London and Surrey Doula

22/10/2018

Such a wonderful surprise to receive this card in the post from my last birth client ❤️. Made my heart full to bursting! Very sadly, this was my last client (for now), as life has steered me down a different path. But I will always be grateful to have met and supported such wonderful women and their families through such a special time in their lives ❤️. I know my Doula days are not over, just paused for a while😊. I’m going to trust the universe and go where she leads me, she’s never steered me wrong. So for now.... doula off call ❤️❤️❤️

27/08/2018

Like many things in life, our perfect birth can not be planned. Like life, birth is a journey, it takes twists and turns, it surprises is, it delights us, it knocks us down, only to raise us up even higher!! As I go on call for my wonderful birth client tonight, I’m reminded of this. Birth is powerful, birth is empowering but more than anything, your birth is YOUR experience, no matter what twists and turns it takes-go with it, respect the process and TRUST your instincts and your body- your body knows what to do. ❤️

15/08/2018

This gorgeous doula baby is 11 weeks old today 😍😍❤️. A wonderful day out with both our families. Happy heart ❤️

22/07/2018

I’ve been a little quiet on here recently, and this is why! I got married on Saturday to my soul mate and best friend. It was a truly magical day which I celebrated with all my family and friends. Words can not describe how special a day it was! After 10 years and 2 kids, I finally get to call myself Mrs Salvesen 😍❤️👰🤵

13/07/2018

YES!! Absolutely THIS! ☝️☝️☝️

02/07/2018

I have the most precious clients! This was a gift from a birth client that I supported last month. It’s a chain with my country (South Africa) as a pendent. ❤️Truly blessed to be able to meet and create new bonds with such special people. Thank you! Xx

28/06/2018

I dont know about you, but I am petrified of social media and my kids vulnerability when using it. I really try ensure they download age appropriate games ect but sometimes I’m not always there to see what they are doing. It’s a good idea to take a look at your safety settings to ensure they are protected.

26/06/2018

Interventions are becoming more and more common in childbirth. We live in a time where it is seen as better to “do” than “not do”. For every action, there is a corresponding reaction. Often something we don’t think of as an intervention, such as medicated pain relief can start a cascade of interventions. When making a decision on whether to have any sort of intervention, be that pain relief, induction, argumentation etc. use your B.R.A.I.N
B. benefits (what are the benefits?)
R. risks (what are the risks?)
A. alternatives (what are the alternatives?)
I. intuition (what does this tell you? )
N.nothing (what if we do nothing?)

It’s time to question the unquestioned use of epidurals, contends the author of new research into hospital birth culture

19/06/2018

THIS!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 !!!! I am going to say something here, and I very well may be shot down because of it, but breastfeeding is anything BUT easy!! We are painted this image of how baby will be born, latch on at the first sniff of a ni**le and feed contently for hours on end while you gaze into each other’s eyes lovingly- I call bu****it! Yes, It can be that! BUT, at the beginning, and more often than not, it’s frustrating, exhausting, confusing and sometimes painful. Breastfeeding does NOT come naturally to some women. It can take hours of latching and relatching to get the latch right, tubes of ni**le cream, tears and tantrums from both mum and baby. It’s a skill that needs to be learnt and lovingly perfected over time. My heart breaks when I hear a women say she has failed if she is struggling. You have not failed, it is perfectly NORMAL and I guarantee you Sheila from your NCT group who says her son latched on perfectly from birth and hasn’t left her breast since, had at least one or two moments of despair during her breastfeeding journey!
Is it worth it, hell YES!! Do you need support, absolutely!! Have you failed if you give your baby a bottle of formula HELL NO!!! Your feeding journey is YOUR feeding journey! You are a rockstar mommy and you are doing your best! And that is enough! You have got this... one feed, one day at a time x

Breastfeeding isn't easy, and that's ok – new parents can handle the truth.

19/06/2018

Catching up on some reading while this little man sleeps 😍. Hypnobirthing is something that really interests me. I 💯 believe that if we have the right mindset, are able to calm our mind, really focus on our breathing and surrender to our bodies during labour, our bodies will instinctively know exactly what to do to help our baby navigate its way into our world. I’ve heard a lot about this book, looking forward to it!

19/06/2018

I don’t normally share petitions on my business page, but THIS HAS TO STOP!!! Please sign if you agree and help these poor babies being separated from their parents! 😥

America is currently removing children from their immigrant parents at borders, and placing them alone in detention centres. Its also come to light that they have since 'lost' track of over 1500 children.. the these children have simply disappeared.

18/06/2018

A fellow doula The Minimalist Doula puts this so well! A positive birth is not necessarily a natural birth with no drugs or complications, it could be the complete opposite! It could even be a planned natural birth which turned into an induction and ended in a cesarean! A positive birth is a birth where you feel in control, where you felt you asked the right questions and got the answers you needed to make the decisions on how your labour and birth experience unfolded. THAT is empowering!! A positive birth is ANY birth experience that left you feeling EMPOWERED and in CONTROL, be that an all natural birth, an induced birth or a cesarean birth. Birth is amazing and beautiful and should be respected in any format ❤️

‘I can't beat myself up forever but I can make sure I never feel like that again and so that's what I did.  I became a doula and had an amazingly healing second birth.  I'm not saying everyone should run out and train as a doula, although the experience has been life changing for m