Stacey is a qualified Birth and Postnatal doula supporting families in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and North London.
Would you like Stacey to be your doula?
Email: stacey@staceythedoula.co.uk
Website: https://staceythedoula.co.uk/
About Stacey
Evidence shows that the continuity of care, provided by birth workers such as doulas, through pregnancy to postnatal, increases the likelihood of an uncomplicated, straightforward vaginal birth (Bohren et al., 2017).
With more than 5 years’ experience supporting families with new babies, Stacey is passionate about providing person-centred support and nurturing that empowers women, and their partners, to confidently navigate their journey to parenthood.
Stacey is committed to promoting empowered birth experiences and prioritising postnatal healing to create a strong foundation for new families to thrive.
Her key areas of focus are:
- For the mother to feel listened to and ‘held’ throughout their pregnancy and beyond, ensuring their sense of control is maintained and decisions respected.
- Safeguarding the experience of the partner, who can often feel excluded, supporting them to find their unique and critical role during labour.
- Increase recognition and respect of the postnatal period as a time for rest, nourishment and, ultimately, healing for the mother regardless of the type of birth.
The birth of a baby is a transformative experience which can, and should, be empowering regardless of the birth setting (eg homebirth, hospital) or type of birth (vaginal, caesarean), and Stacey is committed to supporting you achieve this through:
- Assisting you to develop your preferences for labour and birth, guided by your hopes, past experiences, and the latest evidence-based information, to enable you to make the best informed decisions for you.
- During labour and birth, she will help to create and protect a safe, oxytocin-fuelled environment and advocate for you, when needed, to enable you and your partner (if you have one) to focus on each other and your baby.
- Once your new baby arrives, she will do what she can to ensure you feel settled, having washed and eaten, provide support with feeding (including the first feed), and any information on taking care of yourself and your baby as your postnatal journey begins.
Proven to be beneficial for the whole family (mother, partner and baby), Stacey can also offer one to one hypnobirthing preparation as an additional package.
References:
Bohren, M.A., Hofmeyr, G.J., Sakala, C., Fukuzawa, R.K., and Cuthert, A. (2017) ‘Continuous support for women during childbirth’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 7, CD003766. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub6.
Qualifications
- KG Hypnobirthing Practitioner Training (2023)
- Birthing Biomechanics - Shellie Poulter (2023)
- FdA Birth and Beyond (with NCT) - University of Worcester (2022)
- Birth Doula Licence to Practice - NCT (2022)
- Postnatal Doula Preparation Course - Younique Postnatal (2022)
- Breastfeeding Counsellor Licence to Practice - NCT (2021)
- ONC Level 2, Breastfeeding Peer Supporter - NCT (2017)
Practicalities
Stacey will provide support by:
- Meeting you and your birth partner (if you have one) antenatally for at least two 2-hour sessions, to explore your knowledge of labour and birth and fill any gaps, with time to reflect on previous pregnancies/births if applicable.
- Support with your birth preferences (birth plan) including considering other scenarios, in case of unexpected events, with the aim of achieving an empowering birth regardless of the setting.
- Telephone/WhatsApp support from time of booking until 6 weeks after the birth of your baby.
- Guidance in navigating the maternity system.
- On call 24 hours per day, 7 days a week from 38 weeks until birth, to ensure I am available when you need me.
- Continuity of care throughout labour and birth, and at least two hours after to ensure you and your family are comfortable and settled.
- Support with the first feed and what to expect in the following hours and days.
- A post-natal visit within the first 2 weeks after birth, to reflect on your birth experience and signpost you to any further support you feel you may need.
Testimonials
"From the moment we met Stacey, we felt like we were being held with care and understanding. Stacey gives the best hugs and we laughed and cried together as she saw us through our birth with perspective, empathy and sensitivity.
Stacey's enthusiasm for the magic of birth and having children was infectious and helped us feel more ready to become parents. Importantly for us, Stacey treated us as a couple and a team, and really got the present and active role we all wanted to play in the birth. Without family nearby and having also experienced some acute anxiety during pregnancy, Stacey became an important, constant and caring point of contact throughout.
Stacey was available to come with to appointments, extremely communicative and responsive in a rapidly changing situation when the birth happened, and helped us reframe expectations about birth and our experience of it to a more positive position. She enabled us to have an empowered birthing experience by giving us time, language and perspective to consider how we wanted to approach our birth and how to be adaptable and ready to welcome our baby, however she ended up arriving.
Stacey's support in preparing to welcome our baby into the world and our family was integral and we're incredibly glad to have worked with her."
S.C June 2023
"Stacey has been our birth and postnatal doula and I couldn’t recommend
her enough. She is very calm, knowledgeable and was great with the baby! She helped us in the early days where everything gets a bit blurry, she took care of us and supported us as we entered this new universe of parenting and sleep deprivation, she made the journey smoother. She is a very pleasant person and knows a lot about breastfeeding which is very handy! Having her support made all the difference to us and we’ll be forever grateful."
E.C January 2023
