Childbirth
A calm, familiar presence by your side as you meet your baby, however your birth unfolds.
Birth asks a great deal of you, and it deserves company you trust. As your doula I stay beside you through labour, offering comfort, quiet encouragement, and a familiar face in a room that may otherwise be full of people you've never met. I don't carry out clinical checks and I don't make decisions for you - your midwife and your doctor look after the medical side. My part is simpler and quite steady: to help you feel safe, informed and respected, however your birth unfolds. There is no version of your birth that would disappoint me.
Who this is for
This is for you if you'd like continuous, non-medical support during labour. Perhaps you're giving birth in a Brussels hospital where the language isn't your own, and you'd like someone beside you who speaks yours. Perhaps you're planning a home birth, or a caesarean, or you honestly don't know yet. Perhaps your partner wants to be fully with you, and would like support themselves, so they can hold your hand instead of holding everything. We can talk in English, French or Slovak.
What happens
We prepare before the day
We meet beforehand to talk through what matters to you - comfort, movement, who you want in the room, what you'd like if things change. I can help you gather the questions for your midwife or your doctor.
You call me when labour begins
We agree in advance how and when to reach me, and where I'll join you: at home, or at the place you're giving birth.
I stay with you through labour
Breath, position, warmth, water, quiet words, a hand to hold. Reminding you of what you wanted, and keeping the room calm while you work.
We sit together afterwards
In the days that follow we meet again, so you can tell the story of your birth to someone who was there. That telling matters more than people expect.
Common questions
Do you take the place of my midwife?
No. A doula gives non-medical support only. I don't examine you, monitor you or your baby, give medical advice, or speak for you to the medical team. Your midwife and your doctor look after the clinical care. I look after you as a person, right beside them.
Will my partner feel pushed aside?
That isn't how it works. I support your partner as much as you - suggesting what they might do, taking over so they can eat or rest, or simply staying quiet in the corner if the two of you are doing beautifully together.
What if I want an epidural, or end up with a caesarean?
Then I'm still beside you. Your birth, your choices. I hold space, not opinions. Comfort, presence and a calm voice matter just as much in those births, sometimes more.
What if you aren't free when I go into labour?
That's a fair question and it deserves a straight answer, so please ask me directly. A free discovery call is a good place to go through how I organise my availability.
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Related reading
- Giving birth in Brussels as an expat: a gentle, practical guide
A warm, practical guide to giving birth in Brussels when you have just moved here: hospitals, your mutuelle, language support, and where a doula fits in.
- Questions worth asking on a Brussels hospital tour (maternity)
A warm, practical checklist of questions to ask when you tour a Brussels maternity ward, so you leave feeling clearer, calmer and more at home.
- What a doula does at a Belgian birth (and how that differs from a midwife)
A plain, honest guide to the difference between a doula and a midwife at a Belgian birth, written for parents new to the system here.