Testimonials
Birth preparation
‘Anna was absolutely fantastic support. During the home visits before-hand I got to ask her everything under the sun. It was like having an expert parent helping us the whole way, without telling us what to do but guiding us through it all with great knowledge.’ Adam
‘Anna was great in helping me feel prepared and confident about my choice for a home birth. She helped me draw up my birth plan and supported me through any correspondence with the hospital. She made sure we did a test run of the birth pool together, and did any trouble shooting well in advance of my due date.’ Rachel
‘Anna is warm, intelligent and knowledgeable about birth. She remained impartial when it came to my birth wishes, always allowing me to come to my own decisions about every aspect of my birth plan, and only gently offering advice if I asked for her opinion.’ Jo
‘We had two lovely sessions with Anna in our home. We enjoyed some wonderful meals together where we asked her questions from her experience as a doula. Plus, she dealt with our neurotic rescue dog with grace! She helped me to put together my birth plan and talked me through what each of the options were. For example, I didn’t know what a physiological third stage was. She helped me with information about my pelvic girdle pain. I knew it was affecting me during pregnancy, but Anna actually gave me information on how it might affect labour as well. It was so soothing and helpful to have Anna know our wishes when it came to labour.’ Claire
‘Anna did a birth preparation session with my partner and I. She really knew her stuff, and was fantastically helpful and supportive – the session really helped us work through the things we learnt from the last birth and prepare for the big day. Thank you Anna!’ Lizzie
‘Thank you so much for being such wonderful support during our journey! We enjoyed every minute of our meetings and learnt so much from you. You instilled such confidence in us to become parents for the first time.’ Emily
Birth
‘Anna was wonderful to work with, at every stage. She helped my husband and I discuss and decide our birth preferences together, without any agenda of her own. Natural childbirth, water birth, epidural – whatever worked for us. And when my plan changed during labour she was very happy with that too! A real ally at every stage of the process, and our advocate in the hospital, Anna made the whole process as stress-free as possible. We were so happy we found her.’ Laura
‘When the action began, Anna was cool as a cucumber. I called her at every stage of the early labour when I felt I didn’t know what I was doing. When my wife’s water broke, Anna picked us up and helped get us in a taxi (not an easy task with someone in labour). Once at the hospital she was fantastic, helping with whatever I needed, helping me find the maternity ward, holding hands, massaging and being generally great. Anna made the whole experience easy, without any stress.’ Adam
‘I don’t know how I would have got through my pregnancy and birth without Anna. With her support I went from being terrified of birth after a traumatic first birth to having a beautiful and cathartic second birth.
Anna is incredibly supportive and empathetic and was always on the other end of the phone with words of encouragement, information and ideas of options in the face of hospital processes.
Sharn
‘Anna is absolutely wonderful. She is calm, empathetic and knowledgeable. She has a very quiet way about her but you know that she takes absolutely no prisoners and we felt sure that she’d be confident to diplomatically advocate for us with the hospital staff should we need it.’ Lucy
Anna was very, supportive, empathetic and knowledgeable. She provided great advice and resources and was a great listener. Having her support us made me feel much more confident for the birth, and in turn more confident and relaxed in the first couple weeks after the birth too.’ Katy
‘Thank you so much for being so amazing throughout Anna. Was wonderful for both of us to share such a journey with you and to have your continuing support. I’ve come away with an incredibly positive sense of the whole experience.’ Rachel
‘Anna was invaluable during labour, both for me and my husband. She helped guide me through a particularly tricky period when the gas and air ran out! She provided massage when necessary and was able to take photos during the labour. It was great for my husband to have Anna for support, especially when things didn’t go to plan in the end! Both my husband and I felt completely at ease in Anna’s company from the get-go and I always felt comfortable contacting her to ask questions etc. To top it all off she has a great sense of humour which certainly helped us throughout!’ Rachel
‘I highly recommend Anna as a doula (and as a person in general)! We worked with her for the birth of our daughter in April 2020. We were new to the UK (as well as the NHS) and Anna helped us navigate the system and understand how to optimize our birth experience. She is an excellent listener and always shared resources that helped us make the decision that was best for us. She gave me husband equal attention and really helped grow his confidence as my birth partner.
Our plan was to do a home birth but when my waters broke before labor started we were pushed to be induced. Anna was a huge support and even connected us with an independent midwife for a second opinion. After 3 days of start and stop labor, my daughter was born at home. Anna held my hand , helped me through contractions, and helped my husband so that he could help me. In that moment we were perfectly in sync. Anna felt like a part of the family and I am forever grateful. I don’t think our experience would have been the same without her!’ Nahana
‘When the baby started to come, we immediately called Anna. She came over during early labour for some reassurance and then returned later when we headed to the hospital. I was feeling really stressed with the labour until Anna came. Then, I visibly relaxed. It was so nice to know that someone was there to care for me and my husband. It was stressful for my husband to see me in pain, and she was able to reassure him as well as me. He could leave and get food or take a break if he needed, knowing that Anna was with me…Looking back, the thing that I remember most is Anna getting help for me after the baby arrived… Anna was able to go get our midwife and advocate for us, she even got me tea and toast afterward.’ Claire
‘Anna was an amazing Doula! She was with me every step of the way through my 36 hour labour. And her prenatal and postnatal support were phenomenal, especially when my birth didn’t go as planned. She’s kind, funny and made me feel supported, just as if I had a family member with me.’ Claire
Postnatal
‘In the first few weeks after birth, it was fantastic to have Anna around us. She gave support in a practical manner. But most importantly, she gave fantastic emotional support. We were lucky to have such a skilled, compassionate person to help guide us with our firstborn.’ Abigail
‘After care was superb too. Her extensive network helped us with a lactation consultant, and she continued to be in touch to help support us with any questions or worries we had in the weeks afterwards.’ David
‘Having Anna in our flat every other day, in those first few tender weeks, was a relief beyond words. Her mix of experience, warmth professionalism, and compassion were such a comfort to my boyfriend and I, as we navigated the incredible transition from pregnancy to parenthood. I would recommend her presence to all new or expecting parents. We miss her! Alice
‘It’s so nice to have Anna in your home because she feels like she should be there. She doesn’t intrude, but subtlety makes your life easier. Anna held the baby after a long night of no sleep, allowing us to get refreshed and take a much-needed moment for ourselves. She’s empathetic and listened to me rehash my birth. I was able to talk about my regrets and things I would have done differently. She gave me and my husband some much needed ‘me’ time to sleep and just get a few chores done.’ Claire
‘Thank you so much for your support and care for us.. When we think back to that time we remember how you helped fill our house with a sense of calm and steadiness, which is exactly what we needed at the time. We know we are immeasurably better off thanks to your support.’ Emily
‘Anna was exactly what our family needed before and after our twins arrived. This gave me some much needed rest, being heavily pregnant with twins during the summer months. I loved having Anna to chat to about the upcoming birth, about my thoughts, hopes and fears. She has so much experience, I always felt calmed and positive after our chats. After the birth, Anna was there at home cooking delicious food, making me feel comfortable and busy making the house feel nice. We talked about the birth, which was so good to retell my story to someone who wanted to know the details. We debriefed about it slowly over the weeks she was with us. Anna’s cooking was absolutely delicious, we always looked forward to the dinners she prepared for us. And as our apple tree was filled with apples at this time, she made us countless apple crumbles at my request! During the weeks after the babies were born, I so looked forward to the days when Anna was coming over, I felt I could relax with my new babies, rest if I needed and have a good chat. I had a few complications and trips back to the hospital in the weeks after the birth which was a scary time for our family, but knowing Anna was able to come and help in the house and look after the babies was a great comfort to us. I can’t recommend Anna enough as a postnatal doula, I wish she could have stayed forever!’ Jess
Birth trauma
‘Anna has a lovely, approachable and caring nature, she takes her role and responsibility to help women (and their partner) through these special yet emotional times. She helped me work through the issues I had with my first labour. Using a technique called ‘3 Step Rewind’, it helped me to navigate through the issues, putting each one into perspective, which in turn helped me control my anxieties towards the birth of my second baby. I’m now looking forward to my labour and meeting my second child! Thank you, Anna.’ Sarah
‘I don’t know how I would have got through my pregnancy and birth without Anna. Anna is incredibly supportive and empathetic and was always on the other end of the phone with words of encouragement, information and ideas of options in the face of hospital processes. She took me through a three step rewind programme based on NLP that enabled me to engage with birth after trauma, she recommended lots of reading and videos to help me become informed about the physiology of birth and my birth options and rights, and helped me to feel prepared when I had made my decision. There were times when I fluctuated between a homebirth and a caesarean section and Anna fully supported me to feel prepared and comfortable with either birth scenario. In the end I had a planned home birth. Anna was calm and encouraging whilst I clung to her throughout the birth. Anna was there alongside my partner before the midwives arrived and by my side when they were there too. I felt safe with her knowing she had both a huge amount of experience supporting birthing women and knew me, my needs and hopes. With her support I had a beautiful birth with no need for any pain relief. Afterwards, Anna was there to talk it over with me and also was able to recommend breastfeeding support options. I feel so lucky to have found a doula who I could fully trust and feel relaxed with , and who was able to support me to have a special birth. I really recommend her to anyone looking for a doula. Sharna
‘I met Anna to share my birth story as part of a ‘walk and talk’. She was lovely, a very good listener and experienced in birth trauma. The fact that she is offering these sessions at no cost is wonderful. Making it accessible to anyone to talk about their birth experience. I highly recommend a walk and talk with Anna.’ Kathryn