Pregnancy & Birth Support

Doula | Birthkeeper |
Traditional Birth Attendant

Based in the Forest of Dean, supporting families across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Cwmbran and surrounding areas. Travelling and virtual birthkeeper support available.

I support women who are ready to reclaim their sovereignty.

Two women sitting on a cozy sofa, conversing indoors in a warmly lit rustic room, one pregnant, surrounded by plants and home decor.

You know in your bones that modern maternity care isn’t what it should be.

Pregnancy & Birth are not an illnesses, but Rites of Passage.

You value of having a wise woman walk this path besides you to honour, witness, and support.

Birth was never meant to happen in isolation

A group of women sitting in a circle inside a cozy log cabin, enjoying a conversation near a lit fireplace and holding mugs.

For most of human history, women did not move towards birth alone, guided only by appointments, apps and hospital policies.

They were surrounded by other women.

Mothers, aunties, sisters, neighbours, grandmothers, wise women, midwives and birth attendants. Women who knew birth. Women who knew the family. Women who noticed when someone was tired, frightened, disconnected or in need of care.

Today, many families are scattered. Knowledge is lost. Supportive relatives may live miles away, relationships may be complicated, and friends may be busy with their own lives.

Partners are often expected to become the whole village, while also navigating their own fears, hopes and responsibilities.

So many women reach birth technically “cared for”, but not truly held.

This is why continuous, personal birth support matters.

You do not need to prepare for birth alone.

A woman giving birth in a hospital, with a man supporting her during labor.

Birth is not just something to get through.

It is a rite of passage — physical, emotional, instinctive and life-changing. It can ask everything of you: your body, your trust, your courage, your vulnerability, your voice.

Doula | Birthkeeper | Traditional Birth Support

A woman with blonde hair tied back, smiling and stirring a bowl of herb-infused oil or dressing in an outdoor rustic kitchen surrounded by jars, cups, and gardening supplies.

The word doula is the one many people recognise.

It describes someone who offers emotional, practical and physical support through pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal days.

For me, doula support is part of what I offer — but it is not the whole picture.

My work feels more aligned with the word Birthkeeper, because it speaks to something deeper: keeping the wisdom of birth alive, protecting the atmosphere around birth, and trusting that birth is not simply a medical event, but a rite of passage.

Traditional birth support brings in older, embodied ways of caring for women: steady presence, practical skill, hands-on comfort, trust in physiology, and deep respect for the natural unfolding of birth.

My role is not the same as the modern medical midwife.

I do not provide clinical care, diagnose, monitor, or make decisions for you.

My work is to walk beside you, support your autonomy, help you understand your choices, protect the birth space, and bring calm, grounded, woman-centred care to the whole experience.

A woman standing and holding a colorful fabric sheet over a person lying on the floor.
A woman appears to be giving birth in a birthing pool, surrounded by two support persons, one of whom is helping her with the labor and the other praying or providing emotional support, in a cozy home setting.

Your birth does not need to fit neatly inside someone else’s pathway.

Some of the families I work with are choosing care within the maternity system. Others are exploring a more sovereign path.

You may be planning a home birth, a hospital birth, a birth centre birth, an induction, a caesarean birth, or a birth outside standard pathways. You may feel clear and confident, or you may still be working out what feels right.

Wherever you are, my role is to support your autonomy, your preparation and your connection to yourself.

I do not tell you what kind of birth to have. I do not make decisions for you. I help you ask better questions, understand your options, prepare your body and mind, and stay rooted in your own knowing — even when the people around you have strong opinions.

This support is for women and families who want to feel informed, steady and genuinely held as they move towards birth.

Wherever You Are Choosing to Birth:

I accept only two birth clients each month

Birth support requires spaciousness, flexibility and the ability to be fully present when you need me. I therefore accept no more than two in-person birth clients each month.

With nearly 20 years of experience supporting women and families, my availability often needs to be reserved early. If you feel I may be the right person to walk beside you, you are welcome to begin the conversation now.

Whole Beings

Birth is an intensely physical experience, yet it is also deeply emotional, and as thinking beings, we use our intellect to plan.

I support you through the head, heart and hands: helping you understand your choices, feel emotionally steady, and prepare in practical, embodied ways for birth and early motherhood.

Watercolor style illustration of a central yellow circle labeled 'Head' with surrounding words: Policies, Evidence, Information, Choices, Hormones, Physiology, Rights, Options, indicating different aspects related to the head.

Intellectual

Watercolor heart with words around it: Confidence, Emotions, Past Experiences, Feeling heard & held, Trust, Family Patterns, Connection, Heart.

Emotional

An infographics with an orange infinity symbol in the center, labeled "Hands (Body)." Around it are words related to body and health topics such as Biomechanics, Embodied Wisdom, Body Balancing, Relaxation, Diet & Nutrition, Touch, Rebozo, and Breathing. The background has a watercolor texture with pastel shades.

Body Wisdom

A woman is giving birth in a birthing pool, surrounded by two support people who are comforting her, while an older woman kneels beside the pool, offering support.

This is not one-size-fits-all support.

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It is shaped around you, your birth, your family and what you need.

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This is not one-size-fits-all support. 〰️ It is shaped around you, your birth, your family and what you need. 〰️

Birth support begins long before labour starts.

When we work together, we use the antenatal time to build trust, talk honestly, prepare your body, understand your options, and explore what you need to feel safe and supported.

This may include birth planning, bodywork, rebozo, massage, biomechanics, relaxation, partner preparation, advocacy conversations, feeding preparation, postnatal planning, or simply space to talk through what is coming up for you.

During labour and birth, my role is to stay steady beside you. I support the atmosphere, your comfort, your partner, your choices and your connection to yourself. Sometimes that means practical hands-on support. Sometimes it means quiet presence. Sometimes it means helping you ask a question, pause, breathe, or remember what matters to you.

After birth, I can help you land gently into the early days — with postnatal reflection, feeding support, emotional holding and practical care as you begin life with your baby.

The Doula Team

I work closely with a small, trusted, local team of doulas and birthkeepers.

We each bring different personalities, experiences and ways of working, but we share the same passion: supporting birth with women at the centre. We believe in autonomy, continuity, deep listening, practical preparation and protecting the birth space.

This means I can offer both backup and shared care models.

For some families, I am your main birthkeeper/doula, with another trusted woman available as backup if needed. For others, especially those wanting a deeper level of support, two of us may share the antenatal preparation, on-call period and birth support.

This gives you more resilience, more continuity, and a wider circle of support — while still keeping the relationship personal and grounded.

A woman with blonde hair and glasses smiling while on a boat near the water, with mountains and a blue sky in the background.
A smiling woman with long brown hair, wearing sunglasses on her head, a beige t-shirt, and gold jewelry, sitting inside a room with a white door and bookshelf in the background.
A woman sitting on wooden stairs holding two young children, one on each knee, in a cozy home interior with a window and a small decorative house on the window sill.

Birthkeeper & Doula Support Packages

I offer birth support in a way that allows us to build a real relationship before labour begins.

The quality of the support comes from the preparation we do together beforehand — the conversations, bodywork, trust, planning, emotional processing, partner preparation and understanding of what matters to you.

For that reason, my core package is designed to support you properly through pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal days.

If you are booking later in pregnancy, please still get in touch. Late bookings may be possible, but they usually require more concentrated preparation and may carry an additional fee.

A portrait of a middle-aged woman with red hair in a braid, smiling, wearing a beige top, against a teal background.

Choosing the Right Level of Support

Birth support works best when we have time to build a relationship before labour begins.

If you are early in pregnancy and feel drawn to this work, the 1-Month Birthkeeper Starter Package is a gentle way to begin. It gives us space to explore your wellbeing, birth stories, family patterns, antenatal options, nutrition, lifestyle and what kind of support may feel right for you.

My main birth support package is Signature Birthkeeper & Doula Support, which includes preparation through pregnancy, on-call support, backup doula reassurance, continuous birth support and early postnatal reflection.

If you would like a wider circle around you, Shared Care can be added through the Doula Team.

If you need more support after birth, I also offer Traditional Postpartum Support, which can include feeding support, babywearing, nourishing food, household help, birth story holding, closing the bones, safe cosleeping information and overnight support.

Free Pregnancy Support Booklet