Natalie May Doula

11/10/2023

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Sometimes an enquiry comes in for birth support and it feels so right, I'm drawn to support them but I may have another booking close to their guess birth date. When this happens I offer my support as well as one of my doula partners and we form your shared care team!

Shared care is when two doulas support you during your pregnancy & postpartum as a part of your 'birth support team'.
For this to work, I knew I had to find like minded doulas/birthkeepers who I felt aligned with and we compliment each other. We both come to you antenatally as we prepare together to welcome your baby - your way. This ensures that the client gets to know both of us equally as well, so that when they go into labour, the doula that arrives is a familiar face, who they trust and feel safe with.

So after many years of working with these super stars, Alex and Natalie, we have decided to formalise our doula collective... introducing www.doulainmypocket.co.uk

Jump over to our site and check us out as we continue to grow and extend our services...stay tuned, there's so much more to come soon!!

07/12/2022

And that’s a wrap, my last birth client of the year signed off, perfectly content in their newborn love bubble after welcoming their wonderfully squishy baby earth side. At home. In peace. With Arthur Christmas on in the background. Bliss🎄✨

Another wonderful and epic year of being called to witness families welcome their beautiful babes into the world, oh my beautiful doula babies, the world is a brighter place now that you’re in it.

I’ve had the joy of seeing women standing in their power, advocating for themselves, navigating an often restrictive maternity system, trusting their intuition.
My beautiful mamas, your powerful birth stories will ripple out into the world, changing the narrative around birth for the better.🙏🏻✨

“When a woman trusts herself, she knows she has all she needs to navigate the birth experience, however it unfolds”- Dr Rachel Reed.

03/10/2022

I’ve finally come back down to earth after an incredible week of learning, love and connection. When women come together true magic happens!
I’m so looking forward to deepening my understanding of Mizan therapy, reproductive health and being able to offer this incredible massage to all the women and womb bearers in my life.✨

Thank you Bushra for bringing Mizan to the world🙏🏻✨

26/09/2022

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02/09/2022

🌱 Testimonial🌱

“Dearest Natalie,
I’ve sat for ages wondering how on earth to even begin to start saying thank you for all you have done for our family. To say you are kind of a birth legend kind of gets to the point I’m struggling to make.
I wanted to say the most heartfelt thank you to you for always being so cool, calm, collected and caring when I needed you most. Thank you for being my voice when I needed you to be. Thank you for keeping me and my baby safe; always with kindness that you have carried with you from the moment we met, through hospital fails, theatre tables and all that’s happened since.
We adore you, we think you are blooming awesome (and the best mama, don’t ever doubt that!). You are always welcome in our home and will always be in our hearts . “

Sometimes I have the absolute pleasure of watching families birth their babies and then getting to stick around for a while. Working postnatally as well as being birth support means I get to watch joy unfold as families settle into a new rhythm as their tribe grows by one new tiny member. The journeys where we start as client and doula but end as friends are my absolute favourites!✨❤️

30/08/2022

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08/08/2022

Well, hello there Stroud and surrounding areas! 👋🏼

Look 👀 what we have here?! Your very first Stroud Homebirth Hub meet up 🫶🏼

Thinking or planning to welcome your baby at home? Do you have questions about what a family centered birth may look like?
Perhaps you’ve welcomed your baby at home already and would like to share your experience with other parents? Please come along, no need to book and you are most welcome 🤗

Posted •

19/07/2022

Birth is instinctual, and natural, and when left well enough alone, it unfolds beautifully.

As a birth worker, I do not centre myself in your birth story, it is yours and yours alone.

I am here to protect your space, to hold it and to bare witness. To support you when you need it, and to step back when you don’t.

You are at the centre of your birth, your inner circle might be you, your baby and your partner. Or even just you and your baby! Anyone else must be invited into this inner circle, whether is be your doula, midwife, birth keeper or family member.

Who you have in your birth space can potentially change the trajectory of your birth, even slightly. We all bring our own ways of working, prejudices, values and experiences to birth. It’s so important for us entering the space to leave our baggage at the door!

As I go deeper into this journey I’m unlearning all the time, constantly unpacking what I think and feel about birth. And with every family I support, every baby I witness being born into their mother’s arms, I see that the most beautiful births are the ones where the birthing person is left to birth feeling safe, unobserved and undisturbed.💫

13/07/2022

“Birth is vast and multifaceted; radiant and mysterious. Birth contains multitudes, and through her we birth our multitudes. We give birth to our hopes and our fears, to our ecstasies and our agonies, to our joy and our disappointments. We give birth to our babies, each one perfect and radiant. We give birth through our instincts, and we give birth to our instincts. We give birth to our capacity for instincts, which will match us perfectly with our babies, who are, and always will be, instinctive creatures. May we all be blessed through instinctive birth.”
– Sarah Buckley 🦋

11/06/2022

🌿Birth Availability🌿

Here it is folks, my availability for birth support for the rest of the year.

Feeling so blessed to be working with such wonderful families this summer!✨

And of course, if you feel the need for double the doula love, and and I are still providing shared care together.🌷


DM me or follow link in bio to get in touch and chat all things birthy.

With love,
Nat x

09/06/2022

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Your feedback has been heard!

As part of our Birth Experience Survey, we get lots of feedback saying that the chair for partners whilst visiting overnight isn't comfortable. We have fed this back to maternity services and we are really pleased to let you know that 46 reclining chairs were delivered to Gloucester before the bank holiday. These chairs lie flat or can be reclined.

As part of the equipment order, 8 over the bed cots were also delivered. These cots are intended for use by women and birthing people who have had a caesarean so that they can reach their baby easier.

We hope that these changes improve your experience. The MVP would love to hear more about what you think about them during your stay at Gloucester.

Please note though that partners visiting will not be offered a pillow or blanket.