Rani Khanna

About Me

I am half French half Indian but have lived most of my life in London.

Recently I became a grand-mother for the first time and was honoured to be asked by my son and his partner to be their birth doula. It was such a privilege to accompany them on their journey, to help them prepare for the birth of my grand-daughter Sol Aruna who was born in Colombia.

I can now say that I have stepped into my role as an elder and am thrilled about this new chapter opening up in my life.  Life has been my teacher, leading me to study at present healing and energy work.

Here is some background information about me and my path.

I gave birth to my daughter and my son in my early twenties. My daughter was born at St Mary’s hospital (within 45 mins of being there) and my son at home. Both were truly beautiful, amazing births. I was very young and naive then, and didn’t know very much. But this is what I believe helped me in a way to be in a state of complete surrender and calm, connected to myself, inside myself. I trusted myself or rather the natural process of giving birth. I realize now years later that my partner, inadvertenttly acted as my doula. I was extremely lucky to have him present, very calm and suportive, he protected me and my space and made me feel safe.

I started life as a painter and then became a documentary filmmaker and made films about Human rights issues, health issues, the arts, social issues. Wanting to represent people whose voices were not heard. I have a strong desire in me to help people, to contribute to society, to want to instigate positive change. And to continue learning.

And so this is how I embarked on my doula journey in 2010, knowing and recognising that this is simply a part of who I am. I feel I have the tools and experience to help women through this unique journey and help them trust themselves. Becoming a doula was simply me following my intuition, it was like a calling.

I trained to be a doula with Michel Odent and Liliana Lemmers, and it’s only through their teachings that I understood what had contributed to my own experiences of giving birth being so positive and natural.

My first experience as a doula for a 1st time mother, was so amazing and beautiful that this is the reason why I continued my work as a doula. Asked if she would have a doula next time: “If there’s a next time, I would wish to be so blessed as to find a doula as perfect for me as Rani.” Dawn Collins 2010

I simply know that I am supposed to be doing this, now that my children have left the nest, to help women achieve the birth they desire, to empower them and help them have a confident and joyful birth experience.

My philosophy is that you should learn to trust yourself and be surrounded by those you can trust. My role as a doula is to help you and support you in this, so that you feel confident to give birth the way you want to and not be afraid to do so.  I aim to keep everything simple, no overloading of information or external stimulation.

I am there for you completely, to help you prepare before the birth and throughout the birth, to protect and hold the space around you, to make sure you feel safe and secure. During the pregnancy, I build a rapport of trust with you and your partner. We work together as a team. I answer your questions and keep you and your partner informed about your rights and your options. I listen to you and pay attention to all of your concerns. We talk about you, your vision of the birth, your desires and needs as well as your fears and concerns if any, to put them at rest, using relaxation, visualisation, touch and breathing as the main tools to help create a secure inward space that you trust and rely on to stay calm and centered.

Training with Michel Odent & Lilianna Lemmers – 2010
Talks on Chilbirth Rituals attended at The Wellcome Trust – 2011
VBAG talk by Jenny Smith & Valda Armstrong at Queen Charlotte Hospital – 2011
“Rainbow Relaxation” Hypnobirthing session attended in 2012
The Art of Doula Listening – Study Day – 2012
Confident Birth Workshop – Susanna Heli (author of Confident Birth) – 2013
Maternity, Mother & Baby: Midwifery Forums & Exhibition – Birmingham, March 2013

Breech Birth Study Day – 1 Day with independent midwives & breech specialists Shawn Walker & Joy Horner – Nov 2013

Breastfeeding workshop – 1 Day with Nicola Goodall from wysewomen – Oct 2015

Ayurveda for Doulas – Workshop with Dr Seema Datta – June 2018

Creative Fellow in Filmmaking at the University of Birmingham – Feb to Dec 2021 – “MORE THAN BLOOD” ( 2021, 25 mins).  I produced and directed a  film about the research  Prof Arri Coomarasamy at the Global Women’s Health Centre is leading to address and reduce postpartum haemorrhage, the leading cause of death in childbirth in low income countries.