Birth Doula
​
If you are wanting to know more about my services and the role of a doula throughout your pregnancy, birth &after baby arrives, I provide a full 45minute consultation either in-person of virtually. During this time we can establish what type of support you are hoping to receive by myself during your beautiful journey to motherhood.
​
Prenatal
I offer 2-3 visits (2 hrs each) during your pregnancy where we will get to know each other and go over important planning aspects in preparation for your birth and post postpartum. We will look at relaxation techniques for labour, including visualisation, deep breathing exercises, hypnotherapy, optimal fetal positioning and other methods for you to use during your labour. At least one of these visits should include your birth partner where we will go through tools to equipt them in supporting you well and confidently.
​
Birth
I am available and on-call from 37 weeks of your pregnancy to attend your birth and assist you however you desire during your labour. You are welcome to contact me any time within this time, and if you believe you are in established labour I will travel to your house or where ever you plan to give birth. I will help you to maintain a calm and positive labour throughout your labour and birth through using the techniques for relaxation we have practiced throughout the antenatal visits. During this time I will create space for you & also work closely with your birth partner & be an advocate and sounding board for them, so that you are able to focus on the beautiful work you are doing in bringing your baby into the world.
​
Postpartum
During this time I will provide 2-3 visits after your birth once you have settled at home and assist you with breastfeeding, meal preparation, help with your older children so that you feel you are able to focus on your new baby. I am also able to be contacted anytime throughout the first 6-8 weeks after you return home to ensure you are feeling confident inside & out with the new demands on you as you focus on the beautiful new addition to your family. I am also able to provide referrals to any specialists if you require this. My aim is to ensure you feel confident in caring for your newborn baby and the stability in your home is maintained throughout this transition.
​
♡ $2,490 (virtual or in-person) ♡
​
Ahava Birth Complete Support Package
Ahava Birth Postpartum Support Package
​
The first 40 days postpartum are worthy of replenishing care & support for new mamas. During this transition period, you are settling at home with your beautiful new addition to the family & adjusting to a new season in your life. Your body is healing, you are directing most of your attention to meeting the needs of your new baby as your first priority. During this period, household priorities like cleaning and cooking are moved out of the forefront of your mind.
Studies have shown that mother's who have support during this period are less likely to suffer from postpartum anxiety & depression, also having higher success rates in breastfeeding. Receiving postpartum care promotes general wellbeing, hormone health and overall long term health. Unfortunately modern day mamas encounter pressure to "bounce back" and often don't take the time to prioritise their own rest during this period. Every woman should have space to rest and heal during this time to set her up for smooth transition into motherhood and all of the loving demands it places upon her.
The support I offer in this package can be arranged at a time of your preference, depending on your daily needs & how you are feeling.
​
Included in this package is ~
♡ An obligation-free meeting with you & your family to discuss your desires for your postpartum period.
♡ 9 or 15 hours of support to use however you feel will be most needed during your first 40 days.
♡ Assistance with breastfeeding or bottle feeding & answering any questions you might encounter along the way.
♡ Helping with settling your baby, including swaddling & soothing techniques.
♡ Assisting with bathing your baby.
♡ Looking after your baby while both you & your partner rest or have some time alone together.
♡ Helping with meal preparation or baking for visitors.
♡ Looking after your other children & preparing meals for them.
♡ Driving you to appointments, especially if you have had a cesarean birth or have an extended recovery time.
♡ Assisting with light cleaning & household chores.
♡ Running errands & grocery shopping.
♡ To be available for you as a listening ear or shoulder to cry on.
♡ I am also able to provide referrals to any specialists if you require this.
​
​
My desire is that all mamas would feel replenished and cared for during their postpartum period. That you will allow yourself to receive the full support that is beneficial for your healing & rest at this time. For you to journey through & beyond this transitional period of your life feeling confident in caring for your newborn baby and have a stability in your home environment throughout this very important time.
​
$680 ~9 hours of support
​
$990 ~ 15 hours of support
​
♡ I understand some families require extended support during the postpartum period & additional hours are able to be arranged at an hourly rate ♡
​
​
Ahava birth doula
The journey up until now
It was the middle of Winter 2014 & I was on a rural nursing placement for 5 weeks in the middle of nowhere thinking about if this would be worth the sacrifice of being away from family & friends to have experience in a smaller hospital .
And I can say without a doubt, it honestly was! I had the opportunity to spend a day in a birth suite and maternity ward where I fell head-over-heels in love. This was the environment I wanted to spend my days of work in. After finishing my Bachelor of Nursing in 2016 , I started my postgraduate in Midwifery & it wasn't long after that I started hearing about the role of a Birth Doula.
Finding what you’re passionate about sometimes takes time, & with my journey, I found that there was definitely something embedded underneath the love I had for talking with my friends about their birth experiences & taking photos of their new born babes. Before going out in search for a way for my friends to be more well-supported & protected throughout this brand new, and challenging season I had never known of Birth Doulas being commonly sort after by families.
With limitation in the amount of information around Birth Doula services that I found, I knew that my friends probably wouldn’t go looking for support like this, most likely because they would never have known of something like this being available to them. So with my strong desire to support my close friends through their births, part-way into my Midwifery study, I decided to change directions & enrol in a course to become a Birth Doula.
This is where Ahava Birth came to be. To be entrusted to work with women & equip them to rise to meet the challenge that is birth & parenthood is my greatest honour. Being able to invest my time in supporting women during the most vulnerable times, whether they be those who have supportive partners, those who are committed to raising a family on their own, or those who have experienced past birth trauma & need someone to emotionally support them through a brand new birth experience.
No matter if your pregnancy was planned or unplanned, knowing there is someone committed to walking this season with you is sometimes all you need. From my own experience, I understand that we are better together & would love the honour to be by your side in supporting you & your family.
“We will never get used to seeing a new life being born. The purity of vulnerability that is witnessed as the deepest imaginable kind of love endures, through more than what could be previously thought, into holding brand new and precious creation that is all yours . Yearning to be on the other side of the process and hold the beautiful new life that will soon belong to you is a beautiful thing. Nothing measures close to fulfilling that desire. It is something hard to put into words but having the honour to see someone quite literally breathing for someone else, and in this, being drawn closer and closer to meeting the one they have endured for is an experience you cannot forget . Nothing like it has ever been done , each new life is unique and different in it’s arrival and the environment surrounding it is raw and powerful , yet words often fail to give expression to what is occurring . Whether it is the respect the labouring partner gains for the love-of-their-life , the relief of the mother when the labouring stops or the tears that are shed in the room when a father lays eyes on his child for the first time . Nothing compares to the joy that it is to be apart of humanity’s story making way . “