Hello Baby Doula

Hi, I'm Linda Sharples and I am a doula. Doulas offer practical, emotional & information support to women /couples during pregnancy, birth & after.

Hello and thank you for taking time to come to my page. The fact that you are here shows you are exploring options for helping make your birth experience a positive and informed one. The excitement of pregnancy and birth can often be accompanied by some apprehension, especially if this is your first child, so it’s not surprising you want to gain the right support. You have come to the right place!

Maybe you are looking for doula support at this time because you feel you are venturing into the unknown, or because you would like a better experience than an earlier one. Or maybe you are wondering how you will cope after the birth, especially after your partner has returned to work or if you have other children. Perhaps you don't have a partner and would value extra support for this reason. Whatever your circumstances I can be there for you, sensitive to your wishes, offering support in a non invasive way.

My interest in being a doula has arisen from my own birth and post-natal experiences and those of women I have known. I believe that women can have much more say in what happens to them during pregnancy and birth than they might realise, and have personal experience of how enabling and reassuring it can be to gain fuller knowledge about what happens to our bodies during pregnancy and birth. This can make a huge difference to how safe and relaxed we feel and therefore how labour progresses. You can do this and your body was made for it!

As a birth doula for you I will be the constant presence during your labour which so many women and their partners really value, especially because midwives can change shift if your labour is long. I will listen to you, support your decisions and help you understand what is happening. I will support you in aiming for the kind of birth you want and which we will have discussed in our ante natal meetings.

As a post natal doula I will support you by taking my lead from you, providing emotional and practical help covering many and varied tasks in order to allow you to get used to your 'new normal' with your baby. This could be talking about how you feel, taking a nap while I babysit, feeding your baby or just resting while I wash the dishes or put the laundry on for example. I am flexible and will be responsive to your needs at the time which are likely to be changeable.

Just to give you a little background information about me; I'm originally from Liverpool, lived in London for many years and have been in Luton since 2001. In March this year (2016) I took early retirement from my job as a Probation Officer, a job I did for 32 years. Over those years I developed skills in listening, planning and supporting people emotionally and practically in varying and often challenging situations, and believe this has stood me in good stead for working as a doula. The new found freedom of my retirement provided the opportunity for me to pursue being a doula and I am very excited about that! I have two lovely daughters in their early 20's. I have learnt so much from being their mother, half of their years being a single parent to them. I understand what the joys and challenges of parenting can be. I am now also looking forward to becoming a step-granny early next year.

I attended Kicki Hansard’s Aspiring Doula Course to extend my knowledge and prepare me for working as a doula.

Either the birth package or post-natal or both can be booked depending on what you feel you might need. Please email or call me for further details. If you are interested we would then book an initial meeting for you to meet me in person and get to know me a bit more to help you decide whether I could be the doula for you.

Thanks,

Linda