This is your birth, your body, your future: the options you are given are your choices to make.

I wish to be there for you, to offer the support you feel you need, so you feel better informed and reassured following your own life journey.

As a Doula I...

• Look forward to meeting you, saying hello and getting to know you (and your partner)
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, with medical staff, your birthing team, offering 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.

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 human and believes where there is respect there is understanding, where there is understanding there is compassion.