Hello.
I’m Beth.
I am a Birth and Post Natal Doula. I am also a Womb & Fertility Massage Therapist here on the Bellarine Peninsula, supporting Mamas in the the Geelong region and the Surfcoast Shire.
I often get asked, what made you become a Doula?
My first experience with labour and birth and post partum healing was all a huge shock, full of unexpected and unexplained difficulty which left me feeling like an incompetent woman. Recognising the need for there to be greater attention paid to birthing couples, I knew that I wanted to find a role in supporting women before, during and after birth. I did not at that stage know there was such a thing as a “doula”
My next three experiences of pregnancy, labour, birth and post partum healing were completely different and I learned that I was in fact, a very normal, very able mother who just had a rough first ride.
Information is powerful! When it came to my first birth, I was seriously lacking this moment changing tool. Information is so empowering. It helps us to understand the unplanned and gives a sense of calm when unexpected events occur. When you have received relevant, truthful information you become confident in your ability to make decisions. You have reassurance that you are doing what is right for you,and your circumstances while remaining true to your own core beliefs. This opportunity to give birthing women and their support network that information is one of the many reasons I decided to become a Doula/Birth Assistant.
Life as a mother is a beautifully complicated story full of twists and turns and lessons to be learnt. It brings us unmeasurable joy. It challenges your perspective and changes your heart. Its powerful, delightful with a healthy dose of unpredictability. Quite like birth itself.
I feel so humbled now, to be invited to share in part of that journey with other couples in such a uniquely supportive role.
The other aspect of being woman that I was severely uneducated about was my monthly cycle. I was unaware how my life’s experiences, my environment and my personal needs were having an impact on the physical symptoms I kept presenting with daily and each month. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis, Adenomyosis and a retroverted uterus and was impacted by the side effects of those pathologies every day for 17 years. My body rejected every kind of pill and prescription and I ended up choosing a Hysterectomy at age 35.
I am extremely grateful that I was blessed with my children despite all of those barriers and remind myself not to ever take motherhood for granted. After my surgery, I learnt that there was a modality that provided support, relief and education for women living with these kinds of symptoms, I knew this was something I also wanted to be able to bring to my community. Training under Clare Spink from the UK, I am now a qualified Womb and Fertility Massage Therapist.
Through all of these experiences and training, I’m understanding how vulnerability and strength can be at peace with each other in the same space.
It is now my privilege and honour to give all the support I can to all women from Adolescence to Menopause.