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- Lesley Hilton
- - contact:
- 0113
293 1400
- 07977
906960
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Doula UK
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- About me
I live in Leeds and I've spent most of my working life in the media. So why am I now a doula when for years I had never heard of the word?
Well, my three children are now grown up, but I found their births a fantastic experience, and I have since supported friends and other women during pregnancy and afterwards.
I have also run post-natal support groups and dealt with a wide range of post-natal problems through those.
Then my daughter had her first baby, and I was her birth companion. Looking back I was also an ante-natal, birth and post-natal doula. I enjoyed it immensely - helping to get them off to a good start was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.
I knew I could do this for other women, but other than training as a midwife I couldn’t see how. Then I heard about doulas and a light bulb went on in my head - I thought: “I can do this!”
I have private clients and I also work with my local Sure Start as a doula for women who have no support and often speak no English.
As well as
working with women who have straightforward pregnancies and lives I
also work with women: who are experiencing domestic violence; who have been sexually abused; who have suffered postnatal depression; or who have suffered trauma either in a previous birth or in some other area of their life.
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- I appreciate that one of your reasons for wanting a doula is likely to be to ensure that you have continuity of care throughout your labour - something that midwives cannot guarantee due to shift changes and work rotas.
Unlike some doulas working in this region I do not offer shared care. I only book one client at a time for a birth. Groups of doulas offering shared care book several clients at the same time and then whichever doula is available when you go into labour comes to you. If you book me you get me.
In special cirumstances I can arrange a backup, but only with your
agreement. She would come to you if I had been taken ill or had an
overwhelming emergency at the same time as you went into labour.
My skills and experience
Besides my personal experiences I’ve done several courses endorsed by Doula UK and am bound by their code of practice and philosophy -
www.doula.org.uk
- Doula UK also has a complaints procedure.
I’ve been police checked. I’ve done counselling and mediation
courses. I’m very used to problem-solving and finding information
fast. I’m used to dealing with medical professionals and have good communication skills.
I have a qualification in Indian Head Massage.
Former member of Leeds (East) Research Ethics Committee -
(an advisory committee to Yorkshire and The Humber Strategic Health Authority).
Co-chair of Leeds Maternity Services Liaison Committee.
I am an assessor/mentor to new trainee doulas within Doula UK.-
- What I do
I’ll provide emotional and practical support during the ante-natal, labour and post-natal periods by doing more or less whatever is needed.
I can help with a home or hospital birth by providing continuous support throughout the labour to the mother and her partner, if she has one, to achieve a positive outlook and memory of the birth.
I’ll do light housework, walk dogs, look after older children, look after the baby while you sleep, shopping etc. etc. The idea of a doula is that she “mothers the mother”……and that’s what I do!
Charges
Please contact me for details.
I work in the Leeds area of West Yorkshire.
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