Breastfeeding
Patient, judgment-free support to help you and your baby find your own rhythm.
Breastfeeding is often called natural, which can make it a lonely thing to find difficult. A great many women do. I offer patient, non-medical support while you and your baby learn each other: a calm presence, practical company, and someone who will not make you feel you are failing. I'm a doula, not a lactation consultant or a doctor. Some feeding difficulties have a medical cause, and those need the right professional - your midwife, a lactation consultant, or your doctor. What I can do is stay close, help you feel less alone with it, and encourage you to get proper help early rather than struggling on quietly.
Who this is for
This is for you if feeding is on your mind - before the birth, in the first raw weeks, or later on. Perhaps it hurts, or it's slow, or you find yourself dreading every feed. Perhaps you're combination feeding, or expressing, or wondering about stopping, and you'd like to talk it through with someone who won't push you either way. There is no single right way, only the way that works for you and your baby.
What happens
We talk before your baby arrives, if you'd like
What you're hoping for, what you've heard, what worries you. Knowing in advance where help can be found takes pressure off later.
I sit with you while you feed
Sometimes what helps most is company, calm, and enough time to notice what is actually happening.
We work out who else you might need
If something suggests a medical cause - pain that isn't settling, worries about your baby's weight, signs of infection - I'll encourage you to see your midwife, a lactation consultant or your doctor, and help you gather what you want to ask them.
I stay with you through whatever you decide
Continuing, combining, expressing or stopping. My support doesn't depend on which of those you choose.
Common questions
Are you a lactation consultant?
No. I'm a doula, and my support is non-medical. A lactation consultant is trained to assess feeding clinically, and there are situations that need exactly that. I'm glad to be alongside that kind of help rather than instead of it.
My baby isn't gaining weight well. Can you help?
That one belongs with a health professional first, and soon - your midwife, your doctor or a paediatrician. It isn't something to work through with a doula alone. Once your baby is properly looked after, I can absolutely be beside you through it.
I think I want to stop. Will you try to talk me out of it?
No. Your body, your baby, your choice. I hold space, not opinions. If you'd like to think it through out loud we can, and if you've already decided, I'll support you in that.
Can we just talk first?
Yes. A free discovery call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. You can describe what's happening, and we'll work out what kind of help would be useful - even if it turns out not to be me.