Testimonials

I contacted Anne early in my pregnancy and she provided me with so much support and guidance all the way through. She always listened to my concerns and happily discussed all my options and fully supported any decisions I made.  

Anne was invaluable during my birth, she helped me to remain calm, focus on my breathing and her massaging technique helped me immensely through my contractions. I would not have been able to get through them without pain relief without Anne’s help and support. 

I will be forever grateful to her for ensuring I had such a positive birth experience and the safe delivery of my little baby boy

Choosing Anne as our doula was the easiest and best decision I’ve ever made!

Anne supported our family throughout pregnancy, with hypnobirthing sessions at our home when our toddler was in bed, she provided emotional support when I had difficulties with healthcare professionals and she was always 100% supportive and respectful of my birth choices. 

During our antenatal meetings and hypnobirthing sessions I feel we got to know Anne and she got to know us as a family. We all felt totally comfortable with each other. Anne helped us to learn more about the natural processes of pregnancy, labour and birth. Using hypnobirthing techniques I went from being worried about labour and birth – due to a previously traumatic birth, to being excited and looking forward to the birth. What a transformation! (Also, I can’t imagine a voice better suited to hypnobirthing than Anne’s, so soothing)

We had been planning a VBAC at home, which was not always well received by doctors and midwives, but Anne respected our decision and was sympathetic to our reasons for this. She was always there for me when I needed reassurance or to re-frame or re-focus my thoughts. She provided much needed emotional support and reminded me of my hypnobirthing tool kit when I needed it. 

After prodromal labour at home for 4 nights (and Anne’s middle of the night support though some of this time), at 42+1 weeks, my hopes of a home birth came shattering around me when I learnt at a routine appointment that baby was struggling during mild contractions and the decision was made for an immediate emergency cesarean. 

Due to my previous traumatic cesarean this was my worst nightmare, but I knew what to do. I contacted Anne, I just knew she would make it all OK for me. She dropped everything to be with me, arriving even before my husband did. She was like an angel walking into that hospital room. I felt my fears melting away. She reminded me of my hypnobirthing and I went into theatre feeling that bit more at peace. She stayed with my husband while I was prepped and provided much needed support for him too. She reminded him of hypnobirthing tools to help me during the operation and she waited for us to come out of theatre. 

Having Anne there and having our hypnobirthing strategies turned what was my worst nightmare into a positive experience. I avoided the trauma that I experienced during my first (planned) cesarean and managed to have a peaceful, positive experience of an emergency section. That’s quite the miracle!

I feel so honoured to have had Anne be part of our journey. She will always be so special to our family.

I’m so thankful for Anne’s support during my pregnancy. She was so supportive to me privately as well as helping me get the midwives to listen and take my concerns seriously. My experience of pregnancy was not great but Anne made a very difficult time that much more manageable. 

Fate brought Anne to us: It’s very difficult to sum up in a paragraph exactly how wonderful Anne is, not only as a doula but as a person. We were planning a home birth in water and my yoga teacher recommended Anne saying she had heard such great things about her, so we got in touch and we are forever grateful that we did! From the moment Anne spoke to me on the phone I could feel her warmth and energy and her passion for birth and babies. Anne had lots of knowledge about water birth and knew what to prepare. She called round to the house bringing all the equipment and going through hands on demos of positions and tools to use for natural pain relief. It was so exciting and I was feeling ready for the birth and when my waters broke a week before my due date, we called Anne in the middle of the night and she was so reassuring and said that she would be ready to come as soon as we needed her. Things didn’t go to plan though as my labour never started…We decided to keep trying to induce my labour at home over a period of 5 days, Anne supporting us every day and providing lots of guidance and encouragement and practical tools to try. She called out to the house to try some techniques to get baby into a more favourable position and also did a guided meditation for me and my partner to help us relax as pressure from the NHS was mounting…They kept trying to get me to come in for induction but we wanted to avoid this as far as possible and having Anne’s endless knowledge on all things birth and babies gave us the confidence to stay strong and aim for the natural birth we planned. Unfortunately, after 5 days with no progression, I was brought into hospital for induction and Anne was again so reassuring and said she would come in whenever we needed her. I was disappointed that this was how my birth was going to be, so far from what I envisioned but Anne was amazing at trying to make sure my birth plan was followed as best as possible and was always there with experience and knowledge when staff were trying to manipulate my wishes. I really couldn’t have done it without her! Through my labour (which was rather tough), Anne knew what would help me before I even knew I needed it! Offering me drinks, snacks, a soothing back rub and wafting essential oils and playing music to help me deal with contractions. She put in over 12 hours with us at the hospital, not complaining once and she was an absolute warrior for me. She was such a big part of our birth experience and she went above and beyond anything we expected of her and she really was a pillar of support for our wishes and birth plan when we were really up against it with the staff at the hospital. We have so much love for her and we are in awe of the work she does. Everybody needs Anne with them for their birth, regardless of what path they end up on because she is a wonderful woman who champions everybody’s right to birth the way they want to and she does it all with warm smiles and hugs along the way.

I booked Anne as my postnatal doula for my first baby and liked her so much that I booked her again for my second! My husband and I don’t have any close family living nearby, so Anne’s visits provided invaluable support during our first weeks as new parents and then again as parents of two. She was a calming, judgment-free presence, and I felt so confident leaving her with my little ones while I took a much-needed nap, shower, etc. She was always happy to offer newborn advice when I asked—not to mention all her extra gestures like bringing us food and offering to make us lunch. Don’t hesitate to book Anne as your postnatal doula!

My first delivery wasn’t ideal, leaving me with deep fears, anxiety and concerns about how the birth of baby number two would go, which caused me alot of stress throughout the early part of my second pregnancy.  That is until I met Anne, she helped alleviate my fears, helped me feel listened to, cared about and assured that this time things would be better and positive.  And indeed she was right.  Anne supported myself and my husband throughout my labour and helped me have a positive, empowering natural birth, the birth I had always hoped to have had the first time round.  She made me feel safe from the minute we arrived at the hospital, she asked all the right questions on my behalf, whilst maintaining a respectful and professional manner with all the midwives, doctors, etc, with whom we came into contact with.  She supported both myself and my husband in the delivery room, and kept everything upbeat and relaxed, which I am so grateful for!  I am so pleased to have had her at the birth and would recommend her highly!  You couldn’t get a nicer lady or a more fantastic doula and I will forever be grateful for her being there with us on the birth of our son.

This was our 3rd baby, the first two births had been traumatic both involving severe perineal tears. Despite this my gut instinct was to try a normal delivery again but wasn’t sure how to make it any different from before. I was reading the positive birth book and it said about doulas and how continuity of care before, during and after birth improved parents overall experience ( not just birthing lady but partner too). This made so much sense to me, it is such an important time and you remember every detail so well. Why not invest some money in someone to be focused solely to support you and be your advocate. So we searched for local doulas and found Anne.  Anne responsed very quickly and arranged to meet us. Immediately on meeting her I felt comfortable and cared for. She listened to our previous experiences and concerns about this pregnancy and birth with empathy.  Deciding to have Anne support us is one of the best choices we have made. 

We arrived at hospital and met Anne there,  she was great at helping communicate with hospital staff. I wanted to labour in the birth pool but staff felt there may not be time.  Anne suggested beginning to run the water and see how we got on. We ended up having a beautiful water birth which wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Anne.

She was a big support to my partner. I know he felt empowered and confident with her support. He truly was the “Guardian of oxytocin”!!

She helped with all the small things that we wanted but wouldn’t have been able to do during labour to keep birth calm, natural, lighting, music, lavender, took photos etc. 

Anne is very experienced and I would highly recommend her services. She is a lovely person and will always be very important to us. Anne is passionate about her work and I know she was genuinely overjoyed and honoured to be part of our journey. 

After this birth I felt euphoric, empowered, proud and connected.  It was one of the best experiences of my life.

Anne is calm and confident.  I knew that if my anxiety crept in, her calmness would be what I needed.  I knew that if I started to feel like I was losing control or started doubting myself, she would give me confidence.  I knew I could rely on her to see beyond policy and procedure so she could ensure I had all the information, risks, benefits and alternatives to make fully informed choices that were right for me and my baby.  She was able to pick up what my triggers were so she could step in to support me.  She was not only understanding of my wishes, but was able to adapt and support them as my birth plans and environment changed.  I loved having her to be a part of my daughter’s birth. 

After much searching and reflecting, I met with Anne, a Doula whose patience and a passionate interest, support and experience in the wellbeing of women before, during and after childbirth meant I felt connected from the word go during our initial meeting during the latter part of my second trimester.

The presence of a Doula goes beyond a birthing partner for me as also meant a gentle mothering figure, someone to reach out to for help, touch or just a glance to when having strong waves of surges (contractions). Whilst I chose to have my third baby in hospital and without knowing how or when I would give birth , it was important that I had a holistic sense of well-being and felt the natural side to the birthing of the baby even if in  what can be sometimes a clinical environment and I felt it was a Doula that can prompt you with all these things and help in any options that you may have to think about and above all remain calm and focussed.

Also having the practical help as a woman in the final stages needing extra help with the logistics of moving alongside the help and support of the midwives too. For me, it was and still is important to embrace the natural side of childbirth in all its stages in pregnancy and I found that a Doula can empower you as a woman and fill in the gaps of knowledge you may need to prepare you for birthing your baby the best you can.

I could not have managed without Anne at my side and she stayed a valuable 4 hours afterwards into the early hours of the morning and found the Doula support a healing and nurturing experience, something I would definitely have again and thoroughly recommend.

Anne supported my husband and me for my 2nd pregnancy, birth and postnatal period. 

I can sing Anne’s praises all day long! She’s a wonderful doula and I recommend her to every family welcoming a new baby. 

Her presence in our antenatal and postnatal journey has, in my opinion, almost certainly saved me from trauma and anxiety that I experienced with the birth of our first baby where we were quite alone in March 2020. 

I feel very fortunate to have decided to include a doula for pregnancy, labour and birth. I’m over the moon to have found Anne and that she was willing and able to help us. 

On many occasions Anne signposted me to resources or practitioners whether the topic was hypnobirthing, parenting advice, acupuncture etc., helping me trust myself and increase my confidence in my decisions. Anne helped me prepare for my baby’s birth in such a gentle and energetic way, I loved it!

Anne fostered calmness when my husband and I were met with stressful challenges from the Trust when I’d chosen to birth at home outside of guidance. At the very same time, it was a joy to have Anne celebrate with excitement, the birth of our little baby and we were grateful for her experience and presence at his birth. She was able to support both my husband and me by subtly keeping us grounded with the plans we had made for our baby’s birth and gave 100% to my long labour which happened to be Mother’s day!

Whenever Anne arrived at our house, my shoulders would relax from being hunched up by my ears and I would subconsciously breathe much easier. Anne has a lovely, gentle and relaxed way about how she helps. 

I count myself very privileged to have had Anne help me navigate through this labour and postnatal period. She’s the best person to have in your corner!