postnatal care at home
I offer caring, knowledgeable support in the fourth trimester that will transform your postpartum experience, whether it’s your first baby or you’re already a parent.
Working with me means you’ll feel better rested, calmer and more confident, and nourished enough to be able to truly enjoy these early days of holding, feeding and nesting.
Even if your budget is small, a few sessions with a postnatal doula can be a wonderful gift for yourself, offering companionship and support in the intense early days of parenthood.
A doula offers:
Practical support:
This could mean a delicious, nourishing meal brought to you in bed, or wearing your baby in a sling while I make a family meal for evening time, when newborns can be more unsettled. It could be support as you learn to feed your baby, whether you’re breast, chest, bottle or combination feeding, or tidying round the house so you don’t feel too overwhelmed. Someone caring for your baby allows you to take a breather or get that all important nap or shower, so you can feel a little refreshed and cared for as you care for your baby.
Practical support might also mean providing information, answering questions or passing on knowledge about local services.
Emotional support:
It’s hard to place a value on someone listening to you and giving space for your joys, fears and tears in the early days. Doulas don’t have an agenda but are there to reflect back, support you to reframe or make decisions, and remind you that you’re doing brilliantly.
Usually on a visit (I tend to work in 3 hour blocks) we can meet a number of your needs, taking a holistic and flexible approach to what you need on the day.
Why choose a postnatal doula?
All mothers deserve loving, knowledgeable support in the early days of parenthood. The fourth trimester can be an intense (but temporary!) time as you get used to what can often feel like round-the-clock feeding and cuddling, plus there’s an added benefit of rest and skin-to-skin giving you a great start in terms of bonding and/or feeding. An extra pair of supportive hands is very useful, especially when postnatal healthcare feels sparse compared to antenatal care.
If you’re breastfeeding your baby, doulas can help troubleshoot, and make sure you are getting well-fed and as much rest as possible to support your feeding journey. Breastfeeding is a skill that both mother and baby learn together, and regular support is hugely beneficial.
Doulas also provide invaluable support in terms of the challenges of modern parenting. Many of us live some distance away from wider family, don’t have close family or don’t have positive relationships with them. There can be quite a lot of alone time after having a baby: doula visits break up long days after long nights, and help give context to the particular psychological and identity shift of becoming a parent (whether for the first or subsequent time).
Lastly, doulas serve an important role in terms of cheerleading you and supporting you to gently find your own way. With endless information available, it’s important that you both get good quality, up to date info and also feel empowered to intuitively make decisions for you and your baby.
Do I need a doula if my partner is around?
Lots of couples find that having a neutral third party to support, advise and talk things through with is invaluable in the early days. When you’re both beginners, or both sleep deprived (or both!), having someone to listen to where you’re at and support you practically makes a big difference to everyone’s energy and mindset.
A family is an eco-system, and ideally everyone in that system feels like they’re having their needs met. If there’s only two adults, one resting means that the other one is responsible for care taking! Another presence to give you both time to exhale can be a godsend. And when a partner returns to work, having someone to care for you can feel even more important.
What if my extended family are supporting me too?
I’ve supported plenty of clients with loving, caring family close by, particularly if new mothers are keen to make sure there aren’t too many days in the week where they’re alone as they get used to caring for their newborn. A doula tends to offer a different kind of support than family members, partly because they’re aware of the most up to date information in terms of baby care, and because they offer a neutral avenue of support that aims to enable parents to make their own parenting choices.
“I cannot recommend Chloe’s post-natal doula support highly enough. Our whole family benefited from her calm and kind presence … from the non-judgemental listening to the delicious nourishing food, I really felt looked after and that we thrived in the fourth trimester. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
When does a doula come, and for how long?
I offer different packages of support (below) but you’re also very welcome to enquire about ad hoc sessions or bespoke packages - please drop me a line to discuss.
All sessions below are 3 hours,
Full postnatal package
Two sessions a week for 12 weeks. Regular support for the whole fourth trimester, setting you up for a happy, confident parenting journey.
Partner back to work support
If your partner has a short parental leave, it can be overwhelming to settle into daytime solo parenting. This package offers 4 weeks of twice weekly visits to help you find your feet.
Post-birth settling
4 sessions over the first few weeks soon after you return from hospital or after your home-birth. I’ll come with postnatal treats and we’ll make sure you feel cared for in your newborn bubble.
Can we start preparations prenatally?
During your pregnancy is the best time for us to start working together! We can start to build a relationship so you feel very comfortable and familiar with me by the time your baby comes, and I can help support you to prepare for birth and the early postnatal days.
I offer bespoke postnatal preparation sessions (also available as a stand-alone session) which are an invaluable tool to help you focus on what you need to thrive in the early days after having your baby, and to help you consider questions and scenarios you might not have thought of. We can discuss expectations and put plans in place for practical and emotional support in the early days of becoming parents, to stand you in the best possible stead for what’s to come.
This is just as useful for second or third time parents, who can review what they want to do differently this time and check that they are on the same page. I can either come to your home for this session or we can talk online, then I send you your written plan for a rested, happy fourth trimester.
Why work with me?
I’ve been a doula for five years and I have two children of my own. I am deeply passionate about mothers receiving the kind of care and support that helps them to thrive, not just survive. I make it my mission to help mothers feel more calm, rested and confident in these vital early days, and I find it an absolute joy and privilege to walk beside a new family in these early days.
I work collaboratively and intuitively, supporting you to work out exactly what need on any given day. I am a deeply practised listener (after years of professional work on counselling helplines as well as doula work, facilitating women’s circles and other group spaces). Sometimes all we need is reflection that what we’re feeling is totally normal. And sometimes we need someone to gently suggest another perspective or further support.
I have supported hundreds of mothers through my work as a postnatal doula and perinatal yoga teacher, meaning I’ve heard thousands of stories and held space for many emotions and refections over the years. I aim to support you to find the right way for YOU to parent (there’s no one right way!) Reassurance helps our confidence grow, and my role as supporter and cheerleader will help you cut out the noise and sharpen your focus on your instinct about how you want to parent. Even with second or third babies, I’ve found this kind of support is still hugely beneficial.
I’m currently furthering my breastfeeding knowledge by training to become an Infant Feeding Support Doula.
“Chloe is an incredibly warm person with a calming presence. She leads with empathy and understanding and is an all round wonderful human. I was so relieved when she so easily slotted in with our sometimes chaotic home and was continually amazed at her ability to go with the flow.”
Rates/can I afford to invest?
My current rates are £105 for a 3 hour session.
If you’re able to, investing in prenatal, birth and postnatal support will benefit you and your family repeatedly over the months and years of your baby’s life.
I hired a doula with my second baby and the difference in my experience was remarkable. I was privileged enough to be able to make the decision to be supported, rested and nourished during this time and this had a knock-on effects for everyone’s health and wellbeing within my family.
Setting up a fund for friends and family to contribute, or asking people to fund a few hours of support, can a great way of covering costs.
“Chloe is an incredible person and has been an amazing doula for our family. She has made a huge difference in the first months of our new family, making it calmer and more enjoyable. When our baby was born, she was there for all the anxieties and questions you have about a newborn. I don’t know how we would have coped without this support! Over time the emotional support we require has changed, and Chloe continues to support us with an open mind and an open heart, always with the best intentions of our family in mind. She is brilliant at providing guidance but not strict advice, support without judgement, and all in a balanced and kind way. She is very easy to talk to and I feel as if we’ve had great communication throughout. ”
Next steps
It’s really important that you feel totally at ease and comfortable with the doula you choose to work with. If you think we’d be a good team, get in touch via the button below and let me know your due date, your postcode, the frequency of support you think you’d like and any days and times that work/don’t work for you. Then we can arrange a chat on the phone or in person. Iif you’d like to book me, I’ll ask you to pay a deposit equal to one three-hour session.
