Jessica Cather

Jessica lives near Bridgwater in Somerset. She has been an NCT Practitioner since 2009, being both an NCT Antenatal Practitioner and a Breastfeeding Counsellor, and she regularly supports parents throughout the area. She is able to travel easily, covering from Bristol to Exeter, across from Minehead to Yeovil, and all areas in between.

Jessica has four children, having had a range of experiences along the way. Her first birth was an induced hospital birth, while her other three were born at home. Jessica initially trained as a Breastfeeding Counsellor then became an Antenatal Practitioner. Now that her children are older she has recently trained as a Birth Doula, which felt like a natural next step to extend her professional development, and to further support local parents.

Jessica believes in the innate ability of women to give birth, and that pregnancy should not be treated as an illness. Women should feel in control of decisions made about childbirth, and having up-to-date evidence-based information is a vital part of this process. She also believes that one size does not necessarily fit all, and that different people all make different decisions for many good and valid reasons. This non-judgemental attitude is fundamental to a good relationship with parents on their journey through birth.

Jessica has a warm and caring nature, and will take her lead from you as to what you need from her. She can offer practical help with birth, including massage and positions that may help, and also offers emotional support through the birth journey. She has a good understanding of many issues that may affect birth, and is also experienced in assisting with establishing breastfeeding. Jessica will support a woman’s partner through birth as well, offering suggestions to enable them to effectively support their labouring partner, and to support them emotionally through this time too. She can faciliate protecting the space around the labouring woman and her partner, and also afterwards, to enable the new family to get to know each other in an intimate and relaxed way, to promote and encourage bonding.