Maddy the Doula

16/07/2025

These forms are used at the RHH too. Fill it out if it feels good, but you don’t have to, and you don’t owe anyone an explanation for your choices. An informed choice is the most important thing, so be sure you understand the pros and cons specific to you. And opting in or out of recommendations doesn’t require you to submit an essay on your reasons.

Public service announcement: If you are being asked to complete one of these (or a similar version used in your part of the world), and it doesn't feel supportive, informative, or like it is a discussion being held in partnership with you, you are not obliged to complete the form.
Care plans can be fabulously wonderfully supportive and empowering. Care plans can also be a tool of coercion and disempowerment. If the vibe is more the second than the first, it is completely OK to take the form with you and never fill it out. It even says that in the Qld Health guideline: To the extent that the woman wishes to do so, the woman may maintain documentation including the Discussion and Partnership Care Plan (p. 15). In other words - if you don't wish to do so, that's fine!

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/736213/maternity-decline-guide.pdf

12/07/2025

If you’re looking for calm, grounded support through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, I’d love to walk that journey with you.

My full birth support package includes:

• Two in-depth prenatal sessions

• Full birth attendance

• A nourishing postpartum check-in

• Ongoing phone and text support throughout

My support is personal, centred around your needs, and grounded in presence, trust, and experience.

Message me anytime to chat about availability, or head to my website in my bio to learn more. Let’s talk about how I can support you 💫

23/06/2025

Quick snaps from a postpartum visit this week ✨🌷 home made sourdough, raspberry and white choc muffins for the soul, and slow cooked beef and mushroom stew with mashed potato - an absolute fave. I cook these things at home and bring them with me so I’m not fussing around your kitchen, I can sit and chat and support you with whatever you need at the time from house chores and emotional support to newborn baby care 🌸 this mama is doing so well, she has beautiful support this time around which has made the world of difference to her recovery 🥰

14/06/2025

Great news! I still remember the amazing care I received from these ladies when learning to feed my first baby. You really do remember the support you receive during those tender and vulnerable times 💫

We are thrilled to welcome the The Lactation Network to the rooms at Eternal.

Anne-Maree and Lou have tirelessly helped hundreds of families navigate the challenges of newborn and infant feeding and with the closure of the Hobart Private Hospital Maternity Unit, we welcome them to our rooms at 2 Melville St HOBART, to continue their important work.

The The Lactation Network will be consulting for antenatal and postnatal clients every Tuesday 9am - 5pm, commencing Tuesday 1st July. Please contact Anne-Maree and Lou directly for further information or to book an appointment. Watch this space for further exciting news and offerings!!

https://www.lactationnetwork.com.au/

30/05/2025

Everyone deserves a doula ✨✨✨ send me a message if you’d like to chat about how I can support you on your journey through pregnancy, birth and postpartum. You and your family are so worth the investment 🩷

23/05/2025

Dear women of Hobart,

I’ve seen so many of the mamas in local groups comment about this deeply disturbing situation.

No one should ever feel unsafe or violated during pregnancy, birth, or postpartum care, or any Gyne care.
If you have experienced inappropriate behaviour or abuse by a midwife, obstetrician, or any healthcare professional, please know that you are not alone, and it is not your fault.

This recent case is a painful reminder of why we must speak up.

If something happened to you, you can report it.
You deserve care that is respectful, safe, and centered on your dignity.

Support is available for reporting or for emotional care. Reach out. You are believed, and you are supported.

⚠️Content warning ⚠️

Detectives from the Family and Sexual Violence Division of Tasmania Police have charged a southern-based obstetrician with sexual offences.

The man has been charged with one count of indecent assault and one count of assault with indecent intent.

The offences are alleged to have occurred in 2022 and 2025 in the Hobart area. Other alleged sexual related offences are currently under investigation.

The man has been stood down by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) prior to today’s charges.

Following charges being laid, the man is scheduled to appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court on September 1.

It is acknowledged that alleged offences of this nature are deeply disturbing, and Tasmania Police encourages anyone with information about sexual abuse to come forward and report, regardless of the passage of time.

Reports can be made directly to police on 131 444, by visiting a police station or Arch (http://arch.tas.gov.au/). If your report relates directly to a medical practitioner, you can also report to AHPRA.

Anonymous information can be provided to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Crime Stoppers Tasmania

22/05/2025

When you get story replies like this 🥹🩷 love my work

10/05/2025

They told you how to breathe
how to push
how to hold your baby close

But they didn’t tell you you’d be born too

They didn’t say how birth would split you wide open
not just your body
but your whole identity
how everything you knew would fall away
and something deeper would rise

They didn’t tell you how you’d soften and sharpen at the same time
how love could feel this heavy
and somehow this light

They didn’t say that matrescence is slow magic
a rising
a remembering
a meeting of the woman you were
and the mother you are becoming

Motherhood
coming home
to someone you’ve never met
and somehow always known 🩷✨ Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas in all their forms ✨🩷

📸

06/05/2025

Are you or someone you know expecting a baby? We’d love you to enter! Tag your friends 😍✨

18/04/2025

Four years since I birthed this sweet girl. It still feels like a dream that I was blessed with this little angel to mother. Her birth was absolutely amazing, it still gives me goosebumps of the best kind. Gosh I loved the baby and toddler years with her, and I love seeing her personality bloom as she gets older, but I so miss her as a little baby 🥹🥲 Thank you for shaping me into the mother I am still becoming, you are one very special little soul 🩷✨😇

15/04/2025

If you’re pregnant or planning to be, I’d love to connect with you. Let’s chat about how I can support you through your journey ✨

Over the past week, I’ve had the honour of being alongside two beautiful families as they welcomed their babies into the world.
I visited both mamas today, such a joy to see them settling in and soaking up those precious newborn moments.
And today I’ve had two new enquiries for birth support.. so grateful that this work continues to find me.

It’s such a privilege to hold space for women as they prepare for birth, move through labour, and step into motherhood. These moments are sacred, raw, and incredibly powerful, and I never take it for granted.

12/04/2025

Doing inversions every day can help you lengthen and soften your uterine ligaments, as well as help resolve any twist in the lower uterine segment.

The weight of baby and uterus streeeeetches out those ligaments to reduce torque and helps baby get into a great position for birth.

⏩️For more info, visit our resources for parents and doulas at MotherboardBirth.com and make sure check out our digital products shop!