We felt zero fear. We were calm and confident.

/

Vali was born after a fast and intense but absolutely beautiful homebirth. I've never felt more loved, supported and empowered than in those few hours. I was basking in love, and forever grateful to my birth team for allowing me to feel safe, confident and to have a completely physiological, undisturbed water birth from the comfort of my own home. I still think about it with tears of joy in my eyes.

Wonderfully transformative.

No chance my birth would have been what it has been without Nancy! She gave my partner and I all the tools (practical and mental) we needed to have a wonderful birth experience. We both felt super excited and prepared. To me, it was like having an experienced and knowledgeable friend who was there to guide me through the biggest transformation of my life to make it a positive and ultimately very empowering experience.

The birth happened quite fast and this meant that at one point I honestly thought we would have this baby alone but we felt zero fear, we were calm and confident.

Nancy's knowledge on that day was everything and I'm positive I was able to have the homebirth I wanted thanks to her. She's extremely experienced and an incredible human being who knows how to listen and guide you no matter what your birth preferences and personal/religious/spiritual beliefs are. I'd strongly recommend a couple of massages during your pregnancy on top of the doula prep sessions if you can. They made me feel amazing and a lovely way to connect further with Nancy. The postpartum debrief was fantastic too.

WHAT WAS THE MOST HELPFUL THING I DID TO SUPPORT YOU?:

Your experience on the day truly made the biggest difference. I'm sure that if it wasn't for you, we would have transfered to hospital or had the baby alone at home. Both would have been OK I'm sure but you were able to help us navigate a fast moving birth while allowing me to stay in my space and completely calm.
You also helped me moved to find the best positions to birth in and I know I would absolutely have not even tried to move and try different things if it wasn't for you. Probably wouldn't have reached the pool on time either!

WORDS FROM NICK:

To be really honest I questioned how much we would need a doula, seeing as we had a private midwife and I felt like we had a decent support network around Deb. Turned out it was an incredible decision to work with Nancy and I attribute a large part of a perfect and beautiful natural birth to her support. She was totally engaged and keen to answer any questions we had, both in prep and in labour. Nancy gave us a huge amount of confidence and made Deb feel totally prepared for the birth process. On the night of baby Vali's birth Nancy was absolutely incredible and I really don't know what we would've done without her. The midwife was at another birth and things moved along really quickly. Nancy took control of the situation without being demanding and guided us so smoothly through the process. All in all I am so grateful for the opportunity to have Nancy work with us, it was amazing.

WHAT WERE THE MOST HELPFUL THINGS WHILST YOU WERE IN LABOUR?:

  • Get a tens machine. Rent one, borrow one, buy one. Just get one 😉

  • Get frozen blueberries, Nancy gave me one between each contraction when I was pushing, it felt amazing and delicious and like heaven between the surges.

  • We're told to exhale slowly but I found that inhaling slowly and focusing on getting that oxygen in made a big difference (thanks Nancy for the tip!)

  • Write down and work through any fear you might have, even the silliest ones.

I got massages - with Nancy - during my pregnancy and highly recommend them. I felt great after each one, especially when things really start to stretch and move in the late second/third trimester.

IF YOU WERE TO SHARE WORDS OF WISDOM WITH A FIRST TIME FAMILY PREPARING FOR LABOUR, BIRTH & BRINGING THEIR BABY HOME, WHAT WOULD IT BE?:

I questioned how much support I really needed ("women have been doing this for thousands of years, surely I can do it too, no big deal") but ultimately realised getting a birth team I truly trusted and preparing myself and my partner properly was an investment I would never regret. Bringing a baby into the world changes you, your relationship with your partner, your family unit, etc. Getting the support you need is a great way to make sure this change is a positive, empowering one. It's about the birth yes and having the experience you truly want but it's also about the mother you will become.

More practically, prepare "a trimester in advance" so that you can spend your last trimester preparing for the fourth trimester and what comes after the birth. This is easily overlooked and so important!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RAVE ABOUT ANY PRACTITIONERS/WEBSITES/PODCASTS/GROUPS YOU USED DURING YOUR PREGNANCY OR POSTPARTUM TO OTHER FAMILIES?:

Anna from Her Connection is a fantastic women’s health physio.

Love from baby Vali, Deb and Nick