Doula Support
Katie was my doula when I gave birth to my son in October 2012. When I think of Katie, the first word that comes into my mind is “patience.” It was my first pregnancy, and I spent two sleepless nights at the hospital to deliver the baby. The progress was so slow that I got tired and started to hope someone would somehow just get the baby out. Katie was with me throughout the process without getting any rest, but she remained extremely calm, caring and attentive. She kept reassuring me that I was doing the right thing, and that each contraction was getting me one step closer to meeting my baby.
In the end, I had a memorable water birth that I had always dreamed of. I picked up my son and breastfed him while still in the water. I do not think this would have been possible had it not been for Katie’s support. For every contraction, she held my body and breathed with me, which helped tremendously to maintain the rhythm. The rhythmical deep breathing made a remarkable difference in coping with the pain. In between the contractions, she did everything she could to make me feel comfortable, from wiping my sweat, giving me massage to helping me eat and drink.
My partner was not present, and the midwives were too busy to pay close attention to me until the actual delivery stage. So I cannot imagine how things would have been without Katie. But even if my partner was there with me, I am certain that Katie’s support still would have made a big difference. Having given birth herself and gone through various trainings, she knew exactly what I was going through, which seemed to have given her added confidence and sympathy.
Katie also helped me as a postnatal doula. As I was then a graduate student, she looked after my baby while I attended lectures. Although my son was only a few weeks old, I felt comfortable leaving him with Katie because she knew him from birth, and she made me feel like she cared about him just like I did. I only asked her to look after him, but she often also cleaned up my room like magic. This was extremely helpful because it was difficult to maintain order in the room while taking care of a newborn for the first time. I appreciated the childcare experience she shared with me as well.
Katie is a wonderful doula, and she made a big difference in the beginning of my life as a mother. If anyone would like to hear more about my experience, my contact information can be obtained through Katie.
September 2013
S.K.
After a very traumatic first labour we decided to look into hiring a doula to support us in our second birth experience.
We met Katie and instantly clicked with her and knew she was the right person to work with.We met with her on 3 occasions prior to labour, discussing things such as our past birth experience, our birth plan, feeding baby and generally getting to know each other better.
We found her very knowledgeable and understood exactly what we wanted from this birth experience. Katie was also always contactable by phone or email.
By the time labour came I was very comfortable with her presence.
Herself and my husband worked in perfect partnership throughout. I spent a long time labouring at home, which was due to their support.
Upon arrival at the birth centre Katie gave me the confidence to stick to my birth plan and achieve the birth I had visualised for us.
If we were to have any more children, I would love to have Katie with us again and I can whole heartedly recommend her. We found her presence invaluable.
Kirsty and Kevin Houston
September 2013
“Having had a difficult first birth experience two years previously, we decided to have a Doula when we were due our second. Katie provided the support and information we needed in antenatal appointments, that not only helped us better understand our first labour experience and put to rest our worries of history repeating itself, but also provided us with the knowledge and confidence we needed to look forward to the birth of our second child. We had a truly wonderful experience welcoming our second born into the world, so we believe all our preparations with Katie were totally worthwhile, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.”
Elena and Emilio Venditti
August 2016
Parenting Coaching 1-1
“Katie joined us at home for pancakes in the kitchen, giving her a chance to see us all and how we were together. She chatted to our son and let him take her into the garden and show her his tree house.
Afterwards Katie let me talk a lot and I felt she’d got a real idea of our parenting journey so far. She had lots of suggestions for things to try in different situations, to maintain connection and to re-connect when needed, to respond to different behaviours and to manage our own feelings. She was generous in sharing stories of her own (checking I welcomed this as not everyone might) which I found very helpful. She also showed me some books I might want to read around various themes.
It became clear Katie knew a lot about many different areas including brain development and emotions, non-violent communication, attachment, EFT/tapping and other techniques for emotional self-regulation, love-bombing…
After our meeting I felt reassured and optimistic, with lots of things to think about. Katie followed up with an email sending me links about things we’d addressed, and setting out the long-term parenting goals we’d discussed.
I would highly recommend this service to anyone who feels the need of some parenting advice and support”