I wanted to have a “home birth experience” but in hospital, and that’s exactly what Stephanie helped me to achieve.

I’d had a fairly good experience with the birth of my first child (5 hours labour with Entonox & TENS) and wanted to make sure the odds were stacked in my favour to have another un-medicated birth.  Having heard lots of other mums’ horror stories of birth, and their subsequent difficulties with breastfeeding, I hoped to avoid that happening to me.  I wanted to be supported in birth by someone that I’d already met and liked, and not take the risk of just being stuck with a midwife – or series of different midwives - who I might not like.  We managed to afford the service by not taking a holiday, feeling that it was far more important to us to have a memorable good birth.

Stephanie’s positive attitude and support helped my husband as much as me, to feel more relaxed and less stressed, before labour was even due to start.  We had the peace of mind, that when in labour Stephanie would be there as our advocate if we were struggling to get our wishes respected in hospital.

In labour Stephanie’s calm presence made me feel pampered and supported.  The first midwife we saw in hospital seemed nervous, and we didn’t take to her. Luckily they then informed us that a more experienced midwife would be looking after us. She was very pleasant, but was also looking after another lady, so we were left on our own quite a lot. 

Stephanie helped with lots of practical things like dimming the lights, getting iced water, and adjusting the bed.  All of which left my husband free to focus on quietly supporting me.  At Stephanie’s suggestion I tried managing the pain of labour with just breathing and acupressure, so that if this wasn’t working I’d still got the avenue of having gas & air. She helped us get the breathing and acupressure right.

I managed to deliver our gorgeous baby girl without any pain medication - not even a paracetamol!  The hospital recorded the labour as 2 hours. Yes really – that short.

When the midwife asked what we were going to call our little girl, we surprised Stephanie with the news that we were naming our baby Stephanie.

Having benefited from Stephanie’s birth support, we decided to also use her postnatal services.  She was brilliant at entertaining our two year old, giving me time to catch up on things like phone calls & emails, and also to give baby Stephanie a little extra attention.  Knowing that she’d be popping round was very reassuring after my husband had gone back to work. It was helpful to have someone ‘neutral’ to talk to, too whilst adjusting to life with a new baby. Although we’d not planned to use this service originally, I was glad we did as it made a big difference.

I thoroughly recommend having a doula to any mum-to-be who would like to have a positive birth experience.  Stephanie’s support and encouragement enabled us to have exactly that. 

We decided to have doula support for both Mat and my benefit! I chose Steph as from the first conversation on the phone I could tell that she would be calming, relaxed and supportive - exactly what we needed!!

Steph was really flexible to meet our needs -we'd been to ante natal classes and felt we knew about the ins and out's of birth so Steph agreed to have 1 session before and 3 after the birth rather that 2 pre 2 post. She gave us information and articles on things that really helped us be proactive - acupressure, relaxation and inductions! (The last of which I was quite worried about!).  We found it really helpful and I swear the acupressure helped induce labour naturally (1 week late and with a sweep due the next day!)

During the whole (42 hour!) labour and birth Steph was fab, it was particularly good that all the pressure of supporting me wasn't on Mat  - he was able to take some time to go out,  and get something to eat and Steph stayed with me - also during the epidural (Mat really doesn't do needles!). She balanced being really encouraging with supporting Mat in his birth support role and guaged how much & when to step in with encouragement, massage, guidance and advice on positions (top beanbag plumping Steph!!).

Postnatally Steph was guided by us with what contact/support to provide. One of my biggest fears was having to get to somewhere on time with Lily- so for one session we met for coffee in town.  It was exactly what I needed to help me gain confidence.

I would recommend Steph to anyone thinking of employing a doula -she was really supportive and met our needs - she helped to ensure that our birth was the really positive experience it was.

After meeting Stephanie at the East Midlands Baby and Toddler Show, we decided that we would look further into employing a Doula for our planned homebirth, as we felt that we would benefit greatly from the support of a Doula as this was our first baby and we had so far had very little support from our midwives.

Throughout the run up to Molly's birth Stephanie provided us with lots of support and advice on both the labour and taking care of Molly after she was born.

Stephanie stayed with us for over 18 hours during my labour and transfer to hospital.  If it hadn't have been for her support and advice to both of us during this time, we know that we wouldn't have been able to have the natural birth we had.  Her support was fantastic as she liased with the consultants enabling Dave to stay with me at all times and she was also able to offer suggestions that we would never have considered in order to get things moving after they slowed down on our arrival at hospital.

We wouldn't hesitate in employing Stephanie again and would recommend her services to anyone.

Thank you again Stephanie for all your support.

Having Stephanie as my birth doula totally transformed my experience of late pregnancy and childbirth.  I had had one child already seven years previously and had been quite frightened during what was a very long labour,  this time around I felt I was able to enjoy much of the experience - and remember it, too.  Stephanie supported me at all times both practically and emotionally, she gave me excellent advice throughout our time together and I felt I was able to make informed choices about what I wanted before, during and after Mina's birth.  From the day I first phoned her Stephanie made every effort to connect with me personally, put me at ease and empowered me.  She was completely reliable and instantly available whenever I needed her.  Her presence was warm and reassuring and she was a delight to have around, as a consequence I felt very relaxed as the birth got closer - and my labour was short and easy.  relatively speaking, of course!  I just don't think it would have been that way without her.  Thanks Stephanie.

Stephanie was extremely helpful to both of us.  Having had two previous traumatic births we waited six years before plucking up the courage to have another child.  We really wish we had known about Stephanie for both previous births as things may have been very different.  Prior to meeting Stephanie we had resigned ourselves to the fact that the labour/birth was going to be a horrendous experience and therefore wanted to detach ourselves as much as possible emotionally (hence the reason why i did not want my mother or sister there despite them offering).  Having met Stephanie and talked through our previous experiences she reassured us that this time things would be different - and they were!!  As a result of Stephanie's support the birth of our third son was a wonderful experience.  Stephanie is a person whom you warm to immediately she is very calming and reassuring and is very knowledgeable about the subject of child birth.  The best piece of advice I could given anyone who is pregnant is enlist the help of Stephanie and listen to her advice!!!

Stephanie was a fabulous support to us both before, during and after the birth. She was very calm and reassuring and gave us lots of useful advice. During the birth she provided support  and help with decision making and massage. After the birth she provided great practical advice about feeding. Stephanie helped us to have a positive birth experience and we would recommend her to anyone considering having a doula for their birth.

As a first time mother I had no idea what to expect.  Many of my friends who already have children then started to give me advice and tell me about their experiences of labour -  and to be honest most of the stories frightened me.  I began to wonder how any woman got through it and more importantly how I would.

The Antenatel classes that I went to were a help but I still wasnt confident.

Stephanie's advice and support literally got me through my labour!!!

The slide show that she constructed helped me to understand what my body would go through and how it would react to each stage of the labour - it helped me to focus on what I could do to make things easier and help the process along whilst trying to keep myself calm.  The tips given to my husband to help out were fantastic - during the labour he took the tips he was given on board and used them to keep me relaxed.

She helped me to understand that firstly when it comes to labour you have choices - and that the experience is all about you and your baby.  This gave me the confidence to relay information to the midwife making the labour a more relaxed experience as I felt in control.  It sounds strange but before speaking with Stephanie I did not realise that I would have a say in what was going to happen during MY labour!!!

Antenatel classes now tend not to teach breathing technique for some reason - and I can honestly say that it was the breathing exercises that I was shown by Stephanie that got me through each very uncomfortable contraction - The Midwife congratulated me after the labour on my technique saying that I had made it look easy (although this was certainly NOT the case).

In hindsight I realise that all of the advice and information given to me and my husband by Stephanie kicked in when I needed it and helped me to get through what could have been a traumatic experience.

From the moment we made contact with Stephanie, she was a calming and reassuring presence and helped us so much before birth: writing a birth plan, offering advice, and sharing her experiences.

As per her commitment to us, she was with us from the moment we contacted her right through until the birth (about 20 hours!). Throughout that time she was a constant support to both of us and another "voice" who knew our wishes and needs and helped ensure we stayed as close to them as possible. We honestly believe that without Stephanie the birth would have taken a different path.

We can never thank her enough, and would recommend Stephanie to anyone considering employing the services of a doula. We only have to look at our beautiful son to be reminded of the experience and the part she played in it.

Found Steph's pre birth and postnatal help so supportive. She was always been a phone call away. Highly recommended.