You held the most healing space I’ve experienced.

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Flic says:

I experienced a stop-start contractions over 4 days. My baby was posterior and I experienced very strong hip pain. I was so grateful for the incredible guidance and support of our doula Nancy who gave us the confidence to navigate those days at home for as long as we could before we transferred to hospital.

Nancy was the greatest decision we could have made for our entire pregnancy, labour, birth and post-partum. From the moment we met her she felt like the big sister role I needed - supportive, caring, passionate, educated and honest. Nancy has an incredible way of providing information, but also leaving you feel in complete control of your decisions - something I’ve learnt is so important in the birth space.
Whilst my birth and labour didn’t unfold how we had envisaged, I felt totally supported and still endlessly proud of how we navigated it. I honestly believe that without Nancy, my birth outcomes would likely have looked very different and the flow on effects would still have an impact on me today. Nancy knew what was important to me and she honoured that at every step of the way.

Andrew says:

Nancy helped with massage, spinning babies techniques, understanding my wife’s needs during labour, practical things (ie. remembering to eat), someone to talk to who cared for my wife but wasn’t too closely related.

My love, what is your most memorable moment of our time together?

Where to start!?!? You met us in the beautiful sunshine and had me doing acrobatics off massage tables, you dried and brushed my hair with so much love, you stared into my eyes whilst I navigated contractions on the toilet - feeling more helpless than ever- and you asked me what I wanted 🥺, you shared with me some of the most profound and vulnerable moments when you knew the time was right, (you made me go on that f$%*ing walk to the beach! Haha), you did not leave my presence for 24hrs, you laughed and cried with me, you slept on a hospital couch, you stroked my back in the bath, you advocated for me. You helped me remember how proud I was of my birth and labour and the journey we took to bring our boy into this world. You held the most healing space I’ve experienced and made sure I didn’t loose sight of what happened and it’s importance. To this day, “Trust Yourself” is still written on our weekly calendar whiteboard in your writing….I cannot bring myself to rub it off as it always brings a smile to myself as I think of everything you walked alongside us for.

And the most helpful thing I did to support you?

Maintained honesty. This was one of your most incredible qualities the whole way through. You were always upfront and steady, we knew there was no BS. It was amazing as I knew I could always go to you for anything, but you wouldn’t sway my decision. You would give me so much relevant information, a shoulder to lean on and I knew I would walk away with a decision that was still mine.

What were the most helpful things to you in labour?

  • Nancy.

  • My husband - we had communicated a lot prior to labour about what we wanted, and he had done a lot of his own reading too so I knew no matter what, we were on the same page.

  • Education. Read, listen, watch - do whatever it takes to know all the options you have. You can’t always control what happens in your birth but there’s nothing more empowering than being able to walk away knowing you did everything in your power to make decisions that were right for you.

Was there anything else that helped?

  • Couples Pregnancy Massage Workshop - this was so great and Nancy transformed the way my husband could relieve any tight back/hips throughout pregnancy. It was such a nice thing for us to do together.

  • Placenta encapsulation - I loved this! Nancy was so quick getting them to me, and super informative about the process.

  • Post-partum doula service- so good! Delicious meals, Snacks, debriefs, chats, EC and cloth nappy lessons..someone who was there during labour to share with after was the best!

WORDS OF WISDOM:

Cook and freeze as many meals and snacks as humanly possibly for your post partum period. Like, all the meals and snacks. Do not stop making meals and snacks.

Is there anything/anyone else you’d like to recommend to families getting ready to birth?

  • Nancy

  • Australian Birth Stories Podcast

  • Rhea Dempsey books/interviews

Love Felicity, Andrew & baby Otto