When my wife suggested we hire a Doula to help with the home birth of our first child, a number of questions came to mind…. “What’s a doula?”, “Why do we need one?”, “How much is it going to cost?” On reflection three months after the birth of our son, it was a fantastic decision to hire Karin and we would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone considering a more natural approach to birth.
Through a series of professional, yet relaxed meetings ahead of the birth, we worked together to help us build a better understanding of what’s involved and to make informed decisions about how we were going to approach the preparation, birth and after care, as well as how we would interact with numerous health professionals.We attended NCT classes and did a lot of pre-reading, but having quality one-to-one time with Karin was hugely beneficial – she’s well informed on a host of baby related subjects and was non judgemental and impartial in the way she shared the information; giving us the confidence and space we needed, to define what worked for us. If she didn’t know the answers to our questions, she would clearly say so – and then follow up with factual research or informed conjecture, always being clear which was which and recognising that what works for some people might not work for others.
Throughout the birth, she worked closely with the midwifes to ensure our birth plan was followed and provided invaluable support, comfort and hands-on help. We’re lucky in that it all went to plan and that success was in no small part down to Karin being there. The mid-wives were fine, but Karin made sure everything ran smoothly and calmly and in the way we wanted. I don’t know how or whether we would have coped so well without her.
Post birth, Karin continued to provide support and guidance with the practicalities of looking after a small human – breast feeding, sleeping, awareness of social/support groups etc. Importantly, she also provided a wrap-up session where we talked through our choices and how things went – providing effective closure. In short, Karin was fantastic and excellent value for money; we are so glad we asked her to help us and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to others.
Elliot Hepburn-John, 2017