I’m Suzie and I am a mother to Casper and Felix, and wife to Tom. I am very lucky to have many things that bring joy to my life, but my passion lies in fertility, pregnancy, birth and postpartum. This devotion led me to developing my work and to practice as a doula and have experience with singletons and twins. I am currently offering services in the Swindon, Bath, Bristol, Salisbury, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire and surrounding areas.
Welcome! Keep scrolling to find out more about The Baby Doula:
I trained as a birth doula with Nurturing Birth. I’m here to support you and your family through this beautiful and special time. I believe in your power as a birthing person to confidently give birth to your baby, and I deeply care for parents-to-be and new parents. You might be feeling a little overwhelmed, have lots of questions, or be super excited about what’s to come – I’ll be here to navigate all that with you!
I see my role as that of service and support to pregnant and birthing people, and their families. I do this by providing care, a listening ear, sharing knowledge and information and an open, non-judgemental mind and heart, as you prepare for giving birth, and as you get to know your new baby. I also know that no two people are the same and neither are their births – and this is a good thing! We will make this journey your own.
I look forward to meeting you and being by your side during your pre-conception, pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.
What is a Doula?
As a doula I'm a professional prenatal, birth and postnatal friend who provides physical and emotional support to you and your partner. I offer a safe space to talk, signposting your options. I do not advise, but provide options to enable you to make informed decisions. Support can be very individual to the family and needs, but ultimately it’s my job to help you feel safe and comfortable before, during and after birth.
Congratulations you are pregnant!
As you go through your pregnancy and all the emotions that come with it, you may find yourself in a world of questions, decisions to make, preparations, expectations and hopes.
It can all be a little overwhelming, so I’m here to support you in preparing for meeting your new little one, and to remind you to enjoy and celebrate this moment in your life, whilst also ensuring you feel confident and empowered.
So, let’s have a chat about your hopes and dreams for your birth, talk about any concerns that may be niggling at you.
I’m here to answer any questions about pregnancy, birth and postpartum, to point you in the direction of useful information, research, and resources, to help you prepare for your birth and arrival of your baby including exploring your options, and to support you in putting together your birth intentions and preferences, so that you may feel calm, supported and confident.
If I'm going to be your birth doula, during the prenatal period, in my visits we (as in you, me and your partner if you're having one at your birth) will get to know each other a little bit better so we can all feel comfortable in each other's company when the big day or night comes. We'll discuss anything you'd like about your pregnancy and birth, and we'll chat about your preferences and intentions so that we are all on the same page.
It can be a lovely time and opportunity for getting prepared and excited about your upcoming birth.
Your Birth Package
Your due date is approaching and you’re excitedly (and possibly a little nervously) waiting to welcome our little one into the world. During this time, I’ll be patiently waiting for your call and will excitedly answer when my phone rings, no matter what the time of day! I’ll be there to support, empower and care for you as you give birth to your baby, regardless of where you choose to be.
I’ll be with you the entire time (but I will also give you privacy if you feel you need it), and I’ll be there to listen for you, to advocate for your wishes, preferences and birth intentions, and to support you and your partner in having a positive and enjoyable birth experience, in every way I can. What all this means in practice will very much depend on you, your wishes and what you feel comfortable with.
To give you an idea, it can include anything from suggesting different birth positions and comfort measures, massage, filling the birthing pool if you choose to have one, providing encouragement and reassurance, or even just keeping you and your partner well nourished and cared for. It can also include being a sounding board if you have to navigate any questions and decisions, and if you need support in advocating for your wishes and preferences.
I’ll also be there to support your birth partner in being an active companion, so that they, too, have an empowering and positive experience.
Finally, I'll be there to trust your ability, and to help to instil confidence.
Your Birth Package Includes:
A minimum of two prenatal sessions, allowing us to get to know one another, and allowing me to understand your birthing intentions (lasting 2 - 3 hours each).
Phone, text, and email support through pregnancy to offer emotional support, and answer any niggling questions that you might have.
I'll also loan you books and signpost you to helpful resources, tailored to your interests, to ensure you've got all the help and advice you need.
I'll be on call for 10 days before, and two weeks after your estimated date of birth (this is 24/7 – I mean it!). But if your baby is born before or after this period of time, I'll do my very best to be there for your birth
You'll also receive support during the entire birth, a minimum of two postnatal visits (lasting 1.5 - 2.5 hours each).
There will also be phone, text, or email support during the first four weeks with your baby.
This is to answer any questions you might have, and to provide all the support you might need. I also like to provide little treats throughout our journey together!
Birth package £1300 payable in 2 instalments or more if required.
Postnatal Doula Support
What wonderful news your baby is here! What an exciting moment in your life, although it can also be a trying time as you and your baby will be learning your new routines and moments, whilst still recovering after your birth.
I’ll be there to provide help, and I'll share with you relevant information and resources that might be relevant to you, giving you confidence in your first steps as a parent. I will also sit and offer you the space you need and a listening ear as you process your birth story, and to answer any questions or doubts.
I'm also happy to look after older siblings, to help with some light housework, and to look after your baby as you try to catch some sleep or simply have a shower.
£22 per hour. 4 hour minimum blocks.
Discount available for bookings of 40 hours or more.
A travel supplement maybe applicable for 20 miles or more.
Night Doula Services
Each overnight plan is discussed in advance to meet the families' needs,
but I'll typically help with the following, during a booking of 10 hours.
If you are breastfeeding your baby, I can change, settle and put the baby back to sleep when you have finished the feed.
If you are bottle feeding, I will care for the baby throughout the night – feeding, burping, changing, settling, and putting the baby down after feeding.
I will take notes during the night, describing the baby’s activity such as waking/feeding times, amount the baby eats, type of dirty nappies and if the baby settled well or not.
I will clean and wash bottles and pumping supplies, and can make formula in advance for the following day.
10 hour blocks £220
Discount available for bookings of 60 hours or more.
5 stars is not enough - Suzie is simply incredible! She started helping us during the day from when our twins were 8 weeks old and she had such a calming and positive influence on me, the babies and therefore my husband when he got home from work. You can’t help but instantly warm to her and relax in her company, and she completely understands how to help new, stressed, anxious, sleep-deprived parents! Whether it was looking after the babies while I napped, soothing a crying baby, changing nappies, washing and sterilising bottles, making me food and ensuring I drank a hot cup of tea, she just instinctively knew what I needed but most importantly, she was a friend to chat and laugh with amongst the chaos of two newborns.
Suzanne & Harry
Suzie is a lovely doula and an amazing birth professional. She is hugely enthusiastic about birth and clearly adores babies.
She is kind and respectful and a pleasant person to have around during pregnancy and the post-natal period which can feel like a fraught and vulnerable time. She is easy going and fun which creates a relaxed atmosphere. Suzie is flexible about how she helps, and the result is that she is genuinely helpful be it through researching things on our behalf, lending us items or being there to chat over any concerns. She did a great tailor-made 2+ hour birth preparation session for my husband and I which left us – me especially – feeling much more positive and empowered than we had been feeling after our ‘worst case scenario’ NHS birth plan appointment.
She was great at meeting us both where we were at as we had quite different levels of experience as I had worked in a creche, but my husband had never changed a nappy before. She is super well-informed about birth and had lots of resources to share to give us reliable information about our options as we had to make decisions as my pregnancy progressed.
Suzie was really helpful with breastfeeding and helped me overcome early struggles to feel happy and comfortable whilst feeding.
Suzie is reliable and arrives on time and is responsive over the phone. We are so glad we hired Suzie as our doula as having her on board made the birth preparation and postnatal period much better than they otherwise would have been as we felt more informed, supported and confident with her on our team.
Suzie came and supported me and my newborn a few days after he arrived. My husband works very long hours and had to return to work really quickly so wasn’t able to support as much as we would have liked.
It was so lovely to have Suzie there to advise and support me in those first days particularly as I was having issues with breast feeding. Her positivity, warmth and wonderful energy was so comforting and reassuring. I have an older child too who had just started school so having Suzie there enabled me to do the school run and just spend a bit of time with him whilst Suzie tended to the baby which really helped too.
When Suzie left I felt more confident and ready to deal with the new addition and our new family dynamic. She is so caring, understanding and non judgemental it really felt that my load was lightened and gave me and my family the opportunity to adjust during a beautiful but challenging time.
I continued to use Suzie’s support for a few weeks after which was not only helpful due to her knowledge and experience but made me feel a little less isolated and overwhelmed.
I had a traumatic birth with my first child resulting in an emergency c-section. I am neurodivergent and have quite debilitating anxiety and my husband and I were young and naive when we had our first so it was a lot for us.
When we decided to get pregnant with my second, my husband expressed that he was not strong enough to be at the birth again. I needed a birth partner and I needed someone who I felt safe with. Suzie was the first person I thought of. I had known her for a number of years before I asked her and have always seen her as safe person and her home as a safe place (I don't have many of those!). She is inately calm and, I believe, born with maternal instincts that have just evolved as she has had her own family and grown her business.
I had an elective cesarean so my second birth was unlikely to have been as difficult. However, I was still extremely anxious about things not going well or not being able to speak up for myself. Having Suzie there meant I could relax as I was confident if anything happened she understood my needs and would have helped me through anything scary. As it turned out, everything went well and was very straightforward. I would recommend Suzie to anyone who needs support during their pregnancy/birth/post partum and I'm so glad she was there for me when I needed her".
