Choosing me as your Doula!

Welcome to my page! You are probably searching for a doula right now and trying to determine how to find the right fit for you and what do you even need to look for!

There are so many doula's who would be amazing to work with. I believe there is a good vibe we can all have with our doula and finding that connection is very important to make sure you are comfortable during labour, prenatal or postpartum. Knowing your beliefs, ethos, ideal birth story and communication styles is all important. You should never feel you need to sacrifice any of those when selecting your doula.

As a full spectrum doula, I personally wish to support women who are pregnant after loss, fertility treatments, surrogacy, or other traumatic instances such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, that may be affecting your ability to have a joyful and stress free pregnancy. From my own personal history of pregnancy loss, anxiety, depression, fertility treatments and now surrogacy, I feel I am best equipped to work with others in this space. I want to assure you that I have done much of my own healing and I feel removed and healed from my own traumas and grief - I wanted to ensure I begin my doula journey with no personal traumas still lingering so I will never put my experiences on yours. It gives me joy and hope to help others in this space! If I had known what a doula could do for me during my own struggles, I would have totally hired one!

Understanding who we are helps you and me know if we wish to work together! A little more about me - I was raised traditionally catholic, however I see myself more as a spiritual Christian believer and not associated with organized religion. I believe we all go somewhere when we die and I find a lot of peace with that, knowing I will see my own babies again one day. I also believe in science - IVF, IUI, etc are modern gifts that I believe are so important for people to utilize when they need to. I have 2 kitties and a dog with my husband. As someone who never had pets growing up I never realized how much love you can have for a little being that can't even speak to you <3 I believe in prayers, mantras, spiritual beliefs to help guide us through the toughest and best times of our lives - if you want a doula who is open and willing to discuss these topics with you and support you in that way, I would love to. If you prefer not to get into the spiritual/religious side of this work, that is also totally okay with me. I don't believe in shoving faith into everyone's life nor do I like to lead my day to day life this way.

I will admit, that I have not attended any client births yet! However, I feel very confident in supporting you in this process. I have been unofficially supporting many friends or acquaintances in my fertility community through pregnancy loss, treatments, pregnancy and even post birth success stories! Inadvertently I have been acting in a doula capacity for the last few years. I just really feel called and inspired to help others facing challenges in their pregnancy. From a technical and educational standpoint, my training through Douglas College was with industry doula veterans. It was very comprehensive and hands on. I have my instructors contact/support so the support for additional knowledge is available to me and you. I also have a wide community of other doulas (experienced and newbie) where we share information, guides, tools, resources with one another.

My promise to you is this:

• I will always act in your best interest

• I will also be truthful but kind

• I will help you find resources/information for any topics and guide you to ask the right questions of your medical providers

• I will be an active helper in your prenatal, birth or postpartum journey: whether that means helping meal plan/prep with you, encouraging your partner to join in on the labor techniques, administering the techniques myself or just being a sounding board

• I will support the birth plan you hope to have! If that means little to no interventions, pain medicine then we will focus on that. If you want to pivot to epidurals or other relief I also am fully in support of that. Whatever you need to do to get there is what we will do!

Thank you and much love

-madeleine

604-828-4766