About Me

Hi, I am Gráinne (an Irish name pronounced ‘Grawnya’). Please do not be put off by my name as I am not offended by people struggling with it and I understand it is not the easiest to spell or pronounce!

What am I about?

I’m a relaxed, calm, easy to get on with person, who likes to laugh at the funnier things in life. I love meeting people and building relationships. My non-judgemental open attitude means that I will support mum and their partner in whatever choices they make and bring no preconceived ideas or hidden agenda of what birth or parenting choices you should make. You’ll probably find once you announce your pregnancy that everyone has a story or opinion to share on giving birth! I’m here to help you look at all the options available. I encourage parents to trust their natural and cultural instincts and be confident in their values and beliefs to guide them to making the right choices. I am passionate about helping and supporting Mums and ensuring their partners feel part of the process. Partners are always empowered with information to help and support mum when I am not around. We will work together to empower you to give birth and parent your way.

My Family

I live in Ruislip and I am a proud mum of two challenging ‘independent’ teenage girls. With only a 15 month gap between the girls my husband (Matthew) and I could have definitely done with some Doula support when they were born. Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing… My husband was a supportive birth partner but nearly fainted when I had an antenatal blood test, so we did not think he would make it to seeing Ruby being born. But he not only supported me throughout the birth, but he also cut the cord. Having been through this, I do not underestimate the emotions and wonder of the birthing process which has a huge impact on mum, the supporting partner and wider family unit.

Background

I was born and grew up in London surrounded by a wonderfully close large Irish family. My mum was 1 of 16 children and my dad had 5 siblings. Growing up, our home was always full of family and children of different ages. Having babies and children around was very familiar territory and I felt at ease helping out. I started practicing to be a Doula early (unbeknown to me) and in my teens I would spend all my school holidays visiting and helping my aunty to look after my baby twin cousins. I worked 28 years for Waitrose and one of my last roles was as a Commercial Relationship Manager. Over the years I found myself spending more and more time supporting and coaching friends and family through childbirth and the postnatal period. Despite having birthed my own two children I surprised myself at the impact I had when I supported my first birth. Just the little words of encouragement, help with positioning and letting mum know she is almost there, are just some of the simple things that makes the world of difference. I decided I was getting more fulfillment out of this and it was time to focus full time on people and their relationships! I investigated if such a role existed and was excited to discover Doulas. I would love to be a part of your journey and I am happy to have an initial call or meet up to have a chat. You are always in the driving seat and its important you feel comfortable with me and take your time to choose the right Doula for you.

Birth Doula Package

• Free no obligation meet and chat
• 2 antenatal sessions including :
• Discuss your hope and fears
• Go through the labour line
• Help you put together birth preferences
• Look at ways to help you through labour
• Email, telephone and messaging support throughout
• On call 10 days before and and up to week 42
• Help and support for first feed after birthing
• Debrief session 4-7 days after birth

Postnatal Services

• Help, support and guidance with the care of your new-born, including, bathing, calming techniques, sleeping patterns etc.
• Looking after baby while you spend some time with your other children, sleep, soak in the bath, take some me-time.
• Help with feeding
• Telephone, email messaging support
• Helping to get the house to run smoothly by doing light chores, meals etc.

Night Doula

• Wind, feed, change and calm your baby back to sleep, while you catch up on some well earned sleep.