Mavis Scott – Birthing & Postnatal Doula

About Me

The miracle of life and birth is a sacred and powerful rite of passage that can be both positive and empowering. I am in awe with the workings of the woman’s body and the baby’s innate intelligent design that works in unison to bring about the birthing experience. Growing up in a culture where pregnancy and birth are celebrated,  I have always been around mothers and babies; I also have the honour of being a mother of two beautiful children. My passion to be a doula has been fuelled by my grandmother, who was a traditional midwife in Jamaica. She shared so many experiences with me and taught me so much. I received so much knowledge from her in holistic remedies, more specifically the use of natural herbs and foods to support with birth and the postnatal period. Becoming a doula made me realise that this was all second nature to me.

As your birthing doula, my aim is to make you feel safe, supported, loved and empowered to achieve your best birth possible and for you to take away joyful memories of your special day. You will receive my physical, emotional and practical support before, during and after birth and until you are comfortable for me to leave. I will provide you with continuity of care, access to accurate information and be an experienced guide along this journey. I will listen with an open heart helping you to identify your preferences and support your decisions ensuring that your choices are heard. If you have a partner, I will work with him/her to approach the birth with confidence.  If you are approaching this birth alone, I can be the supporting hand that can provide you with the love and help that you will need. I am passionate about working with mothers from various backgrounds, especially those who are vulnerable and who have additional needs.

As a postnatal doula, I look forward to meeting and working with the rest of the family, whether that is an older sibling or grandparents. I am known for my reassuring, mature and confident nature. I come with a wealth of experience as I have spent fourteen years in education working with children of various ages and more recently children with additional needs after qualifying and working as a Special Needs Coordinator for the past five years. I am also known for my culinary skills and delicious Caribbean foods!

I also support a variety of births through Happy Baby Community charity, who help vulnerable women navigate pregnancy, birth and early postpartum.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me as I look forward to meeting, working and supporting you on your birth journey – no matter where you choose to have it!

Testimonials:

“Mavis was amazing! My daughter was 6 weeks premature and I was able to have a natural birth. She helped me so much throughout the labour, from encouraging me to stay calm and breathe through contractions to reassuring me to trust my body. She made me feel extremely comfortable and was so supportive. Mavis was my only birth partner throughout my delivery and I couldn’t have asked for a better person. She held my hand, breathed through every contraction with me, helped me get into various positions and was an important advocate. When my daughter was born and taken to NICU she checked on her on my behalf as well as made sure I was comfortable and had something to eat. She explained to me how my body would feel and what to expect over the next few days and weeks after the birth which was so helpful as this was my first child.

Following on from my birth, I asked Mavis to also be my postnatal doula. Due to me having special needs and being partially deaf, Mavis was a massive support transitioning into motherhood. She provided constant reassurance which helped me feel confident and was always patient and understanding. She attended appointments with me and my daughter and was always advocating on my behalf. Mavis taught me how to hold, change, bath and feed my daughter due to her experience with new born babies. She also helped with the preparation of meals and light housework. She also provided night support which was invaluable as it helped me rest and recover. Overall Mavis supported me and my daughter for 6 months and I cannot thank her enough for her unwavering love and care, I don’t know what I would have done without her!” – A.S (Birth & Postnatal Client)

“Mavis is warm, approachable and has a great sense of humour and offered great practical support around the house and to our newborn son as we adapted to life as new parents. Mavis was knowledgeable about nutrition to support breastfeeding and offered practical advice to help me breastfeed efficiently (was initially struggling with regular feeds – transpired there was a tongue tie issue). Mavis was very sensitive to our religious beliefs and we were able to build a good bond on this basis. Thanks Mavis for the support and the delicious food!” – S.M (Postnatal Client)

We really enjoyed having Mavis in our home – she was extremely helpful and a kind and positive presence. She was always proactive, taking initiative and wanted to be busy. We loved her cooking and she has worked hard to keep us well nourished over the last month! We felt very comfortable leaving our baby in her care – this enabled me to have some time to myself to shower and relax/sleep in those early days after giving birth which would have been impossible otherwise.

Mavis was able to offer advice and observations which we really appreciated but she was never pushy and always balanced – giving us options and leaving us with her advice to make our own decisions based on our preferences and our baby. Mavis offered her observations regarding a neck issue our baby experienced which we would have been much slower to pick up on without her observations (as new parents we were not quite sure if it was an issue or not, despite observing the same thing!).

We couldn’t recommend Mavis more and would gladly work with her again if we had another child in the future. – E.M (Postnatal Client)

We called Mavis at the last minute, asking for help the same night, and she totally came to our rescue. Despite having worked elsewhere earlier in the day, she stayed all night at the hospital (12 hours) and took gentle care of our newborn baby while I rested. I really liked how kindly she spoke to him, and how gently she handled him; she even managed to change his nappy without making him cry, which was a first! In fact, she may have done one change without even waking him up – magic. Mavis bottle-fed the baby and also supported me to breastfeed when I was able to. In 3 subsequent daytime visits to help me at my parents’ home, Mavis was again very gentle and kind with our baby and did things like taking him outside in the garden for fresh air.

We had got on well with Mavis when we first interviewed her and felt comfortable with her. It was especially useful for us that she has knowledge of M.E. from her own family, which meant we didn’t have to explain our needs in great detail. As we were staying with my parents after the birth, Mavis also met them and my aunt who was helping us, and she got on well with the whole family and was sensitive and adaptable to the particular situation in the household.

We were very happy with Mavis’s manner with the baby, as she was always patient and gentle; she handled him skilfully and clearly has a lot of experience with young children. She gave us useful advice about things we needed to buy to make it easier for us to care for our baby at home. – N.Y (Postnatal Client)