Birthing + bonding + breastfeeding

Birthing

Women supporting women through labour is an ageless tradition common to all cultures.  Traditionally, labouring women were surrounded by family members and experienced women from the community.  As childbirth became the domain of the medical profession and women moved into hospitals for birth, women lost their essential connection to one another during this time of intense physical, emotional and spiritual work.

But birth is still sacred. So women/couples need to be supported and nurtured so their babies can be welcomed with love and respect.  The word doula comes from the ancient Greek meaning a woman who serves.  Thus, a doula serves as a guardian helping women/couples journey through the transition of childbirth and motherhood in a smooth, positive and nurtured way.

As a doula, I am here to help you identify your options.  I am here to offer you unconditional continuous support that will help you discover your own inner strength and increase your confidence in your natural ability to birth your baby your way.

If you would like to learn more about doulas visit:  http://doulafilm.com/

Bonding

The birth of a baby is the birth of a family.

Getting postnatal support is  probably one of the best decisions you will make to ease the transition into motherhood.  It is also the perfect way to pamper you, help you regain your strength and look better after your baby.  Did you know that it takes approximately 40 days for your womb to go back to normal and the same time for breastfeeding to be fully established?  Thus, having some or as much help during that whole period or even part of it is crucial.

My philosophy is to mother the mother, by helping you to gain confidence and the skills so needed in the early days of being a new mother.  Thus, I offer practical, emotional, informational support in your home to help you adjust to the arrival of your new baby.  You are your baby’s best expert, so I do not try to do things for you, rather with you.

Breastfeeding

Passionate about providing quality assistance to breastfeeding mums and babies, I work privately as a Lactation Consultant or IBCLC, please visit: www.breastfeedinglondon.co.uk. To become a Lactation Consultant, I passed a rigorous written examination at degree level where I had to demonstrate a substantial amount of knowledge in many aspects of breastfeeding including: anatomy and physiology, endocrinology, biochemistry, nutrition, immunology, infectious diseases, pathology, pharmacology, psychology, sociology, anthropology and research and ethics.  IBCLCs are registered and regulated by The International Board of Lactation Consultants Examiners.

I believe that clinical expertise must go hand in hand with empathy and compassion for breastfeeding dyads.  Therefore, for the past years I have also been supporting on a voluntary basis mums and babies in their breastfeeding journeys as an accredited La Leche League LLL (www.laleche.org.uk) leader or breastfeeding counsellor.  I currently co-lead the bi-monthly coffee mornings of the West London group (http://lllwestlondon.blogspot.com/) and the Wimbledon group (http://lllwimbledon.weebly.com/).

LLL's aim is to help mothers to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information and education, and to promote a better understanding, of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and the mother.