Mandy - The Scottish Doula

Mandy - The Scottish Doula OBSESSED with making birth better

💖 Antenatal Support
💖 Hypnobirthing
💖 Breastfeeding
💖 Postpartum
💖 Doula in Training

SERVICES SPOTLIGHT: A WEE CHATOver the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing more details on the packages and services I’...
05/09/2025

SERVICES SPOTLIGHT: A WEE CHAT

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing more details on the packages and services I’m going to be offering moving forward. The ‘wee chat’ has been really popular so it’s here to stay!

Sometimes you don’t need a full antenatal course or you’ve already done one but just have a niggling question you want to get some perspective on. You might have had something come up in your pregnancy. Or you might even just want a wee but of time to connect and relax. My ‘wee chat’ sessions are perfect for this.

Check out the details and how to book, and as always let me know if you’ve any questions!

www.thescottishdoula.com

Mandy x

WEST LOTHIAN PREGNANCY SOCIAL - COFFEE MORNINGS ☕️ I’m so excited to let you local parents to be know that pregnancy soc...
03/09/2025

WEST LOTHIAN PREGNANCY SOCIAL - COFFEE MORNINGS ☕️

I’m so excited to let you local parents to be know that pregnancy social meet ups are back with a new venue!

We will meet at Cup Coffee in Bathgate once a month, Sunday morning 10.30 - you can ask questions, borrow books and other resources and chat with other expectant parents over a nice coffee/drink/cake.

Book a ticket here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thescottishdoula/1843892

Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Mandy x

02/09/2025

✨ FREE DOWNLOAD ✨

HOW TO CREATE AN ASSERTIVE AND EMPOWERING BIRTH PLAN

If you’re pregnant, you’re probably thinking about writing a birth plan. Or maybe it’s not even crossed your mind yet - either way this is for you.

When you think about a birth plan you’re probably thinking of a written document that sets out your plans and preferences for birth. And to an extent this is what it is. Its purpose is to communicate your wants, needs and boundaries to whoever looks after you or supports you in your labour and birth.

But in reality, a piece of paper is a piece of paper. A birth plan is so much more than just a written document. It is actually quite a journey of self discovery. Understanding and exploring your intentions and wishes as well as any fears or barriers that you might come up against. Exploring your options. Considering alternatives.

This guide is not a template or a place for you to tick boxes stating your wishes - I don’t think there is a one size fits all template for this. Instead, the guide walks you through the stages I believe are important to get to the point of having ‘a plan’.

To access the guide click the link in my bio or comment PLAN below to be sent the link directly.

A wee disclaimer: by downloading the guide you’re joining my mailing list, it just helps me to send information out to you about my services, interesting developments or special offers. I won’t spam you constantly I promise (hate it myself) but you can also unsubscribe at any time.

Let me know what you think and if you find the guide helpful! And you’re ready to dig a bit deeper to understand your wants, needs and boundaries that will inform the ‘plan’ check my website to book in a call.

Mandy x

💖 HELLO FROM THE SCOTTISH DOULA 💖*Reposting this to add IN PERSON DOULA!*So a little name change around here, from Asser...
26/08/2025

💖 HELLO FROM THE SCOTTISH DOULA 💖

*Reposting this to add IN PERSON DOULA!*

So a little name change around here, from Assertive Birth to the Scottish Doula - different name but still the same old me! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

So I thought it was a good time to introduce myself again for anyone whose new around here 👋

When you seek support in your pregnancy, birth and motherhood journey it’s really important that you click with the person providing that support - for you that might be me or it might be someone else entirely! 💖

Read on for a little bit of background on who I am and why you might want to work with me and if anything here resonates with you and the kind of support you think you might like, let’s arrange a wee chat 💬

Mandy x

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Keep reading for the full review!I’m always so proud to receive reviews like this, I really do pour my heart a...
22/08/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Keep reading for the full review!

I’m always so proud to receive reviews like this, I really do pour my heart and soul into this work because I know you all deserve to be supported and help in this special time!

Sofia and I have been in touch since her first pregnancy and she is just about ready to go again with baby number 2, so she booked in a wee chat with me to talk through her plans to birth at home. Here’s what she said:

“Mandy has been an incredible support to me and someone I have been able to turn to for advice for both my first birth and my upcoming 2nd birth. The “wee chat” over Teams to help plan for my 2nd birth was exactly what me and my husband needed to feel more confident in our choice to have a home birth this time, and we received a detailed follow up from Mandy with further reading, balanced studies linked to questions we’d asked her and notes helping us to write and carefully consider our choices in my birth plan. She took her time really getting to know us and what our vision for birth looked like and it’s clear she is incredibly passionate about her work. Would highly recommend to ANYONE having a baby, regardless of how or where you wish to give birth!! Thanks again!!”

Thank you so much Sofia 💖

If you too would like to feel supported in preparing for your birth, or maybe you would like someone to be there with you on the day, please get in touch to chat about what I can offer!

Mandy x

JUST GIVE ME ALL THE DRUGSI heard someone say this recently when talking about working with a doula - ‘oh no just give m...
04/08/2025

JUST GIVE ME ALL THE DRUGS

I heard someone say this recently when talking about working with a doula - ‘oh no just give me all the drugs’. It’s something I’ve heard loads over the years. There seems to be a misconception that hiring a doula or doing a hypnobirthing course means you have to birth a certain way. Natural. Unmedicated.

I understand where this perception comes from and it’s a balance I find difficult to get right sometimes in social media postings. I’m massively passionate about protecting physiology in birth - I think it’s disgusting that the maternity system does not fundamentally support this. I strongly believe an understanding and respect for physiology must be the starting point - if not how can we truly know if we want to choose something different to that? Or how to optimise if plans change.

But I’m also just as passionate (or more so even) about people being able to give birth in a way that feels right and safe for them. That looks different to different people and must be respected. Being a doula isn’t about pushing natural birth or avoiding pain relief. It’s not that black and white. It’s about supporting you to make choices that feel right for you. My role is to walk alongside you and to help you feel safe, nurtured, informed, confident and respected.

What I would encourage is to dig a bit deeper to understand why ‘give me all the drugs’ feels like the best choice.

- Does it come from a place of fear?
- Do you understand the benefits and risks?
- Do you understand the immediate and the long term implications for yourself and your baby?
- Is it truly the best choice for you?

Only you can answer these questions I am simply here to help you explore for yourself what is the right path.

Please share your thoughts, are you in the ‘give me all the drugs’ camp, would you prefer a more ‘natural’ approach or somewhere in between?

Mandy x

DOULA IN PERSON TRAINING ✅What can I say about this weekend? It was just exactly what was needed and I am so excited to ...
14/07/2025

DOULA IN PERSON TRAINING ✅

What can I say about this weekend? It was just exactly what was needed and I am so excited to progress in my doula journey.

Being with a bunch of other doulas for the whole weekend, talking all about birth, sharing stories, practicing the practical skills that can be utilised to support clients, it was all magic.

Since 2022 I have been supporting clients antenatally and postnatally, as well as virtually including in birth. All of that will continue.

The next step I will be moving forward with is to open up my diary to in person birth clients from mid-August onwards. I’m currently refining my packages but I if you would like to chat about what this might look like for you meantime please get in touch!

Mandy x

I COMPROMISED MY VALUESI compromised my values so as not to upset someone. A very kind person bought me coffee yesterday...
14/07/2025

I COMPROMISED MY VALUES

I compromised my values so as not to upset someone. A very kind person bought me coffee yesterday. It was a nice coffee, I enjoyed it, I was extremely grateful.

The problem was, it was a Starbucks coffee. And I’m boycotting Starbucks (and others) for their complicity in the Palestinian genocide. I don’t shop there anymore. I don’t want to give them my money and I don’t want to drink their coffee.

But like I said, a very lovely person bought it. So I drank it. I was and still am grateful. But I compromised my values so I didn’t upset someone. And it didn’t feel good. I’m not going to beat myself up over it, but I am going to take it as a lesson. If I want to uphold my values I need to go to extra effort to make sure I’m prepared. So - get my own, say no before thanks or check where it will be bought from. Or if the coffee is already bought, rejecting it could have been a great opportunity to open up the conversation about boycotts - sure it might have been awkward but maybe it would have inspired others to do the same? I would encourage everyone to boycott these brands, boycotting is one of the most powerful ways we can have an impact. As always free Palestine 🇵🇸

The situation made me reflect on birth, how many times do birthing people agree to things they don’t really want or compromise their values so they don’t upset the care provider? How many agree to things like (unnecessary) vaginal exams because their midwife is super kind and lovely, but deep down it’s not what they want. I know I’ve done it. We all have that ‘good girl’ inside us no matter how much of a rebel we think we are 😂 That’s why saying ‘just say no’ is naive at best and dangerous at worst. We are all human and we are not immune - even me. Knowing your values and boundaries is so important - being able to communicate them - even more so. A

As always, it’s all connected! If you’re reading this, I invite you to take a moment today to reflect on your own values - in life, and in birth. What really matters to you? Where do you need to strengthen your boundaries? And how can you start communicating them with courage and clarity?

Mandy x

DAY 1 IN PERSON DOULA TRAINING ✅
12/07/2025

DAY 1 IN PERSON DOULA TRAINING ✅

BECAUSE ITS ALL CONNECTEDI haven’t really been posting about birth or my business lately and at times I think to myself ...
22/06/2025

BECAUSE ITS ALL CONNECTED

I haven’t really been posting about birth or my business lately and at times I think to myself I really need to post some birth stuff. But then I try to think of something to say and I can’t find the words.

Not because I’ve lost interest, couldn’t be further from the truth. Still obsessed, still full of fire and a need to help people understand that the current S**T SHOW most people are experiencing is not what birth is, and that birth is really something quite incredible.

So I’ve not lost interest, I have just lost interest in trying to promote my business by trying to think up things to say. Or scheduling posts. Or thinking up things to say in a newsletter to try and get people to buy from me. It all just feels completely disconnected.

But when I think about it, all of it is connected really isn’t it.

The increased medicalisation of birth.
The induction epidemic.
Obstetric violence.
Birth trauma.
Genocide.
The ICE stuff happening in the US.
Poverty, huge poverty, in what is apparently one of the richest countries in the world (and has plenty to spend in ‘defence’.
Billionaires (who simply, should not exist).
Violence against women and girls.
And in business, the sacrifice of human connection for aesthetics, automation, convenience, a desire to make more more more money. Selling to ‘pain points’ 🤮

All of it, at the end of the day has the same root cause - greed, the need to have power and control over other human beings, a lack of humanity.

I’m not saying someone who schedules their Instagram posts or makes money from their business is on par with satanyahu don’t get me wrong. I just mean, this whole capitalist thing is just all wrong. And it makes me so sad and so angry.

We need change. Sooner than later. Before it’s too late. It’s already too late for millions of people. We need humanity.

BUILDING A BUSINESS WHILE WITNESSING GENOCIDEThere are no tipsNone of it fu***ng mattersF**k your algorithm. F**k your a...
13/06/2025

BUILDING A BUSINESS WHILE WITNESSING GENOCIDE

There are no tips

None of it fu***ng matters

F**k your algorithm. F**k your ads. F**k your fu***ng lead magnets. F**k your perfectly aesthetic Instagram grid.

Last night I watched CHILDREN being shot at while they searched around for SCRAPS of food because they are fu***ng starving. SHOT AT!!!! CHILDREN!!!

I can’t even find the words right now to name everything I have witnessed over the last 20 months. And I have the extreme privilege of only witnessing this through my phone screen. This is actual HUMAN BEINGS living this. I say living, what kind of life is that? What kind of death is that?

All of you losing your fu***ng mind because some ar****le on TV is slating breastfeeding. Yes she’s an ar****le. Yes it’s a load of bu****it. But who even cares. Knowing we even have the choice. Knowing we even have the ability to produce milk because we are not malnourished through deliberate starvation. Check your fu***ng privilege?

Do I want to build my business just like the next person. Yes of course I do. I haven’t done all this training and years and years of learning and unlearning and passion and fire to not support women. But all of the things that go with ‘building a business’ these days are all just bu****it. It’s all just empty and fake and so completely irrelevant.

I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to do, I don’t know why I’m posting this but I’m sure some of you feel the same way - sending so much love.

And as always - FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸 and while we are there free all oppressed people. Sorry this is centering me and not them, I recognise this but I need to scream into this little grid right now before I lose my mind!

Mandy x

INTERNATIONAL HOME BIRTH DAY 🏠Today is international home birth day, home birth is something that has been completely li...
06/06/2025

INTERNATIONAL HOME BIRTH DAY 🏠

Today is international home birth day, home birth is something that has been completely life changing for me personally - from that first accidental homebirth 9 years ago followed by 3 more planned home-births . Four perfect baby girls safely delivered into the world at home something which I am so incredibly grateful for.

Home birth is something I never would have ever considered - in fact when I was having Orla the midwife asked if I would consider it at booking app just as one of the tick boxes and I laughed out loud. No thank you! Thought it was absolutely ridiculous - yet Orla had other ideas.

It’s how I’ve ended up here doing this work - from then on my eyes were opened. Slowly but surely I began to see the possibilities - what we are capable of, how our environment massively impacts how birth unfolds, the absolute bu****it that happens daily in hospitals that doesn’t need to be happening.

My story is not your story, home birth will not be for everyone. But I gently ask you to consider - could home birth be right for you? If you don’t consider it you’ll never know! Why not open your mind to what’s possible?

If you would like to chat about home birth please feel free to ask a question or leave your thoughts below. Or if it’s something you’re seriously considering why not book in a wee chat. Or if you’re local pop along to the next meet up of the West Lothian Home Birth Support Group (and if you’re not local I’ll help you find your local one).

I also just want to take a moment to reflect on the extreme privilege of being able to 1) choose where to give birth in the first place and 2) to have a safe place to give birth - so many in world do not have that privilege and whilst we can and should celebrate home birth we must also continue to fight for the oppressed and for safety for all birthing people!

What are your thoughts on home birth?

Mandy x

Address

Bathgate

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+447917547207

Website

http://www.thescottishdoula.com/

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