DOULA SERVICES

What is a Doula?

I am not a medical professional. My role is to provide social, emotional, practical and informational support to families navigating the major transitions of conception, pregnancy, birth and parenting.

Having the support of a doula has been proven to

decrease the risk of caesarean section
increase the likelihood of spontaneous vaginal birth
reduce the need for medical pain relief
reduce the risk of trauma and dissatisfaction

I will not tell you what you should do, but support you in making the choices that fit best for you and your family. I will be a sounding board, a safe space for the questions, fears, excitements, and uncertainties. I will be alongside you for the highs and the lows and always believing in you. I am here to support birth partners, siblings and help you rally support in your community. It takes a village.

My practice as a doula is guided by the following values:

Intersectional feminism: acknowledging and attending to the interrelated and overlapping effects of racism, colonisation, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, abelism, ageism, classism and misogyny in reproductive healthcare.

Reproductive justice: supporting everyone's right to choose to not have children (and to access abortion), to have children (and to access equitable, respectful healthcare) and to parent children in a safe and healthy environment.

Respecting the autonomy and expertise of birthing people: you know what's best for your body, baby and family.

Supporting the family as a whole: the wellbeing of the baby or birthing person is interdependent on the wellbeing of all members of the family and everyone deserves to be well supported as they undergo family transitions.

Everyone deserves the right to evidenced based reproductive care and informed decision making.

DOULA SERVICES

Birth Support

Birth Mapping

This support can be tailored to what fits best for you. In the lead up to birth, we can focus on learning birth physiology, labour and birth practices, the role of the birth partner and what you might expect after bub's arrival. We can also hold space for the emotional, fears around birth or parenting, birthing after trauma, miscarriage, stillbirth or loss of an infant, concerns around discrimination, preparing for a birth unlike the one you hoped for, and providing support to other children who are becoming siblings... In the busyness of life, this is an intentional space centering you.

I'll also be on call for two weeks either side of when bub is expected to arrive for phone support and to attend and support you physically and emotionally during your labour and birth. And I'll visit you twice more after baby has arrived to provide support with birth recovery, debriefing and newborn care. Available in person to those birthing in Adelaide, or virtually for folks in other places.

LGBTIQA+ birth support

At any point during your pregnancy, we can talk through your concerns and hopes for birth, help you clarify your decisions and options for birth preparation, and foster strong, supportive, communicative relationships with those supporting you. Using Catherine Bell's Birth Mapping framework I can support you to create a comprehensive outline, beyond the traditional birth plan, of what you will need from your care team under any of the possible pathways your birth journey could take. This could be over one or more sessions, in person or virtually via video chat.

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Birth Debriefing

Preparing for birth as a queer, trans or gender-nonconforming family can be difficult when you don't see your journey represented in many or any maternity services or when you have to make difficult decisions about whether to 'come out', self advocate or feel invisible in accessing mainstream pregnancy, birth or parenting education. I offer tailored individual sessions which can have either an education or solidarity focus and can also point you in the direction of resources more relevant to your experience.

I also run a monthly online LGBTIQA+ pregnancy support group: Rainbow Birth Space on the first Monday of the month.

7.00pm-8.30pm ACST. Register on eventbrite.

At any point following your birth or your partner's birth I can provide a face to face or virtual space for re-telling the story of birth, making meaning, reclaiming your agency, attending to trauma and unpacking the social expectations around birth and parenting which might be getting in the way for you. This may be in a single session or across multiple conversations. This service is also available for birth practitioners supporting others' births.

Conception and fertility Support

For many of us, conceiving a baby is not a straightforward project. If you know that natural conception is not an option for you, I can support you to plan for conception, unpack concerns or dilemmas, and talk through pathways (at home insemination, assisted reproduction technology, surrogacy...). I can also provide support throughout your journey, be alongside you for the highs and lows, debriefing, rallying professional and community support. You do not have to go it alone.