Having Nancy as our doula made the whole birth story so much more positive!

She provided me with a whole toolkit of strategies ... from pre- labour to post-natal care.

Thoughts from mum:

Nancy is a deeply generous and conscientious person and has all the skills and knowledge required to help you prepare for your birth so that you feel confident and comfortable facing it, and handle whatever situation eventuates on the day. We’re so happy we had the benefit of her knowledge, skills, and warm personality to guide us along the way. Even in a clinical hospital environment, Nancy helped turn it into something warm, comforting, and reassuring.

She was deeply generous with her time, meaning we had plenty of opportunities to practice the physical/practical skills needed during labour, and Nancy was always reliable, responding quickly to calls/texts and the emerging situation. I absolutely got value for money!

Nancy helped increase our overall birth satisfaction by encouraging a lot of healthy preparation, as well as the ability to feel confident the choices made were my own. It’s also deeply reassuring to have someone prepared and organised on “your team” on the day, other than your partner. Nancy has a strong, confident presence that’s immediately reassuring. She’s also very philosophically mature while being super easy to talk to.

Thoughts from dad:

Having Nancy as our doula made the whole birth story so much more positive. Even though it ended in a caesarean, we can rest comfortably knowing we prepared as well as we could, stayed healthy and focused, and made choices that were our own. It also helped me, as a partner, to understand more of what my wife was going through, and she provided me with a whole toolkit of strategies to help her at each stage of her pregnancy, from pre­labour through to post­natal care.

by Justine, James & baby Willa

Nancy exceeded our expectations. I don't know how we could have done it without her, and would use her again without hesitation.

It was such a huge relief to have someone helping out with household chores, cooking good food, caring for Teddy and supporting me with breastfeeding and birth recovery.

Thoughts from mum:

Nancy was at my side throughout my entire labour. She offered support by suggesting different positions, providing alternative tools when I got tired (birth ball, chair, shower etc) and constantly offered me fluids so I could keep my energy levels up. She also guided me when I needed to make decisions about my care, and helped me confidently interface with the hospital midwives. I didn't realise how hard it would be to make decisions whilst in the throes of labour, and I really valued having someone I trusted, who is experienced in the world of birth and babies, to assist in my decision making.

Nancy also provided us with ongoing postnatal support after Teddy's birth. It was such a huge relief to have someone we had built a relationship with helping out with household chores, cooking good food, caring for Teddy and supporting me with breastfeeding and birth recovery. The first few weeks of motherhood are a huge adjustment and Nancy's support, encouragement and advice made a challenging transition so much easier.

Thoughts from dad:

Nancy exceeded our expectations. She was not only informative and diligent but graceful, kind and encouraging. Her positive energy and emotional intelligence improved our experience for the better. I don't know how we could have done it without her, and I would use her again without hesitation. The entire time was memorable, which is to say Nancy was like having an angel around the entire time. Nancy's positive words and encouraging demeanour was so encompassing that it is difficult to say one particular thing was most helpful. It was all helpful. As the husband, and not being naturally comfortable in birth situations, I could not have been happier with how Nancy supported my wife and took pressure and anxiety away from me.

We not only feel we received value for money, but we felt slightly sheepish that we did not pay more.

Nancy not only increased our overall birth satisfaction but having Nancy as our doula gave us confidence and comfort during our first birth experience. I feel like Nancy was part of our family during the birth, and I am beyond words to express my appreciation for her contribution and help.

- Bea