Freebirth Support

As your freebirth doulas we will provide continuous support for you and your family. Throughout your (wild or not) pregnancy, freebirth, and the immediate postpartum we are here for you.

Below is a guide to what we can offer, but the care we provide is tailored to your individual needs, so these are just some of the ways you can utilise the support of your doulas.

What do we mean by ‘wild pregnancy’ and ‘freebirth’?

We’ve learnt the problem is not that birth is over-medicalised, but that birth was medicalised at all. In history and nature, freebirth is the default – giving birth without medical assistance or external guidance – because it meets all of the basic needs for human birth. We only offer in-person pregnancy and birth support to women who are planning a freebirth. You can read more here about why we no longer attend births in hospital or at home with a medical professional present.

Initial meeting regarding your freebirth

We offer a free meeting where we can meet and get to know each other a little more. There is no expectation at all, and we are happy to get together for a chat in person or over Zoom. During this initial meeting we might discuss your birth preferences, any previous pregnancy experiences, your expectations of a doula, and answer any other questions you might have. We understand how personal the decision of choosing your doula is, so the most important thing is to make sure we are a good fit and you can get a better feel for whether we are the right doulas for you. You can book an initial interview here.

Antenatal meetings during your wild (or not) pregnancy

As your doulas we will continue to get to know you through antenatal meetings. These meetings are not limited and we can meet as often as you wish. During these sessions we hope to learn about your expectations for your birth and how you envisage our roles. The better we understand your wishes the more prepared we can be for your big day.

We can talk about anything at all; whatever is on your mind. We usually arrive empty handed, ready to listen, and with no expectations about what you might want to discuss. Nothing need be too big or scary or silly or superficial to say aloud. We believe there to be great benefit in calling things by their names and bringing them to light. Holding space for whatever is going on for you is part of our responsibility as doulas, so you can contact us any time, and as often as you like. Part of our support plan includes a Whatsapp group chat with all of the doulas, you and whoever you wish to be included – this can then be used any time to share your thoughts, feelings, vent and/or schedule sessions.

Labour and freebirth support

We go on-call around the 37 week mark, from this point onward we will have our doula bags packed and we’ll have our phones on loud. There is no cut-off for us being on-call for you, if you are still pregnant at 50 weeks, we’ll still be on-call for you. The same goes for if you go into labour before 37 weeks, we would still aim to make ourselves available to come to you, it may just take a little longer. Once you are in labour, we can join you whenever it is right for you and stay with you until after your baby is born. From the moment we join you in labour, we will be there as continuous emotional, physical and practical support in whatever capacity you need. After your baby is born, we will stay until you are all settled and happy for us to leave. Some women call us over to hang out for a while, and then decide that they would prefer to be alone and send us home again – this is absolutely fine! We are there to serve you, and we want you to feel comfortable enough with us to tell us clearly what you need – and if that is for us to come and go a few times, we’re happy to do so. Some women are not sure that they will want a doula present at their birth when the time comes, but want to know that there is someone on-call for them just in case they come to a point during labour where they feel called to have another woman nearby. There is a lot of value in having all of your options open.

Postnatal follow-up after your freebirth

After your baby is born we offer a postnatal meeting to discuss your birth and chat about how you are doing. Some women like to do this almost immediately, while others prefer to leave it a little longer.

After this meeting, the circle is closed but the bond we will have built is not severed. Our Whatsapp chat will remain open and you can always get in touch if you want to chat or get together. Beyond this, extra postnatal hours can be booked for the weeks or months ahead.

If the unthinkable happens

Here’s the thing, and this can be hard to talk about – of course we support women to have beautiful and empowering, joyful births, meeting with positivity and anticipation in the weeks and months beforehand. And of course we love to work postnatally with women who want help with feeding and understanding newborn behaviour, or an extra pair of hands around the house in the blur of the fourth trimester.

But the support we offer isn’t just for the happy births. We bring the same nurturing, loving, emotional and practical support to women giving birth in any trimester, in any situation.
We are there through grief, and shock, and doubt, and fear, and every kind of loss, because we are there for the woman and those she cares about. So please, if you’re wanting to hire a doula but waiting until after the first trimester, don’t hold off on our account. When we say we will hold space for anything you go through we mean it, there is no limit to that from our side. If you were to endure a loss we would be right there with you, however you wanted us to be. We often hear, “I wish I’d had someone with me”, “I didn’t know who I could talk to”, “I didn’t know what to expect”, “people didn’t know what to say”, “I was treated with no compassion”, and “I wish I’d known all my options” when women open up about their miscarriages and stillbirths. So as difficult as it may be to discuss, we want women to know that we are there for them no matter what, and that we have funding for supporting loss.

Our doula support is always tailored to the woman and her individual circumstances, so if loss is something you want to talk about, we are completely open to it and will listen without judgement. And if it’s not, we won’t bring it up. Whatever you want to speak about, and wherever you’re at, we would be honoured to be your doulas.

Our fees

The cost for our birth doula package is £1800.

We are the only service to offer this level of commitment, and the opportunity to build a relationship with two doulas. Our fee reflects not only this, but our extensive experience in supporting women.

As a Community Interest Company we are able to offer a fee reduction to clients in certain circumstances so please talk to us about your situation.

We also offer gift cards in various amounts, as people are realising that the experience of how we are born is more important than the stuff we accrue.

If you think we might be the right doulas for you, or you would like to chat more about how we might support you, please get in touch. If you have more questions, you can check out our FAQ’s. We would love to hear from you.

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