This is your birth, your body, your future: the options you are given are your personal choices to make. Being supported in your understanding can help you get the perspective you need to feel you make the best choice possible for you in those circumstances.
I can be there for you, to offer the support you feel you need, following your own life journey.
As a Doula I...
• Look forward to meeting you, saying hello and getting to know you (and your partner, when possible)
A get-to-know-each-other meet-up in a café. Feeling you connect and trust those you are sharing this path with is essential. If it doesn't feel right, that's completely Ok, we all have our own personalities and feelings, trusting intuition regarding compatibility is really important. I will happily let you know about other doulas who you may find a closer connection with or who may be able to offer the support you are looking for. Meeting your partner, whenever possible, is also vital as we become, along with the medical staff, your birthing team, offering harmonious, complementary support.
• Offer support regarding conception, fertility and during pregnancy
We will meet and I will listen carefully to any questions or concerns you may have. We will discuss options, I will share contacts and resources and we can talk about comfort and relief approaches as you become clearer about how you wish your birth to be.
• Accompany you during labour and birth
I can offer a continuous presence during your birth (including by video/call/sms if circumstances are restrictive in the chosen birth place). I will be 'on call' and readily available for the two weeks both before and after the estimated arrival of your baby.
I will aim to be with you within the shortest delay possible once you have your midwife's support and to offer my personal continuous support through labour to the first couple of hours of baby's new life.
If your partner is also present we will be able to co-ordinate to ensure that someone you know personally is always with you and each birth companion can gets their needs met. This will ensure that they can recharge and be ready to meet your needs.
Being "on call" is a big commitment and means that my personal life is carefully orchestrated so that I am always at a reasonable distance to your chosen place of birth and that I am prepared and available to join you at any time of night or day, having made sure my personal family considerations are taken care of appropriately.
• Have fabulous doulas as back-up support
I am part of a team of experienced back up doulas, based in Switzerland, who may be able to offer you support, if you wish, or if for some reason I am unavailable when you need me.
I am also well connected with wider doula communities in France, Germany, Switzerland and indeed the whole of Europe and beyond (through my volunteer work with the European Doula Network).
• Offer early parenthood support and visits
I am available for chat in the days and weeks after birth, and we will meet to talk about your birthing experience. I can offer ongoing support, resources or contacts as needed during early parenthood as a post-partum doula, when requested. This can include breast-feeding support or gentle rebozo massage to help give your body a little time to feel cared for and for your mind to have a little time to settle. In pregnancy our sights are often set on birth itself, the adaptation to your new life and combining caring for your newborn with your life from before can be really overwhelming. Having somebody to talk to, let off steam or to give you a little break, can be very helpful as you find your feet and find ways of building your resilience to the inevitable ups and downs.
As your Doula I can:
• Accompany you at antenatal appointments
The midwife and doctor are experts in their field, but sometimes a lot of new information can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Having another pair of ears can be helpful, especially if the discussion is not in your native language or if your partner is unavailable.
• Help you become oriented regarding local healthcare and welfare services. I offer resources and verified links to unbiased information from respected organisations and professionals, helping birthers become fully informed about the various choices, rights and options so you can decide what is best in your circumstances.
• Find ways to help you feel more comfortable in labour and during birth: co-regulating breathing, "dreambirth" visualisations, hypnobirthing, movement, acupressure, massage and Rebozo techniques for relaxation and channeling energy.
• Respect and support the partner’s participation during pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Many of the above techniques can be used by your partner with wonderful results as you share and grow your own story (I can happily step out whenever wished!).
Your partner's intimate knowledge of you can help encourage a deeper sense of relaxation, and they are able to help boost oxytocin levels via humour and affection in ways that no other member of the birth team can ever do!
• Support you continuously if you have no partner present, so you know there's somebody there for you throughout, that you won't be left feeling alone at any time.
• Connect you to local parenting groups, organisations and professionals regarding conception, miscarriage, nutrition, pregnancy and postnatal fitness and well-being, feeding support, community support, mental health and grief or infant loss support.
There are also lots of fun things you can do with your baby to encourage your bonding and connecting with other parents in safe and respectful environments: baby massage, baby sign language, baby-carrying techniques, baby swimming and park and café meet ups, who also share this journey into parenthood.
- Simply listen and offer warm-hearted reassurance as you navigate the changes and challenges of parenthood.
This Doula is not able to...
- Have all the answers...
- Know exactly what you should do in your circumstances...
- Tell you what is best for you...
- Give medical advice...
- See into the future...
- Change the past...
This doula is above all human. I believe that where there is respect there is understanding, where there is understanding there is compassion.
My Services
My clients
I am offering myself to be there for couples, to help make their journey of creation and evolution as smooth and fulfilling as possible.
Every experience is unique with once-in-a-lifetime challenges and I will do everything I can to be with you and your partner (if you are already accompanied) as you find your way.
Dealing with healthcare systems and professionals who maybe speaking another language can add immensely to feelings of uncertainty and insecurity.
As giving birth is a process not dictated by timetables, you may experience healthcare personnel working on rotation during your pregnancy and birth. Although this is unlikely the case for home birth and in birthing houses, it is the case if there is a transfer to hospital.
I believe that continual companionship, according to the wishes of the person who is giving birth, can help provide a source of stability which helps cultivate inner strength and calmness, helping regulate emotional and physical needs, empowering the birthing person to make their choices and own their birth experience, whatever happens along the way.
One of the most humbling experiences is holding space for those facing immensely challenging life experiences such as separation, loss and dealing with illness and death. I am open to supporting in what way I can.
The most important thing is that we feel that 'click' that intuitive connection that allows trust to grow. If it doesn't feel like there is the right click, I am more than happy to refer other doulas I know to you.
Community
I'm always working on something and coming up with ideas. I feel that a sense of being in a community is one of the most important parts of life, to develop our sense of belonging and interconnectedness.
I have found an international home as both a Friend and volunteer within the European Doula Network. I am blessed with the privilege of working with many doula pioneers from many countries. I am one of three Core-Organisers, with a number of roles and projects in motion: from supporting refugees to connecting with international organisations of doulas, midwives and doctors.
In my year in the Paris region, I connected with a flourishing local doula community and also attended the Ethics and Positioning training of Doulas de France.
In Versailles I formed and facilitated The Positive Birth Movement group, which met every month to chat about birth. These woman-to-woman peer groups encourage open and non-judgemental discussion focusing on various birthing topics. I also supported a number of pregnant friends who found themselves navigating pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period during the pandemic. This included setting up 'Meal Trains' where local community members cooked and delivered food in the post partum period or during illness.
I have been heavily involved in developing the EDN's Doula Solidarity and Support initiative to help support doulas supporting refugee women, a cause I feel deeply about. I am available to offer pro bono support.
Now I am settled in the Basel region I have been reconnecting with friends and contacts within the birth world: La League de la Leche, Mignon and Magical Café.
Sherpa Births
Doula Support Packages and Agreement
Carry it forward
I wish to support any person who needs it irrespective of social or economic status, so if you have the wish in your heart to contribute towards this, your generous gesture will be humbly and gratefully accepted.
I am registered in France as a self-employed 'auto-entrepreneuse'.
SIREN Nº 898 665 864