Birth Doula & Birthkeeper in Gloucestershire
Traditional, relationship-based pregnancy and birth support
Based in the Forest of Dean, I provide birth doula and birthkeeper support across Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire and Herefordshire, including Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Ross-on-Wye, Monmouth and surrounding areas. Travelling and virtual support are also available.
With nearly 20 years of experience supporting women and families, I offer antenatal preparation, bodywork, partner preparation, advocacy, continuous support during labour and early postnatal care.
I am passionate about supporting women to stay in their authority and families to prepare for birth with clarity, confidence and discernment.
I will not tell you what to choose or take your decision-making away from you. I help you gather the information you need, listen to your body and instincts, think through different possibilities and build a support team that understands what truly matters to you.
This is preparation for head, heart and hands: understanding your choices, tending to your emotional world and nervous system, and learning practical ways to support your body through labour and birth.
My role is to walk beside you — bringing deep wisdom, grounded perspective and skilled, hands-on support while keeping you firmly at the centre of your own experience.
You know in your bones that modern maternity care is not what it should be.
To you, pregnancy and birth are not illnesses, you are not a problem to be managed.
You value continuity — but not with just anyone. You want someone beside you who carries wisdom, understands your values, honours your choices and helps you stay deeply connected to yourself. And who knows how to really make a difference.
Working with me…
Women who work with me understand that health and vitality are not created through tests and monitoring. They want to actively nourish their pregnancy, prepare their body, strengthen their instincts and build the conditions in which they and their baby can thrive.
Working with me means having one woman who gets to know you over time.
Someone who checks in regularly & genuinely cares.
Someone you can speak to without worrying that you are wasting time, making a fuss or asking the wrong question.
Someone who knows your hopes, your fears, your history, your family and the birth you are moving towards.
Our work can include nourishing food and practical wellbeing, massage, shiatsu, reflexology, rebozo, acupressure, body balancing, movement, breathwork and deep relaxation. We can explore your maternity choices, prepare for different possibilities, support your partner and make calm, practical plans for when you would seek medical assessment or change direction.
Sometimes you may need information or perspective.
Sometimes your body may need skilled touch.
Sometimes you may need practical help, emotional steadiness or simply a listening ear from somebody who understands the path you are walking.
I bring knowledge, experience and traditional ways of caring for women—but I do not ask you to hand your authority to me instead.
My role is to help you remain connected to yourself: supported practically, physically and emotionally as you make conscious decisions for yourself and your baby.
This is continuity.
This is traditional woman-to-woman support.
This is the kind of care so many women have always longed for, often without knowing it was possible.
You do not have to prepare for birth alone.
What my clients say…
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.
-Emma
The women I work with know that birth matters, that the people around them matter, and that they have the right to decide what care they accept.
You may be planning a home birth or freebirth, exploring wild pregnancy, or choosing particular elements of maternity care while declining others. You may know what you want while still needing experienced guidance, practical preparation and someone who can hold steady when doubts arise or others question your choices.
As a traditionally trained birth attendant, my role is both deeply supportive and practically skilled. I do not simply watch from the sidelines. I help you prepare physically through body balancing, movement, positioning, rebozo and bodywork; use breath, relaxation and hypnobirthing to support the hormonal conditions birth needs; and help you become more attuned to the subtle messages your body is giving you.
I bring experience, perspective and birth wisdom without taking your authority away. I can help you think through different possibilities, prepare your partner and support team, and recognise when you need reassurance, a change of approach or further help.
I am there to hold space, offer calm and confidence, and help you stay connected to your instincts throughout pregnancy and birth. You remain at the centre, making your own informed decisions, with skilled and trusted support beside you.
Birth on Your Own Terms:
Your birth does not need to fit neatly inside someone else’s pathway.
Birth Support that Really Makes A Difference
My 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.
I accept limited clients each month
In person birth support requires spaciousness, flexibility and the ability to be fully present when you need me.
With nearly 20 years of experience supporting women and families, my availability often needs to be reserved early.
My preconception and early pregnancy packages are the best way to start your journey.
If you feel I may be the right person to walk beside you, you are welcome to begin the conversation now.
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.
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From preconception up to 16 weeks — because it is never too early to start building your support system.
You do not need to wait until birth feels close to bring in support.
This is a supported two-month journey designed to help you create strong foundations for your health and wellbeing, make informed decisions and move towards birth feeling more confident and connected to your body.
If you begin before conception, we can explore cycle awareness and tracking, nutrition, supplements, physical and emotional wellbeing, and the daily rhythms that support you as you prepare for pregnancy.
Using my Foundations framework, we will work through six key areas:
Cycle awareness, nutrition, supplements and physical wellbeing
Sleep, movement and daily rhythms
Nervous-system and emotional support
Family birth stories and previous experiences
Understanding your antenatal care and maternity pathways
Beginning to shape your birth values, support system and next steps
Your four sessions can include women’s shiatsu for conception, early-pregnancy safe holding, reflexology, gentle bodywork and Yoga Nidra, alongside detailed, personalised guidance around nutrition and supplements.
We can also explore the physical and emotional changes of early pregnancy, with practical support for symptoms such as nausea, exhaustion, digestive changes, sleep difficulties, anxiety and physical discomfort.
Alongside our sessions, you will have ongoing WhatsApp support and virtual check-ins throughout the two months. This gives us space to respond to what is actually happening, talk through symptoms, appointments or decisions as they arise, and keep you supported as you put changes into practice.
You will gain a clearer understanding of what you and your body need, practical steps you can begin taking immediately, and a personalised plan for the months ahead.
Early pregnancy does not always unfold as hoped. If you experience uncertainty, bleeding, miscarriage or loss during our time together, you will not suddenly be left without support. I can offer emotional and practical care, space to understand your options, gentle bodywork and nourishment where appropriate, and ritual or remembrance if that feels meaningful to you.
This is not full pregnancy or birth support, and it does not include being on call or attending your birth. It is a focused early journey for women who want to prepare consciously and begin with knowledgeable, relationship-based support already around them.
Includes:
4 × individual in-person sessions
Women’s shiatsu for conception and early pregnancy
Early-pregnancy safe holding, reflexology and gentle bodywork
Yoga Nidra and nervous-system support
Cycle awareness and tracking for conception
Detailed nutrition and supplement guidance
Practical support with early-pregnancy symptoms
A personalised wellbeing and pregnancy foundations plan
Ongoing WhatsApp support throughout the two months
Virtual check-ins and support between sessions
Preparation for appointments and decisions as they arise
Support through early-pregnancy uncertainty, miscarriage or loss
Available from preconception and bookable up to 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Price: £1,250
If you go on to book my Signature Birthkeeper & Doula Support package, £200 will be taken off the Signature package price.
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I am honoured to walk beside and support women who know themselves, trust their instincts and are ready to consciously create the support team around them.
Women who choose this package already understand that steady, continuous support, bodywork and genuine care can make a real difference to their birth experience and outcomes.
This is my core birth support package, beginning from 20 weeks of pregnancy. We use our antenatal time to build trust, prepare your body and nervous system, explore your choices, strengthen the support around you and make clear plans for birth and the early postnatal days.
If your pregnancy ends unexpectedly, my care does not simply disappear. I can continue to support you emotionally and practically through late miscarriage, pregnancy loss or stillbirth, including preparation, birth support, postnatal care and remembrance.
The package also includes a trusted backup doula or birthkeeper wherever possible, should illness, emergency or circumstances outside my control prevent me from attending.
Includes:
Antenatal preparation sessions
Birth planning and advocacy conversations
Mother Blessing Ceremony
Support and preparation for your partner
Body balancing and body-based preparation
Breath, movement, positioning and comfort measures
Rebozo & birth biomechanics where helpful
WhatsApp and message support throughout pregnancy
On-call support around your due time
Continuous support during labour and birth
Support through late miscarriage, pregnancy loss or stillbirth
Backup doula or birthkeeper support
Early postnatal visit, care and birth reflection
Signature support begins from 20 weeks of pregnancy.
If you would like support before then, you can begin with my 2 Month Starter Package, available from preconception and bookable up to 16 weeks. If you later move into Signature support, £200 will be taken off the Signature package price.
Price: £2,800
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A complete, personalised antenatal preparation journey with continuous virtual support through pregnancy, labour, birth and the early postnatal period.
Sometimes families do not want or need someone physically present at their birth, but still value having a trusted person with birth wisdom who knows them deeply and can remain quietly in the background.
This package is particularly suited to women planning a home birth, freebirth or wild pregnancy, including those choosing some elements of maternity care while declining others. You remain at the centre, deciding what support, information and care are right for you.
Across four private online sessions, we will build a relationship and prepare thoroughly for birth. We can explore birth physiology, your choices, your body and nervous system, the support you need around you and how your partner can confidently support and protect your birth space.
I can help you prepare for maternity appointments and conversations, attend appointments virtually where needed, and support you to understand your options and make decisions that feel right for you.
When labour begins, I will be available by phone or video to offer reassurance, help you think through anything that arises and guide your partner in positioning, comfort measures, rebozo and bodywork.
Includes:
4 × private online antenatal preparation sessions
Home birth, freebirth and wild pregnancy planning
Understanding birth physiology and creating supportive conditions for labour
Exploring your choices and individual circumstances
Birth mapping, including different possibilities and backup plans
Practical preparation for birth outside standard maternity pathways
Advocacy preparation and support navigating maternity policies
Preparation before antenatal appointments
Virtual attendance at selected appointments where needed
Body awareness, movement, positioning and birth biomechanics
Emotional and nervous-system preparation
Practical tools for labour and birth
Partner preparation and guidance
Feeding and early postnatal preparation
WhatsApp and message support throughout our work together
On-call virtual support around your due time
Phone or video support throughout labour and birth
Guidance for your partner in bodywork, positioning and comfort measures
Postnatal reflection call
This package does not include in-person birth attendance. It offers something different: a known and trusted birthkeeper in the background, providing continuity, wisdom and practical guidance wherever and however you choose to give birth.
Price: £1,125
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For some families, the right support is worth travelling for.
I may be able to offer travelling doula or birthkeeper support for families outside my usual area, depending on availability, timing, location and the level of preparation needed.
This works best when we begin the relationship earlier in pregnancy, with a mixture of online preparation and planned in-person time before birth. Depending on distance, this may include one or more longer preparation days, travel to you near your due time, accommodation arrangements, and a clear plan for how support will work if labour begins quickly.
Travelling support is bespoke. It needs to be realistic, well planned and properly resourced, so that I can offer grounded support without rushing, overextending, or creating uncertainty around availability.
May include:
Online preparation sessions
One or more in-person preparation days
Birth planning, partner support and advocacy preparation
Bodywork, biomechanics, rebozo and relaxation work
On-call birth support, depending on location and arrangements
Travel to your home or birth setting
Early postnatal support before handover to local support where needed
Additional travel, accommodation, parking, tolls or mileage costs may apply.
Price: bespoke, from £3,500
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Shared care is for families who understand the value of being held by more than one trusted woman through pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal days.
It is especially recommended for first babies, longer labours, families travelling from further away, births with additional considerations, or situations where you know you may need more support around you.
In this model, another doula or birthkeeper from my close-knit team is brought into your care. We share the same values around autonomy, deep listening, practical preparation and protecting the birth space, while bringing our own different strengths and personalities.
Shared care means we can offer more spacious support — including the early stages of labour, when many women need reassurance, steadiness and practical help — without one person becoming exhausted before the birth itself unfolds.
Some labours take time. Some births need a bigger container. Shared care gives you a wider circle, more resilience and a deeper sense of continuity.
Shared care add-on: £850
This can be added to regular or deeper birthkeeper support, depending on availability.
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Sometimes families come to this work later in pregnancy, especially after feeling unsupported, pressured, or uncertain within maternity care.
If you are later in pregnancy, please still get in touch. I may be able to support you, depending on my availability and your due time.
Late bookings usually require more intensive preparation over a shorter period. Because of this, an additional late booking fee applies.
This reflects the extra work needed to build trust, understand your needs, prepare properly and offer safe, grounded support when there is less time before birth.
Late Booking Add on £300
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For families who want practical, emotional and traditional support after birth.
This can be booked by the hour or as a 30-hour Traditional Postpartum Support Package. Support may include birth story holding, breastfeeding support, babywearing, safe cosleeping information, nourishing food, light household help, deep postnatal nutrition, body support, closing the bones, Placenta Magic, and emotional holding as you settle into life with your baby.
Prices:
Postnatal support: £45 per hour
30-hour Traditional Postpartum Support Package: £900
Placenta Magic: £100
Night support: £250 per night, subject to availability
Closing the bones can be included within the 30-hour package and uses 10 hours from the package.
Want to know more about full traditional postpartum support?
A dedicated page is coming soon.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I’m Emma Gleave, an experienced birth doula and birthkeeper based in the Forest of Dean. I offer relationship-based support throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the early postnatal period.
My support includes antenatal preparation, birth planning, bodywork, partner preparation, advocacy, continuous support during labour and space to reflect and be cared for after birth.
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I support families across the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, including Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Ross-on-Wye, Monmouth and surrounding areas.
I may also travel further for the right family and offer virtual antenatal and birth support throughout the UK and internationally.
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Yes. I support women planning home births, freebirths and wild pregnancies, including those choosing some elements of maternity care while declining others.
We can explore your individual circumstances, prepare thoroughly, think through different possibilities and create practical backup plans. I will offer information, perspective and grounded support, but you remain at the centre and make your own decisions.
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Yes. Doula support can be deeply valuable during a hospital birth. I can help you prepare for appointments, understand your options, communicate your wishes and create a birth plan that reflects what matters to you.
During labour, I provide continuous emotional and practical support, help protect the atmosphere around you and support your partner to feel confident and involved.
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You can contact me at any stage of pregnancy, but beginning earlier gives us more time to build trust, prepare your body and nervous system, explore your choices and create a strong support team around you.
I accept only two in-person birth clients each month, so it is worth checking availability early. Later bookings may still be possible, depending on your due time, location and the preparation required.
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A doula provides continuous emotional, physical and practical support through pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal period. Birthkeeper is a term I use to describe the deeper, relationship-based way I work: bringing together practical preparation, traditional wisdom, bodywork, advocacy and steady presence.
Neither role replaces a midwife or doctor. I do not provide clinical care or make decisions for you. My role is to walk beside you, help you understand your options and support you to remain connected to your instincts and authority.
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Yes. My virtual package offers personalised antenatal preparation, support with appointments and decisions, partner preparation, birth mapping and phone or video support during labour and birth.
I may also travel to support families outside my usual area. Travelling support is arranged individually and may include online preparation, longer in-person sessions, travel near your due time and accommodation where necessary.
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My Signature Birthkeeper and Doula Support includes antenatal preparation, birth planning, advocacy conversations, partner preparation, body balancing, massage, rebozo, birth biomechanics, nervous-system support and continuous care during labour and birth.
It also includes ongoing message support during pregnancy, on-call availability around your due time, backup support wherever possible and an early postnatal visit for care and birth reflection.
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Choosing a doula is about more than qualifications or finding someone who is available around your due time. This person may be beside you during one of the most vulnerable and transformative experiences of your life, so it matters that you feel safe, understood and able to be fully yourself with them.
Ask about their experience, approach to birth, availability, backup arrangements and how they work with partners, midwives and medical teams. Consider whether they genuinely respect your authority and choices, including choices they might not make themselves.
Most importantly, notice how you feel in their presence. The right doula should not take over or make decisions for you. She should help you feel calmer, clearer, more confident and more connected to yourself.