Doula Services

“ A doula was something I’d vaguely heard of before becoming pregnant - it wasn't until I was expecting with Faaleh I became obsessed with researching all about birth and pregnancy to prepare myself mentally and physically.

I knew birth as a natural process and women having been going through it since time eternal but I couldn't help but think there is such a lack of general education around it - it's kind of assumed that it's something you can do with very little information. And to me that felt like embarking on a 40 mile marathon but with zero training.

My research brought up some interesting statistics about racial disparity in maternal care, I was shook that this was real. I don't think I had spoken to one south asian mum with a non-traumatic birth story & thought this can't just be it, suffer and keep it moving?

We signed up to an NCT class and hired Dionne. I interviewed many doulas and found a real lack of Black and brown doulas. I really wanted a lady of colour to be there for me in my most vulnerable state. I felt deep in my core that no one could fully understand my anxieties around being a first time brown mum other than someone like me. So when we got chatting it was such a easy click I knew Dionne was the one. Later I found out she studied Textile Design before training to be a midwife so maybe the creative vibe came through, but just safe to say when you know you just know!

I learnt the importance of feeling safe secure during labour, about boosting happy hormones oxytocin and minimising adrenalin, being active and upright instead of lying down during labour. Staying at home for as long as possible when contractions kicked in.. keeping my birth environment chill, hypnobirthing (this was amazing and I used this and gas and air for all of my labour) I learnt about pros and cons of epidurals, pethidine, gas and air. To expect nearly a dozen people to be around in an operation room for a caesarean, episiotomies... The LOT!

Dionne was instrumental in educating and providing support for me AND Manan. What I loved about her approach is we worked as a team and she made sure that we both were covered. She asked about his ways of coping as well as mine, we both realised in hindsight how essential this was in being good supports for each other and realising we were both in it together. Manan knew about all of my birth preferences and educated himself on the process, we couldn’t control anything but we knew our options

Having Dionne gave me confidence in myself, she gives a sense of calm to a situation whilst remaining open and approachable. As well as being a lovely person she's also very knowledgeable in her field being a Midwife by profession too!

Her help didn't stop at the birth..we had visits after Faaleh arrived we both got a chance to talk about our birth story (a very important and often overlooked part of the birth process, you go through a literal near death experience whilst bringing life into the world and are expected to not talk about it!?)

Dionne was key in giving me confidence to breastfeed and make sure Faalehs latch was correct & for positions for me to feed in for comfort .I've been exclusively feeding her for a year and I 100% believe my solid start helped me to do this “.

Usarae + Manan

“ Dionne supported me & my partner, as first time parents. We had a difficult experience dealing with various teams across the NHS but she helped us to navigate this empowered to do so. Dionne has a wealth of experience and is able to share her knowledge from both a medical & homeopathic view, in a way that adds to your understanding without being overwhelming. She helped us to understand we always had a choice, ensured we always made an informed decision and reminded us that the final decision for our birthing journey lay with us.Having Dionne by our side throughout the pregnancy, and especially during birth, was the extra layer of reassurance and safety we didn't know we needed. Her wealth of knowledge, tools, kindness and support ensured we were able to bring our daughter safely into the world and have the birth we wanted. She also protected us from unwanted interventions and was a great coach throughout labour and during those early weeks “

M

“ Dionne was brilliant. Most profoundly for me during labour as noted below. As a first time mum, her support in advance was also really helpful in terms of understanding options and choices and being prepared to give us the tools to advocate for ourselves when necessary. I had built an idea of what I wanted my birth experience to be and Dionne was supportive in that throughout, offering further insights, options and expert knowledge. She was always willing to respond to us, and despite our first meeting being remote, was able to quickly build a connection with me. My husband wrote the below about the birth. She was brilliant at making him feel included, supporting him to support me while ensuring my needs were centered throughout. Honestly, I can't imagine getting through that experience, as I envisioned without her help, in so many ways it's impossible to list them.

Dionne had an overwhelmingly positive impact on our birth experience. She understood and intuited what we were looking for in our first birth, and helped us to achieve that from the first meeting to the big day. We felt her help and support most keenly on the day itself. Our plan was for a natural water birth in the midwife-led birth centre, with the birthing pool as the main pain relief. However, for medical reasons we were moved to the labour ward. What started off as a minor deviation from our plan began to snowball, and it became clear that the medical staff (though not necessarily all of the midwives) wanted/ expected a more medicalised birth than we were comfortable with - 24/7 monitoring, epidural, etc. Dionne was instrumental in reassuring us that we were still in control of our birth experience, which gave us the confidence to ask questions of the medical staff and secure a birth experience that was as close to the natural one that we had planned, without putting either mum or baby at risk. In addition, when my wife couldn't be in a birthing pool, she was offered gas and air as pain relief. However, it made her feel sick so had to stop taking it. She didn't want an epidural due to her PGP and wanting to know her physical limits in birth, so her main source of pain relief during contractions was massage from Dionne. This made an enormous difference for her and enabled her to have the sort of natural, unmedicated birth experience that we had hoped for. Also, Dionne was hands on throughout with advice, and assistance with how to move during labour to help the baby down the birth canal. Overall, while we are sure we could have done it without her (or at least, that's what she told us!!), we are certainly very grateful we did it with her, and we couldn't recommend her as a doula enough! “.

Monifa + Anand

“ Dionne supported us through our first pregnancy, from the last weeks of pregnancy, birth, and the first weeks after.Dionne has a great balance of experience, scientific and naturalistic approaches, bringing a pragmatic view that felt tailored to what we needed. She has great coaching experience and helped us come to our own decisions, understanding the pros and cons and how we felt about our choices.We really appreciated Dionne’s wealth of knowledge but also her warmth and kindness. Her presence during birth was reassuring and supportive, specially when it didn't go the way we were hoping. Dionne was there to make sure we understood our options and had the time and space to make informed decisions. It was also very helpful to have her available to chat at any time during those first very demanding days! Overall our experience with Dionne went beyond our expectations, lending us an informed, warm, and safe pair of hands “.

Sabrina + Alexey

“ Dionne supported me at the births of both my children, alongside my partner and NHS staff. She was wonderful at supporting me emotionally, as well as suggesting techniques, movements and positions to try to facilitate labour depending on what was happening in each moment. My first labour was uncomplicated but very long and slow and Dionne encouraged me to keep moving around until established labour occurred, showing me different movements and helped keep up morale throughout. With my second labour, things were more complicated as my baby was back to back. Despite the increased pain and slow progress of labour, Dionne, together with my midwife did their best to ensure I stayed positive, trying various positions to labour in, keeping my spirits up and discouraging me from panicking or losing hope. In the end, my baby was born face-up, with no intervention. Dionne was amazing at facilitating communication between myself and my partner, who had no experience or knowledge (despite attending antenatal classes) of birth, and also with the midwives, who I had never met before going into labour and was able to mediate some of our discussions about how to proceed, always making sure my needs were considered and that I completely understood any medical terms. She was diplomatic and worked co-operatively with the other medical staff. I would recommend her services to any pregnant woman. Birth is unpredictable and it was so helpful to have an advocate there to support me and put my needs first, as well as being funny, kind and great at distracting from and overcoming pain and negative thoughts like fear and self-doubt. ”.

Naomi

“ Dionne was my birthing partner for the delivery /birth of both my sons. My first son was born over 17 years ago, before Dionne formally began her career journey. My second son was born 8 years ago and though it goes without saying that Dionne's knowledge, skills and experience would have increased in this time her approach remained the same. Dionne effortlessly supported me, educating and thus empowering me to have faith in my body to do what it is designed to do. The main reasons I'd recommend Dionne is for her non judgemental approach to educating women to make informed choices throughout the stages of their pregnancy. Dionne was calm, positive, patient and informed - I'd highly recommend Dionne to support you/your family in your pregnancy “.

Donnarie

“ Dionne wasn’t there when I had my first child but was very instrumental in my perinatal care. She was present when I gave birth to my second child and having her there was very reassuring in the times I was most uncomfortable and felt like giving up. She carefully encouraged throughout the final stages of labour, reassuring along the way of how good I was doing ”.

Syritta

“ Dionne provided the most fantastic support throughout my pregnancies and beyond. Despite being appointed a midwife, doing independent research and listening to the experience of my family elders, Dionne's voice and knowledge was always what stood out to me. Everything she ever told/showed me about natal care "made sense" and totally resonated with me. I think that is because she strikes a perfect balance between sharing clinical textbook knowledge, lived experience and her well nurtured women's intuition. There is a lot to be said for Dionne's integrity when it comes to making mother and child the priority - you immediately feel safe in her hands and that she has totally got your back ”.

Naomii-May

“ Dionne supported my wife and I through the births of both our children. She was a calming presence in the room throughout both births, and proved especially quick thinking throughout a difficult second birth for my wife (which was delivered face up). Both compassionate and focussed, Dionne was emotionally sensitive and supportive to everyone in the birth room including myself, creating a focussed but supportive ‘team’ atmosphere - which, in turn, brought the best out of the midwives and enabled me to be a better partner (and not feel like such a spare part!). As a male partner, I was incredibly thankful to have someone with Dionne’s many qualities guiding us all through the process and supporting my wife through the miracle struggle that is childbirth! She brings strength, warmth, expertise, diplomacy and humour to her role, and so much more besides “.

Allan