Testimonials

RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT WITH DOULA INVOLVEMENT YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE THE KIND OF BIRTH YOU WANT AND LESS LIKELY TO HAVE MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS.

YES – add me to the statistics!!!

I credit Anne with the fact that I…:

• Birthed at home.
• Birthed without fear.
• Had an incredible positive birth that was magical.
• Had a totally un-medicated birth (something I would never have imagined possible).
• Had minimal involvement from midwives during birth.

I felt like a powerful goddess birthing my son .  It was so magical and incredible that I wish I could get to relive it again.
I highly recommend Anne (and do to many) for her Doula qualities, hypnobirthing course and for being such a genuinely lovely amazing person.
Anne gave me the birthing experience I could only have dreamed of and we shall always be so grateful to her.
She is so incredibly knowledgeable, supportive, caring, nurturing and a great advocate for women.  
I experienced a lot of opposition from medics regards birthing at home.  If I had not had Anne’s support I would not have had the confidence to push through on having a home birth.  Anne was always able to centre me and be my calm when I wobbled.  
Anne did so much for me:

• Trained me in hypnobirthing (truly amazing, amazing, amazing)
• Developed my knowledge
• Developed my skills
• Gave me confidence
• Helped de-stress me
• Informed me of my rights which led me to being able to get a good plan in place with the hospital (that was in line with my wishes and which I was in control of)
• Supported me
• Was my safe space
• Championed me
• Advocated for me
• Empowered me
• Loaned me books and birthing equipment eg birth swing, tens machine
• Held space for me when I needed it
• Made me laugh when I needed it
• Attended hospital meetings with me
• Gently and respectfully challenged medics on my behalf when I needed it
• Researched stuff for me
• Nurtured me
• Did fear release exercises with me
• Helped me with morning sickness
• Was always at the end of the phone when I needed her
• Made me delicious cake
• Gave me confidence to have my 3 year old present at the birth and ideas of how I could prepare her  (was so special that she got to be there and help daddy tie the tie cord and cut the cord)
• Helped with the set up the birthing space and filled pool
• Was on call for the birth
• Provided me with hypnobirthing meditations
• Attended my birth and instinctively knew what I needed and when I needed it
• Gave breastfeeding support
• Captured special moments of my birth and us bonding as a family via video and photos
• Called postpartum with lovely gift for baby 

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

My first gorgeous child, a little boy of 18 months was born in 2016 at 38 weeks.  I was induced by oxytocin and it was hot and heavy.  During my second pregnancy this year, I decided I wanted a doula to keep me calm, focused and empowered, and boy that’s exactly what I got and so much more.  I gained a friend who I’m very grateful for.  My beautiful daughter was born in August 2017, also by induction, and Anne could not have done any more for me, during and after.  In fact words can’t really describe how she managed to make the clinical, sterile, unhomely, scary delivery suite magical. With each intense contraction, it was made bearable and when my little girl took us all by surprise by showing up quickly, Anne saw me panic and was my voice of reason and reassurance.

I am so grateful to Anne for all she did for me and my son, and at the awesome birth of my daughter.  It would have all been very different had I not had Motherdoula at my back and we will remember that forever!  If anyone I know announces a pregnancy, I cannot recommend Anne highly enough!

Anne visited me a couple of times, always taking her time to listen and getting to know my expectations.  She was very understanding with regards to my first experience at childbirth.  All I wanted was to have someone listening to my fears and wishes.  Anne was creative and supportive throughout the stages of labour.  Her emotional support was essential for me to have a great birth.  Anne was ever so sweet and discreet, letting me know she was right there if I needed her, but at the same time allowing space to bond with my baby. It’s been a wonderful experience from the first day!  If Anne is available she will definitely be my doula again.

Anne is an experienced mother, a caring, gentle, good-natured woman who absolutely loves her occupation, taking her time to fully listen to and support a mum-to-be’s wishes.  With her skilled knowledge on pain relief methods, she know exactly what to use and when to act, showing confidence and empathy all the time.

If someone asked me about the benefits of using a doula, I’d tell them about my positive experience, and how the presence of a doula can change the whole scenario and idea of childbirth.

I definitely recommend Anne as a doula, she is so considerate and is an absolute pleasure to work with. She’s friendly, energetic and makes you feel so so comfortable to be around.  From day one I knew Anne was the doula me and my partner wanted to help us birth out baby boy. She helped me to overcome fears and to make my birthing experience the best it could have ever been. Having Anne there during my labour wasn’t only incredible but also comforting, she knew exactly what I wanted and made sure I achieved that. After the birth she kept me relaxed whilst getting stitched up and I couldn’t be more thankful. When I gave birth to my baby boy she was there by my side and if I’m honest, she felt like my mother because of how comforting she was during my birth. I absolutely adore her work and I hope to have her at the rest of my births. Thank you for everything you did for me and my baby, you’re an angel

We were so grateful to have Anne as our supporter while preparing for our home birth. Her warmth, heartfelt presence, and deep knowledge were an immense help, allowing us to feel even more secure throughout the birthing process. It was wonderful to follow this independent path, and to experience birth in its natural, intended way. The support of a doula is such a valuable service for couples seeking a confident, comfortable, and reassuring environment in which to welcome their baby.

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!

I hadn’t heard of doulas until I was listening to a podcast after my first, very traumatic experience of birth. When I found out I was pregnant again one year later, I knew I would need the emotional support and security of having a Doula. I contacted Anne early in my pregnancy and was immediately struck by her deep knowledge and passion about birth. I decided to deliver in the Active Birthing Centre at the Royal hoping that we would be able to create a beautiful calm space for birthing my second baby. We also opted to do the hypnobirthing course to help prepare.

When the day came, I was having irregular surges all day and assumed it was early labour – that evening my waters broke and we called Anne. Soon after she arrived, I started trying to get ready to go to the hospital but once I changed positions things started moving very quickly and I could feel the baby moving down. I wasn’t going anywhere! Anne began helping me through surges which were right on top of each other and my husband left the room to ring the ambulance. A few minutes later my daughter was born. I was in complete shock but Anne reassured us that everything was fine and was able to guide us through the next steps after birth until the ambulance arrived. Anne turned what otherwise would have been a terrifying experience into a beautiful moment that I will always cherish. After the birth we were able to get a full golden hour with our baby in my own bed and started feeding within the first half hour.  

I had hoped for a drug-free, natural birth but wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it – the emotional support provided by a doula is the most powerful drug I have experienced, without the side-effects! I couldn’t recommend Anne more. She has a wonderful calm, reassuring presence and is very knowledgeable about all aspects of birth.

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.

I had an amazing experience with Anne from start to finish. I would not go through birth without a doula in future. From educational support before birth (going through all the details you miss in the NHS zoom calls, taking questions, helping to create a birth plan), to practical support during birth (from ensuring I was hydrated to advocating for my choices with midwives when I was unable to speak), to emotional support before, during and after birth, Anne went above and beyond what we expected- she is very passionate and extremely knowledgeable about all things birth. I feel that the lack of information pregnant women are given actually limits our autonomy and choice during our birthing experience and can often lead to outcomes we don’t want. Working with a doula is one lever to ensure you are fully equipped with all the information you need to feel ready for birth- and that you have someone with you to advocate for the choices you have made and a familiar face to support you and your partner. Anne provides the service she describes but there are so many extra things she does to make things easier and more pleasant for you, for example, bringing us food and snacks in those first daunting weeks with a new baby, bringing little toys for our baby and never forgetting the new mum with bath herbs and special teas. We absolutely loved working with Anne and have strongly recommended her and doula services in general to all our friends. My husband said the two things we would never do without during birth are a doula and a TENS machine! Thank you Anne, we will never forget how you helped us, you really became a part of the family.