Birth Story – Holistic birth preparation, birth and postnatal doula

Holistic support for pregnancy, birth and new parenthood.

Our birth stories are vivid, powerful and vital chapters in our lives, so let’s honour, support and celebrate them!

About Birth Story

About Anna

Birth Preparation – Group and One-to-One

Doula – Birth and Postnatal

Postnatal Massage

Birth Trauma Recovery

Dads and Partners

birthstoryanna

Postnatal nutrition for a new mum of twins 👶👶
Warming, comforting, pumpkin, chickpea and saffron soup ☀️....tasty 😋 but MOST importantly - being served homemade soup just FEELS GOOD! 🤗

#postnatal #postnatalnutrition #fourthtrimester #twins #postnataldoula #douladishes #recovery

POSTNATAL RECOVERY MASSAGE 👐 😊 What a lovely

POSTNATAL RECOVERY MASSAGE 👐 😊
What a lovely way to treat a mother. Yesterday I gave a massage to a lovely postnatal client who gave birth to her twins back in July. After having warming oils rubbed in and the abdominal, chest, shoulder and hip massage and gentle rocking of the pelvis, she was wrapped from top to toe in scarves/rebozos, tucked in, and left to rest. ❤️🤗

#postnatalrecoverymassage #nourishingthemother #postnataldoula #doula #rebozo #rebozomassage #fourthtrimester #pelviswrapping #wrappingthepelvis
#postnatalcare #timeforthemother #honouringbirth #honouringthemother

Birthing during Covid - some useful places for inf

Birthing during Covid - some useful places for info are:

https://www.aims.org.uk/information/item/coronavirus

https://www.birthrights.org.uk/2020/03/12/coronovirus-how-will-it-affect-my-rights-to-maternity-care/

@aims_uk
@birthrightsorg

#Birthrights #birthrightsduringcovid #birth #birthworker #doula #supportbirth

What a beautiful, peaceful image 😊 #breastfeed

What a beautiful, peaceful image 😊

#breastfeeding #mother #infantfeeding #quiettimes #breastmilk #bondingtimes #motherbabybonding #breastfeedingsupport #supporttobreastfeed #newparent

Sunday antenatal/birth prep sesh 💙 It's always

Sunday antenatal/birth prep sesh 💙 It's always a real joy for me to meet new parents-to-be and to have honest conversations about their thoughts on birth and parenthood. Almost always my clients are doing an online antenatal course but also need to feel CONNECTED to a real person! Having our birth preparation sessions also give us a chance to get down to some nitty gritty, explore hopes and fears, discuss options and to really prepare for a birth where they feel CONFIDENT and IN CONTROL 😊

#birthpreparation #antenatal #prenatal #birthteam #birthdoula #supportingbirth #birthteam #birthchoices

Walk and Talk's continue... In person, outside, w

Walk and Talk's continue...

In person, outside, with me: an experienced birth and postnatal doula, birth preparation and birth trauma recovery practitioner.

*Free*

Time and place: for an hour or two, arranged on booking.

What: you can share anything you like - to do with pregnancy, loss, birth and parenting. There's no agenda or judgement from me, only a listening ear, a whole lot of birth and parenting knowledge and a wide network of contacts.

Why: I'm lucky enough to have a steady flow of paying clients. This allows me to open up some time for people who may not be in a position to access my services. I get to connect with my own community and get some exercise at the same time.

Look forward to hearing from you!

To book email: anna@birthstory.co.uk
www.birthstory.co.uk
@birthstoryanna

#birthsupport #babyloss #miscarriage #infantloss #birthtrauma #birththroughapandemic #parenting #pregnancy #preparingforbirth #birthpreparation #birthanxiety
#pregnancyloss #confidenceinbirth

Yum 😋 raspberry upside down cake for new mums h

Yum 😋 raspberry upside down cake for new mums home from hospital. Keeps you going at any time of the day 🌅🌌
#cake #postnatalcare #postnatal #fourthtrimester #homemade

#birthpreparation #birthsupport #caesareanbirth #g

#birthpreparation #birthsupport #caesareanbirth #gentlebirth #motherandbabycentredbirth #electivecsection

Raindrops on the window........On call for a hackn

Raindrops on the window........On call for a hackney homebirth halloween baby 🎃👶 any day now ☺️

TIPS FOR EARLY LABOUR - rest physically AND mentally, have a bath, watch a film and 'do life' - that may be having a family meal, sorting out some cupboards or going for a walk, whatever makes you feel that life is going on and it also takes your mind off the clock/app 💫 same tips apply to the doula 😉

#earlylabourtips #birthsupport #hackneyhomebirth #homebirth #trustyourself #familytime #oncall #halloweenbaby #octoberbaby

Walk and Talk In person, outside, with me: an exp

Walk and Talk

In person, outside, with me: an experienced birth and postnatal doula, birth preparation and birth trauma recovery practitioner.

*Free*

Where: North London - Finsbury Park, Highbury Fields, Clissold Park, Priory Park, Stationers Park, Hampstead Heath.

Time and day: for an hour, arranged on booking.

What: you can share anything you like - to do with pregnancy, loss, birth and parenting. There's no agenda or judgement from me, only a listening ear, a whole lot of birth and parenting knowledge and a wide network of contacts.

Why: I'm lucky enough to have a steady flow of paying clients. This allows me to open up some time for people who may not be in a position to access my services. I get to connect with my own community and get some exercise at the same time.

Look forward to hearing from you!

To book email: anna@birthstory.co.uk
www.birthstory.co.uk
@birthstoryanna

#birthsupport #pregnancysupport #babyloss #miscarriage #traumaticbirth #birthtraumasupport #parentingsupport #mentalhealthmatters

#birth #understandingbirth #undisturbedbirth #feel

#birth #understandingbirth #undisturbedbirth #feelingsafeinbirth #birthpreparation #michelodent #trustinbirth #birthconfidence

For all the parents who are grieving a child who d

For all the parents who are grieving a child who didn't make it.

#waveoflight2020
#miscarriageawareness
#miscarriagesupport
#stillbirthsupport
#infantlosssupport
#ectopicpregnancysupport

Postnatal cook-up! 🍠🥕🌰🍅🌶️🍂🍁

Postnatal cook-up! 🍠🥕🌰🍅🌶️🍂🍁 😊 while mum and babies sleep 🙌

#postnatalsupport #postnataldoula #healingfoods #rootveg #autumnalsoups #fourthtrimester

Powerful words and so very true. #birthpreparatio

Powerful words and so very true.

#birthpreparation #trustinyourbody #birthsupport

Mothering can be lonely, challenging, guilt-ridden

Mothering can be lonely, challenging, guilt-ridden, anxiety- inducing, frustrating and painful. Luckily it can also be beautiful, life- affirming, transformational and heart achingly wonderful. It is a journey though, with potholes, huge upward hills and extreme bends on the road.

My job is to stand by and support parents as their child enters the world, to listen to them tell their birth story without judgement, to validate, honour and celebrate their story so far.

This is why I do what I do 😊 - a birth and postnatal doula, 3 step rewind practitioner, and postnatal recovery massage giver 😍

My website www.birthstory.co.uk (link in bio) explains more about me and what I offer 💃👋

#motherhood #parenthood #worldmentalhealthday #singleparenting #birthpreparation
#supportingparents
#birthdoula
#doulasupport
#postnataldoula
#postnatalcare
#postnatalmassage
#fourthtrimester
#3steprewind
#mentalhealth

Yum! 😋 A HUMUNGOUS shepherds pie on-the-go for

Yum! 😋 A HUMUNGOUS shepherds pie on-the-go for mum of twins, such a strong and courageous woman, fighting the odds, keeping her babies close 👶👶
🐑The Shepherds pie is full of nutritional and healing goodness and there'll be one for dinner, the weekend and one for the freezer 😊

#fourthtrimester #healingfoods #recovery #mumoftwins #postnatalcare #postnatalrecovery #postnataldoula #shepherdspie #bonebroth #postnatalmeals

Beautiful, heart warming feedback from a birth cli

Beautiful, heart warming feedback from a birth client 💖
#birthdoula #doulasupport #birthsupport #birthpreparation

THE PLACENTA / AMNIOTIC SAC The organ which is g

THE PLACENTA / AMNIOTIC SAC

The organ which is grown by the woman's pregnant body to feed the baby all the nutrients and oxygen it needs to stay alive and grow well. The placenta comes away from the wall of the uterus shortly after the birth of the baby. This is often called the 3rd stage of birth and it can be brought on with a hormone injection (active 3rd stage) or naturally (physiological 3rd stage).

Illustration by Linda Harrison in Heart & Hands, A Midwife's Guide To Pregnancy & Birth by Elizabeth Davis

#placenta #amnioticsac #birthingtheplacenta #thebodyisamazing #birthpreparation #antenataleducation #prenataleducation
#birthdoula #anatomyofbirth #physiologyofbirth

V U L V A / V A G I N A #knowyournormal #vulvaawa

V U L V A / V A G I N A #knowyournormal #vulvaawareness #vulvamapping

No flowers🏵️ no pomegranates🍑 no euphemisms, here is a standard and straightforward diagram of the female external genitalia. Though I thought the 'vestibule' was a posh word for the place where you put your hat and coat...turns out this is the vulva vestibule i.e. one passageway leading to another.

In all honesty I didn't know the exact terminology and layout of my 'bits 'n' bobs' until I was in my early forties and studying midwifery!

I had a chat today with my lovely postnatal client and her sister-in-law about which bits went where e.g. 'so the vulva is the whole area?' 'so why do we call the whole area the vagina if we can only see the opening?'
They went on to talk about how, when and what we should tell our kids about what's what. I for one will definitely be explaining to my daughter, and my teen son will see this post so he can learn that way 😊

#postnataldoula #postnatalchat #vulvaawareness #vulvas #knowyournormal #vulvamapping

Let's not sugar coat the birth experience or bury

Let's not sugar coat the birth experience or bury problematic experiences 'under the carpet'. Birth trauma is real, is being experienced by many, many birthing women, partners and health professionals. It can be really difficult to accept to yourself and to others that you are struggling. Feelings of shame and guilt are rife. Many traumatised parents blame themselves for something that they did wrong BUT the system has failed them, with a lack of trauma informed care, and practises in maternity care which leave women feeling frightened, helpless, out of control , unsupported and that their autonomy has been as stripped from them.

There's some fantastic support out there.

Check out the following links and pass on to someone you think might be struggling.

@makebirthbetter
@birth_trauma_association_uk
@traumatic_birth_recovery

https://everymumshouldknow.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/10-ways-to-recover-from-birth-trauma/

https://thebirthhub.co.uk/2018/12/21/birth-trauma-the-emotional-ripple-effects

Birthtraumaassociation.org.uk

makebirthbetter.org

Traumaticbirthrecovery.com

Xxxx

#birthtraumarecovery #birthtraumahealing #birthdoula #postnatalmentalhealth #postnatalanxiety #postnatalptsd #postnataldoula #birthpreparation #birthtraumaprevention #birthtraumaawarenessweek2020 #3steprewind #3steprewindpractitioner
#antenatal #prenatal #dadsupport #mumsupportingmums #dadssupportingdads #butnotmaternity

Load More… Follow on Instagram