DoulaCarla

Carla is wonderful. After two traumatic births her companionship, support and professionalism was invaluable in making our third a totally different experience. She is bubbly, motherly and gives a quiet confidence to the situation. She was also a great support for my husband and nothing was too much effort. Hands-on and practical, she went above and beyond to be all we needed at all times and even the midwives commented on how excellent she was. Having her as part of our family for this season - both before, during and after the birth - was a blessing and a friendship we will not hesitate to call upon again.

From the very start Carla was so helpful and genuine. We felt immediately at ease and she helped us greatly. We hadn't planned to hire a Doula but due to complications during our child's birth we soon realized we would require extra help. As well as helping to look after our baby she also helped my Wife and I with relaxation techniques. She also was able to help with cooking and cleaning. We would definitely recommend Carla.

Carla worked with us as a antenatal and post natal doula. She offered us a wholesome perspective that my husband and I have found so reassuring and empowering throughout and beyond our time working with her. Our confidence throughout the birth and in the early weeks as first time parents grew so much with the kind reassurance and guidance from Carla.Before the birth Carla did a very inclusive session on birth and hypnobirthing. Both myself and my husband were really well prepared for birth. There were a few bumps on the road in the lead up to the birth and our daughter was 10 weeks late. Carla was so informative and reassuring through out this time, helping me to keep focused and overcome the uncertainty of waiting to go into the labour. Being low risk, i had very little contact with the hospital, so having Carla to guide us through this time was so appreciated. I had an amazing vaginal birth and I know this is partly down to Carla's calming and knowledgeable encouragement. All of which gave me the confidence to trust my body and follow my instincts.After our baby was born, She did 2 nights and a morning/afternoon a week. We became a great team and she had a wonderful relationship with Connie. This helped us to understand ours and our babies needs and we have so enjoyed her wholesome approach where we learnt to follow our instincts and weigh up all the conflicting information from midwives, Google and health visitors. We have really enjoyed the first few months of parenting and I know this is down to her. She left a gaping hole in our lives when she left us and we would hire her again in a heart beat. Thank you Carla!

Carla was a real gift to our pregnancy and birthing journey. It was with her help that we were able to generate the necessary knowledge, peace and confidence needed in order to birth our daughter naturally at home. After a highly medicalised first birth we faced many questions and unknowns this time round. Carla was there every step of the way with emotional support and to provide the necessary resources to ensure we were always making fully informed decisions. She made us feel so at ease throughout our communication with her. This preparation, alongside her hypnobirthing, was absolutely key to the unfolding of a natural homebirth for us. As I was birthing Emily, we discovered she was breech. However all of the prep work we did with Carla allowed us to remain calm and at home where our baby emerged into the world peacefully and in good health.Carla has such a passion for her role and this really shines through in her responsiveness, availability, compassion and willingness to help her clients however they need, however she can.

Carla was the best choice about our birth that we made! After previous trauma, her support gave us the most calm and healing birth with baby no. 4.Mine was a high risk pregnancy but with Carla's research and support I was able to make informed decisions and have the confidence to stand up for what I wanted.Thank you!

Following a bumpy" delivery I was in need of extra night support. Carla came to help me at incredibly short notice fitting a couple of nights a week into her already busy schedule & introducing me to two other doulas (both of whom I'd also recommend) who were able to work together to provide the number of nights help I was looking for. I liked Carla from the 1st instance we spoke on the phone & her encouraging & reassuring manner continued throughout the time we spent together. After quiet observations Carla offered suggestions of ideas to try without telling me what to do / not do & without overloading me. Her calming presence in the house & support to my daughter & I has helped us through the early weeks. I also highly recommend Carla's banana flapjacks - the ultimate breastfeeding fuel!"

We hired Carla as our doula in the hope that she would give us the tools to have a positive and informed birth. However the support and care we received was far beyond our expectations. Carla put her all into every antenatal session we did, any questions we threw at her would be responded to quickly with amazing research, any time I felt down or confused about a difficult appointment, Carla would be on the end of the phone as soon as I was home. We felt CONSTANTLY supported & informed. During the birth, Carla was hands on when she needed to be, helping with massage, essential oils, hyponobirthing yet gave us space at more personal moments, she gave us suggestions such as turning the hospital bed around to make the room feel more ‘homely’ She set up candles and fairy lights which created the most relaxing, special atmosphere. At every moment I needed her, she was there. I had planned a home birth however ended up having an induction and I fully believe the reason I had such a positive, beautiful experience, is because we hired Carla. The support we received was priceless and we will absolutely be hiring Carla again for any more babies we go on to have. ❤️

My husband and I initially sought a doula to help provide emotional support during a long tried for pregnancy which followed a devastating miscarriage. Our pregnancy was high risk due to heavy bleeding up until 16 weeks which led to us being constantly anxious. On top of this my husband had a kidney transplant and the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown hit. To say our stress levels were high would be an understatement! Carla was a rock of constant support and reassurance during a time when the NHS was too stretched to provide the emotional support we needed. We started with weekly zoom calls where Carla would research every query on our behalf and helped us form a thorough and informed birth plan in preparation for our home birth.When the birth arrived, Carla was firm when necessary to ensure our birth plan and choices were respected. She worked fantastically with the midwives to use alternative methods including clary sage oil to help contractions at the pushing stage and respecting the “rest and be thankful” stage. But best of all, Carla delivered a 5 star back massage continuously throughout my labour which was simply wonderful and exactly what was needed at the time!Following the most perfect home birth, our son required assistance with his breathing and I suffered from a retained placenta and blood loss. Carla remained calm, assisted the midwives and called for ambulances as necessary. She helped liaise with the medical staff to ensure the safe transfer of our son and I whilst she stayed behind with my mum to tidy the house and deflate the birthing pool. Whilst our birth story had a bit of a whirlwind ending, the handling of the situation demonstrates Carla’s skills as a doula and my husband and I still regard the actual birth itself as totally calm and beautiful; it was simply the most perfect event.We will forever be in debt to Carla. Thank you for giving us the honour of having you as our doula and hypnobirthing teacher. You have given us the most priceless gift; a beautiful, calm and serene home birth which we will treasure forever.- Emily, Sam and Baby Frankie