Gentle Foundations birth doula

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Gentle Foundations birth doula

Hello, I'm Alex, birth and postnatal doula and accredited CBT therapist.

I'm passionate about supporting women to be heard in their journey through pregnancy & birth, and spreading my growing appreciation and love for baby's pre- & perinatal experiences.

22/09/2025

My first encounter with Human Design was a year ago, and not long after this I introduced it to this mama-to-be. I think the words speak for themselves.

Whether you're feeling stuck, unsure on an important decision to make, wondering what are your desires and what are the wants of those around you that you're absorbing as your own, this framework, system, practice, whatever you want to call it, offers clarity, reminds you of the individuality you bring and the importance of honouring that towards more easeful, aligned living, and a bit of a roadmap to get there.

Given my passion for honouring birth and supporting women in their own journey, I see the value in bringing this to my work, and my interest and knowledge is naturally woven through the support I offer you antenatally if we work together, as well as a therapeutic style that views birth through the lens of both mothers' and babies' experiences.

If you'd like to know more please get in touch 🧡

06/09/2025

Pregnancy and postnatal support drop-in is moving!

Starting on Tuesday 16th September, 10am - 12pm, we'll be at Make & Brew in Shirley every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. It's a lovely, homely setting with delicious food and drinks and space and consideration for parents bringing prams and things to keep older small children occupied while you come and chat, offload, share, whatever you need.

Wherever you are at in your journey around pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum life, please come and join us 🧡

27/08/2025

Birth Imprints 🗾

We were going through the usual bedtime hurdles of playing and fiddling with things, asking for milk/water/anything, until I realised this was all preventing sleep.

It takes a bit of time before I clock it, and often there'll be a little protest and then my daughter settles down and falls asleep after a short time. Tonight there were obviously some big feelings to let go of though and she became quite angry, thrashing around a bit and generally feeling very upset.

Then she said something that made no sense given all the bed she was taking up, with me on the edge, and something I then realised I'd heard before out of context but didn't register at the time:

THERE'S NO SPACE FOR ME.

I realised she was talking about birth, her body was remembering. Of getting stuck, and no doubt feeling in her body at the time, there's no space to move!

---

In the hours before my daughter was born, roughly 20hrs into labour and not long before the 'active' phase began, I had a strong urge to push at home. With hindsight I see and believe this was 'early' and a sign of her malposition that became very apparent over the course of the next few hours.

What occurred over this time were largely normal active labour contractions for the most part, but with roughly 1 in 4 of these being felt very intensely, very much not normally, in my right hip. These were not normal sensations, this was pain.

She was not in a good position, but I did not understand this, nor did I have skilled eyes, ears and hands around me to support movement and positional changes to allow her to find a better position. She was literally stuck, with nowhere to go. She was later born in theatre by forceps.

---

I do not share this to worry anyone, either about birth (LOTS can be done to support optimal positioning, and also, some babies just are in different positions, variations of normal you might hear, and this may be appropriate for them/mum's anatomy, being born without help) or babies born by assisted delivery (lots of help here too for mum and baby postnatally from bodywork to psychological therapy - yes it works for babies too!).

Continued in comments

09/08/2025

Birth Preparation with Therapeutic Support and Intuitive Practice ✨

Join an intimate group of women in a safe, therapeutic space where you can be vulnerable about your deepest worries around birth and motherhood.

Led by a psychological therapist (mental health nurse trained) and doula, this program uniquely bridges emotional wellbeing with intuitive practice.

You will be supported to:
- share your fears and concerns in a safe, non-judgemental space with a small group of women
- trust your intuition completely when making birth decisions
- understand physiological birth and your body's innate design
- recognise your unique blueprint and understand how your baby will have their own
- build nervous system resilience for a calm, peaceful birth experience
- establish strong foundations for your baby's wellbeing from the very start.

Your baby comes with their own experiences and path. When you honour both yours and theirs, you create space for the birth experience that's truly right for you both.

If you're ready to move beyond the noise and trust yourself completely, I would love to hear from you. Comment BIRTH below 👇🏼 or send me a message 🧡

01/08/2025

I've been supporting a family whose child is waiting for a hospital appointment. When they rang up to find out where they are on the waiting list, they were told it was a 52 week wait. I'm not asleep to the problems with NHS wait times but I was shocked! The parents however laughed and said, 'at least we know'.

Their response drew huge parallels with women navigating maternity care at the moment, and what a difference having the right information makes, however hard it is to hear. At a time when they are often 'protected' from difficult news, only to then be expected to know what procedure to choose in an impossible situation, sometimes having this choice then questioned, it was such an important reminder of the need for hard conversations, and every person having the right to necessary information.

Let's stop treating women like wounded birds, as one person described their experiences recently, neglecting important information to make informed decisions about their bodies, and trust that they will cope. No question is too much. No request is too big. If this feels uncomfortable for you in day to day life, how can you start practicing in pregnancy, or before if you're thinking about conceiving? 🧡

21/07/2025

Postpartum conversation and company at the doula drop-in today ✨

A time to chat with someone who isn't your partner, to share the exhaustion and mad moments of juggling two under 2, to reflect on the interactions that didn't sit right in pregnancy, and the midwife diamonds who supported you in bringing your baby into the world whose names and care you'll remember for the rest of your life. To ponder the 'due date' debacle, to sense check your thoughts around your baby's needs and how you can support them.

Somewhere to share and be heard and we hope, to walk away feeling lighter, knowing you're doing everything you need to right now, that often it feels like barely surviving, but that the storm will pass, and this support is here to help you not weather it alone ☔

14/07/2025

🙏🙏🙏

25/06/2025

Have you had an unexpected curveball in your third trimester or are you meeting barriers when it comes to your wishes being heard? Is your due period imminent and you would value last minute support at your birth?

We know that sometimes pregnancy and birth planning does not go as expected, and we also know that relationship is fundamental to us providing good quality support. If you have worked with or been supported by one of us antenatally, and you feel this speaks to you, please reach out to Tamsin, Lucy or Alex and arrange a chat to see how we can help and hold space for you at this time ✨

07/06/2025

Yesterday was International Homebirth Day, and today I'm celebrating my sister on the anniversary of the birth of her first baby, at home 💕

She heard the hospital odds and decided it wasn't for her. She learned about labour pain and how it was nothing like the pain and shock you experience when you stub your toe (a real worry of hers before!). And the ripple effects into the people around her and the confidence this has built in their own bodies is incredible to see, so inspiring and hopeful.

Homebirth is safe. It is safe for first time mums. It is often safe even in the face of information being put to you about various 'risk' categories you fall into. Depending on your definition of safety, many say it is the safer option.

Where you choose to birth is up to you, but with the rate of unnecessary interventions and harm coming at women and babies today, birthing at home needs to be normalised now more than ever. Families deserve better, and the existing resources to be diverted and made available to support this choice that optimises physiological birth and a healthy start to life.

Happy 1st Birthday baby boy, and Happy Birthing Day to you 🩵❤️🩵

06/06/2025

Shared with permission, these were some of the first words spoken by an inspiring woman with renewed strength and confidence that I supported postnatally, after the birth of her second baby.

They were the difference between feeling informed and sure in her decision-making, and missing these things during her first birth. The difference between feeling emotionally held by health professionals, and feeling alone and not having her basic needs for comfort and care met. Of feeling empowered and safe in her body, rather than apprehensive and afraid in the uncertainty of birth.

Some might say it is normal or expected that a second or subsequent birth will be experienced more positively, or felt with more confidence than a first. I would say it is common, and owing to the birthing body having 'warmed up' from the first birth, depending on the nature of the previous birth the mind feeling safe in the familiarity of it, yes the experience will be different. But we shouldn't be normalising the expectation of a first birth being dissatisfying, or disappointing, and certainly not traumatic.

When the right support is in place, when the education and information gathered in pregnancy is accurate, up-to-date and shared from a place of believing in birth and women's birthing bodies, positive experiences and excited expressions of 'WOW! Let me do that again!' are happening for many first births too. It is certainly true that, depending on the environment in which you birth and the care providers that are present, more advocacy will be required to ensure patience and a calm environment are maintained, but it is possible.

Every person giving birth deserves to experience this magic, and the power that resides with them, to have people around them that trust in them and the process, and to become transformed through its life-giving, life-altering potential. If you are curious about how working with me could support you on your journey towards meeting your baby, I would love to chat ✨

And if birth has not been as you expected, I am sending you a hug and a tonne of love, and am available for support, listening and sense-making if this is what you need 🧡

Address

Hampshire
Hampshire

Website

http://www.gentlefoundations.co.uk/

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