this into your birthing experience, if you’d like to try it, being active can help enormously. Did you know that giving birth in an upright position allows your pelvis to open up 30% more! We can use a birth ball, lots of props, move around and use gravity to aid the birth of your baby. We can even get your birth partner involved, nobody is ever excluded.

Postnatal Doula support: It can be a daunting time so I can be there from day one if needed, or at any point afterwards until you feel you no longer need my support. I will support your transition into parenthood in any way I can. I want you to feel you have all the support you need, and you will grow in confidence day by day. I can support you with physical tasks, be a great listener, share practical knowledge and support you emotionally. I can help with light household chores, cook certain meals, offer information on health (eating, self-care, exercise), look after older children so you can focus on the new baby, I can take care of the baby whilst you sleep or have a shower, I can help you establish feeding (breast or formula), I can help with setting routines or work with you if you prefer a baby led approach. I can show you how to change a nappy, make up a bottle and what to dress your baby in for bed time in certain weather conditions and much more. I’ll even walk your dog if that helps!

Don’t forget I’m also a postnatal yoga teacher. If you’d like to try this the sessions could be specifically tailored to you.

Relevant training and volunteering:

• Birth and Postnatal Doula with Birth Bliss Academy
• Hypnobirthing Teacher certificate with KGHypnobirthing
• Moxibustion for Breech Presentation with Expectancy
• TBR 3 Step Rewind for Preinatal and birth trauma with TBR College
• BTEC National Diploma in Childhood Studies
• Breastfeeding Peer Supporter for Barnardo’s Virgin Care
• Biomechanics for Birth with Molly O’Brien at Optimal Birth
• EDEXCEL level 2 & 3 BTEC certificates in life coaching – specialising in women’s health
• Aromatherapy for Childbirth (RCM accredited)
• Holistic Sleep Coach Certificate with Lyndsey Hookway
• Pregnancy, Postnatal, Mother & Baby Yoga with Sally Parks Yoga (85 hours)
• Yoga teacher training with Yoga Teacher Training Essex (200 hours)
• Advanced Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training with Sally Parks Yoga (25 hours)
• Hot Yoga Teacher Training with 121 Urban Hot Yoga
• Antenatal and Birth Preparation Workshop with Birth Bliss Academy
• Waterbirth during Covid19 – Keeping midwives, mothers & babies safe certificate by Dianne Garland.
• Beyond Bea Training in Baby Loss
• Anatomy and Pysiology Certificate for Exercise Professionals
• NCFE CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Mental Health First Aid
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) and Early Trauma Certificate
• Understanding the Infant Microbiome Certificate
• Full DBS check and certificate
• Safeguarding Children level 2 Certificate Anxiety – Helping Children to Cope Certificate
• Addressing Postnatal Depression as a Health Care Professional Certificate
• Domestic Violence & Abuse (DVA): Identifying & responding to DVA in Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond.
• Trainee counsellor

I regularly attend industry networking events and keep up to date with current evidence based practices.

The right fit: I’m happy to work with most people but I do understand everyone is different. If we meet and I think there is another doula who will be better suited to your needs please don’t be offended if I recommend them. I have your best interest at heart and as the relationship with your Doula is such a personal one it’s best to find the right fit.

I look forward to hearing from you x