What I can offer you

Full support from pregnancy to postpartum through hypnobirthing, doula support in birth and postpartum.

The skills I bring and my philosophy 

As a former Early Years teacher I bring the skills of nurture and being able to encourage independence and learning through doing. I aim to provide you and your family with the knowledge and encouragement to become calm, empowered and fully independent. My aim is to help you to thrive rather than just survive and to enjoy the rollercoaster that is parenthood. As a hypnobirthing practitioner, I also bring many self-hypnosis and mindfulness techniques to postnatal support and recovery. Many of these techniques are about building trust in yourself and building the strength of your parenting voice and instinct. 

What my clients say: 

"Our experience working with (Louise) has been phenomenal. I can honestly say that I don’t think I could’ve begun my journey into motherhood without her support. The help she provided both practically and emotionally has been incredible. There was a mutual respect, and shared values. She never crossed any boundaries and yet I felt she was constantly there by my side (whether physically or via phone/text) every step of the way. I have learned so much from her. I feel fortunate that the transition into this stage of my life felt smoother with her guidance. If I were to have another baby, I would certainly call on her once more." "Louise is an excellent doula, who provided a flexible and person-centred doula service. She helped me emotionally and practically, learning how to forge out a new identity as a first time mum. I would recommend Louise to any expectant mum or dad to be." 

My story

In this space, I thought sharing my own journey might help you to understand my "why" and the ethos that I bring to being your doula. 

Before I became a doula and hypnobirthing practitioner, I was a primary school teacher, specialising in the Early Years so I have always been passionate about education and nurture. When I found out I was pregnant in 2017 I was terrified. So I studied hypnobirthing (the same techniques I now teach) and was able to have a better birth thanks to these skills. However, when I became a parent unfortunately, I suffered from postnatal depression and anxiety after the birth of my daughter in late 2017. It was during this time that I realised I had not prepared for life with a baby, I had only prepared for birth. I felt overwhelmed by parenthood and didn't feel like I had thought of any possible obstacles to a calm and confident first year of motherhood. When I sought support I found that postnatal support in Aberdeen was lacking. There was some support but it was very limited and often did not incorporate a holistic approach to the parenting journey. I did have family around me, but often they would give me advice that didn't always fit with what felt right for me. 

So I re-trained and became a hypnobirthing practitioner and doula to make sure that I could offer "wrap around" support for new parents. I am truly passionate about birthing people and their families feeling supported, heard, empowered and understood throughout their parenting journey, keeping their mental & emotional health and wellbeing at the heart of what I do. Having had time to reflect on my own birthing experience, I found it difficult to navigate the choices offered to me (or even knowing what the choices were) and how to ask questions to help me make the best decisions.  I find that most people need an informed advocate at the birth of their babies to help with all of these things. Sometimes we need someone alongside to reassure us and be our "cheerleader". Perhaps you don't have a birth partner or your birth partner is feeling really anxious and needs someone to support them too - these are all things a birth doula can do! It is an honour to be invited to be part of someone's birth team and each birth is so unique and individual. 

Additional training

I breastfed both of my children and I am trained as an Infant Feeding Doula with Younique Postnatal.

I have trained in Baby Loss and Pregnancy After Loss Support with TBR college.

 I have trained to support Neurodivergent families with ND Birth. 

I have undertaken cultural competency training to support families of colour, black and brown families.

I have trained with Parenting Queer to support LGBTQIA+ families.