About Lou & her doula service:
A mother-to-be who is looking for a doula is already a wise woman in my books, since having a designated support team to have your back is the best way to have a truly positive experience.
As your doula l will have your back from the moment you book me. I consider it my job for you and your family to feel confident and supported not only on your baby’s “birth” day but through the pregnancy maze and the hazy crazy days with a newborn. I am extremely conscientious and available to you in whatever way you might need with moral support, guidance when asked and practical top tips all along the way. I hope to do my best to get to know you, and for you to trust and feel entirely safe with me as a small part of this most special of times in your life. I also hope to make the experience full of fun and laughter too and to keep you motivated and encouraged at every step of your adventure!
My fee includes all travel expenses, loan of my equipment and books, and support through your pregnancy, birth and early days home with your baby as detailed:
1) Antenatal appointments to get to know you and your partner, and to help you feel emotionally and physically ready, and relaxed and confident. We can use this time to discuss birth plans and practice relaxation techniques such as breathing, positions and massage, and to come to any hospital appointments you would like me to. I always send detailed follow up emails and information after all our meetings and am always available to you via phone or email for chats and support
2) I'll be on call for approximately 20 days around your baby's birth (normally 10 days before and 10 days post estimated due date) and come to you when you need me whether at home or hospital, and remain with you throughout your baby's birth, and for at least two hours afterwards to help with the first feed and getting you and your baby settled and asleep! This can take many hours or just a few, but there will be no clock watching and I have been a doula at a 6 hour birth and at a 36 hour birth, and many in between... so far!
3) The postnatal appointments are to debrief the birth and to give practical and emotional support, also to practice baby massage and sleep settling techniques, and give advice and support when asked for it. I also always bring a cake or a restorative broth!
You can find me on the NCT Doula website here
https://www.nct.org.uk/courses-workshops/nct-doula/lou-toosey.
Parents comments…
I am so lucky to have found Lou straight away, she is everything I would have wished for in a doula and so passionate about her job. She is the warmest person, with so much knowledge about pregnancy, babies and new parents. She supported both myself and my partner throughout the pregnancy, the labour and afterwards with her precious advices and kind heart. I don’t know what we would have done without her! She reassured us about everything that went wrong in the process, and was always there for us” Carole, Magnus & baby G
“Thank you for your precious advice and support. I felt so much more calm this time and I’m sure you have to do something with this! It’s just the best start for us and your help transformed this birth into the most empowering and positive experience of my/our life. You found the words and actions to soothe me, and it was because of you that my labour labour was fast and effective. You were my epidural!!! And so a massive THANK YOU. You’re a superstar”. Cecilia, Stan & baby Clara
“I had hoped to have a home birth for my second baby after having a less than positive experience ending in an emergency c-section for my first. Lou became our doula from 3 months into my pregnancy. She was so incredibly nurturing and consistent throughout the whole pregnancy. During my very very long labour Lou gave me such strength and had such belief in me I genuinely could not have continued at times without her. I will be forever grateful to Lou for helping me to have the birth that I had so hoped to have, the birth that helped heal all sorts of trauma that I had carried with me from my first birth.
Lou has such extensive and incredible knowledge surrounding birth, babies, family and has been such a pillar of strength or my family”.
Jess & baby Jago
“Lou is a wonderfully caring and knowledgeable person and was present with me for my Caesarean, reassuring and keeping me calm throughout, as well as asking all the questions in the operating room that my brain was too foggy to deal with! She took genuine delight supporting me as my daughter entered the world, and I greatly valued her calmness and nurturing approach to my daughter and I in those early hours, which also continued once we were discharged from hospital. Lou has become a friend, helping us with various things along the way, like advice on sleeping and baby massage for trapped wind! I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her skills as a doula”
Katherine and baby Elizabeth
“Following the experience of giving birth to our first child, we wanted the additional support and guidance of a doula for our second baby. It was important for our doula to be a part of the family if we were to share our journey. Our first meeting with Lou was like meeting an old friend. She put us at ease and made us feel comfortable in considering her for a role at such a crucial life event, the birth of our baby. Dad was initially unconvinced but open to the idea, and was fully on board after meeting Lou!
During her visits Lou played with our three year old son, gave him small gifts and took effort to bring him into the process. We believe this helped our son bond with the baby and contributed to him having the great, loving sibling relationship he has now with his baby sister.
Lou asked us both to fill out separate questionnaires to better get to know us and our motivations. This was really informative for us as a couple to hear the answers to questions we had never thought about before, and the elephants in the room that we had tried to avoid, and helped us align on what was important. Lou has wide-ranging and up-to-date knowledge on all things birth and baby related. It was great to have her introduce us to new techniques and approaches and she was equally open minded in terms of respecting and championing our birth preferences and philosophy.
The birth itself happened much faster than we expected and Lou was flexible and accommodating, taking on the role we needed her to at the time. We used hypnobirthing techniques and had the birth outcomes we wanted. It was peaceful, without pain-relief and I can honestly say there was a moment when baby's head was being born where I felt nothing but joy, euphoria and exhilaration.
Postnatally, I really looked forward to seeing Lou and having her care, love and support. I was experiencing low moods and was worried about having post natal depression (as I did following my son's birth). Lou was an anchor and her advice helped me to be self-aware and to better manage my thoughts and feelings. Her expertise in baby massage was particularly helpful given our baby suffered from colic and her kit also came in handy (e.g. postnatal cushion - I wouldn't have considered hiring it without Lou but it was so very useful).
Lou's impact still resonates in our day-to-day life as a family. Our son still loves to read the books that would prepare him for being a big brother, baby has been breastfed beyond 1 year, mum uses her Rescue Remedy every night and dad still follows Lou's advice on '10 minutes in the hour' of dedicated playtime for our son, so that he doesn't feel left out and gets the attention he needs. Looking back the whole experience seems magical. We cannot thank Lou enough for her role in our baby's birth and will remember forever her kindness and wisdom”. Jack and Pippa, Henry and Norah