KIND WORDS
"I first met Ly through her Relaxed Birthing class and immediately knew I’d found someone special to help me through my pregnancy and birth. Ly is passionate about what she does and has a wealth of knowledge and advice. She also has a healthy sense of humour which compliments her down-to- earth approach to the whole process. In her class I felt comfortable to talk about what was really going on for me, and it was a precious once weekly treat to relax and embrace being pregnant. Ly also acknowledged the more spiritual side of birth in class without being airy fairy or disengaging with the day to day practical needs of pregnancy. After attending several classes, I asked Ly to be my Doula and support me through my birth. At first I wasn’t sure how it would work, but I just knew I wanted her wisdom and support through the experience. I planned for a home birth which sadly didn’t happen due to complications, and I was so grateful Ly was there with me in hospital to help me ask the right questions and back up my decisions with the medical staff. I now think of Ly as a close friend after sharing the intense and intimate experience of my daughter’s birth. She definitely made my pregnancy and birth a much richer and less scary experience. Thank you Ly!”
- Holly (first time mum)
"For my second birth we wanted some extra support by having a doula and as soon as we met Tortie we knew she was the one! Tortie's calm, unobtrusive but incredibly supportive style was a complete wonder. In our meetings running up to the birth she helped us prepare mentally for the birth and really encouraged me to slow down and take time to think about the impending birth and baby number two. Our birth was very quick and if it had not been for Tortie the experience would not have been the wonderful positive experience it was. Having the additional female support was invaluable and despite having a very fast birth i suffered no shock, which I put down to Tortie's reassuring presence and words. I couldn't think of a better person to have at my birth."
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- Tiffany
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My relationship with Becs was established a couple of weeks before the date of my elective C-section. Through an initial chat over the ‘phone and two antenatal meetings at my home, Becs quickly came to an understanding of my preferred birth choices and she provided a template document for a ‘Natural Caesarean’ birth plan which I was able to adapt to reflect my birth preferences. On the day of my C-section, Becs supported me in discussions with the surgeon and the anaesthetist before the birth. Becs was invaluable in ensuring that my birth preferences were understood and she was also on hand to take pre-operative photos of my husband Pete and me! After the birth, my daughter had to go to the NICU for tests accompanied by my husband. Becs stayed with me in the recovery room providing emotional support and she ensured that information about my daughter was communicated regularly to me. Whilst in the recovery room, Becs also supported me in establishing significant skin-to-skin contact and a first breastfeed before Charlotte went to the NICU. Becs carried on providing breastfeeding support once Charlotte and I had been transferred up to the post-natal ward. Further support through two postnatal visits included birth debriefing and breastfeeding support. This early breastfeeding support led to me establishing and maintaining exclusive breastfeeding through a desired combination of breast and expressed milk. I would strongly recommend Becs Hunt as both an antenatal and postnatal doula. The support she provided has greatly enhanced my birth and breastfeeding experiences.
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- Gill
"Tortie helped us after the birth of our twins and I can honestly say that we don't know how we would have survived without her. She was always a warm, calm and supportive presence in the house and the twins loved her. As well as giving me some much needed respite, she helped with everything from getting the twins to sleep at nap time to passing me the second baby when I was tandem breastfeeding and giving me lots of support to enable me to continue breastfeeding. Tortie is also an excellent cook and made sure that we were well fed even leaving food for the days that she wasn't with us. My abiding memory is of coming downstairs from having a much needed rest to find Tortie with the twins asleep in a double sling and a cake baking in the oven. As well as all her practical help, I very much valued Tortie's company and friendship."
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- Gina (first time mum of twins)
Rebecca was my doula for the birth of my daughter Isabella. She provided 1:1 sessions preparing for the birth and then was my birth coach. Further to this she provided after care once Isabella was born. Rebecca is an outstanding doula. She was an invaluable support at a very difficult yet very beautiful time. She is intuitive and is able to quickly gauge a situation and what it might require. She adapts her approach and her amazing positivity and empathy provided light and made the experience of my daughter’s birth both graceful and magical. Rebecca is very sensitive to your needs and I felt completely comfortable and safe in her care. She acted as my spokesperson and helped me to achieve a natural c-section. Rebecca is an excellent and active listener, she genuinely listens and then responds to facilitate a desired outcome. I found Rebecca incredibly conscientious as she would always be going the extra mile on finding appropriate reading material and advice about topics that concerned or interested me. She is non-judgemental and approached situations with an open mind and this is incredibly supportive and reassuring. My situation was difficult and I found that she was always able to make me feel comfortable no matter what we were discussing – a rare gift!
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- Belinda
"During my initial discussion with Ly she acted very professionally and I was impressed with her knowledge of pregnancy and birth and a pregnant woman’s needs. On arriving in the delivery room she introduced herself to the midwife and on discussion with my wife made efforts to ensure everything reasonable was being done to help her, handling the situation in an assertive but sensitive manner. She assisted in setting up the delivery room to be more like a birth suite; this improved the atmosphere and helped my wife feel more at ease. As labour progressed she was always attentive to my wife’s needs and made several suggestions that really helped while consistently praising her efforts, I’m sure her kind words were very helpful."
– Darren (dad)
"When I became pregnant for the second time, I was determined to have a very different pregnancy and birth from my first. I had compilations in my first pregnancy that led to an induction and then a very traumatic birth. Rebecca was very professional and knew within a few minutes of meeting me that what I needed most was emotional support. Rebecca went through how she could best support me and gave me some good things to think on even in the interview. Towards the end of my pregnancy fear began to creep in and I had a few very wobbly moments. Rebecca was great and calmed me down and always had time to listen. When it came to the birth she was with me very quickly and liased with the midwifes. She went through my birth plan with them and talked them through how traumatic my first birth was and so how I needed and wanted to be treated this time around. As my labour progressed and things got very intense Rebecca was there as my constant support, encouraging me, helping me to breathe, reminding me to relax and offering different positions to try. I had absolute trust in her that she was going to support me. I would highly recommend having a doula and would highly recommend Rebecca. She took me from a place of fear to empowerment and I ended up with a beautiful home birth just as I always wanted."
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- Ruth
"The birth was the best and hardest day I’ve ever had in my life, and Ly’s presence and support through it all enabled us both to approach the birth with a greater sense of calm and confidence than we imagined possible. She helped us to prepare by asking us questions about what mattered to us and by listening carefully and with her big, compassionate heart, as well as open mind. The knowledge which she passed on to us, both before and after the birth, surpassed anything we were expecting from a doula. Through it all, what shone through was her gentleness and compassion. Especially during the birth itself, it was a tremendous source of strength, energy, reassurance and relief to know that she was there with us each step of the way."
"Tortie was our doula at the birth of my daughter. I have nothing but good words and feelings towards the help she provided. We had to navigate a minefield of hospital protocol, and Tortie's qualities really came through as she quickly and calmly helped us understand what our options were and helped us deal with the doctors who wanted to move things along at a different pace to us. I would have been more inclined to just do exactly what they said if she had not been there. She was amazing at analizing the ever changing situation with real clarity of thought and was a bit of a rock for me. I didn't at any stage feel undermined by her being with us. I felt supported, we were a team. Tortie was so supportive and I'm so glad she was there. I feel for men who have to go through this for the first time alone. It was an education for me. Particularly dealing with some quite intimidating doctors who were trying to steer us in the direction they wanted us to go in. We held out on them on many occasions, and in the end we had a birth that we came away from feeling very happy and proud. Without Tortie I feel we would probably not have had that."
- Jerry (dad)
