Straight from the heart

Clients sweet words…

Black and white image of a new father holding his daughter at home in the post natal period

Settling in at home in the postnatal period

C and I had asked Erika for a hypno refresh session following the success with our first born, whilst being busy parents we had forgotten what to do to enable us a calm labour, Erika came to our house as her usual relaxing self, listened to our questions/concerns and reestablished some control in our heads! Erika tailored the session to our needs and didn’t push anything unwanted upon us. Whilst we only had one session Erika is still available via phone or email for reassurance and tips. I am sure we will have another serene and calm labour with our second son! Thanks, Erika, love
A and C 
x

“Embarking on a hypnobirthing course with Erika totally changed my mindset about birth. At the start, I was very fearful and anxious, but by the end of the course, I felt confident, positive and excited about giving birth.  She is a fabulously warm and friendly person and the hypnobirthing information and techniques she teaches enabled me to have the positive birth experience that I wanted.
K & I 

It was so helpful to have someone there to reassure me and lead me through the process.  I appreciated the practical tips and knowing someone was there to look after my wife alongside me.  I really felt Erika knew when to help and when to stand back and let us be – I didn’t feel my role was being taken from me but rather I was able to do my part better because of the support and reassurance I had.
M – Daddy to B

I have always been a bit scared of pregnancy, labour and birth. We decided to get a doula after meeting Erika and finding her very reassuring – for the first time I felt more relaxed about the idea of labour and birth. Although very early labour started at 36 weeks and six days and she wasn’t yet on-call, Erika was able to rearrange things at home and she came round the next morning, staying home with us until the afternoon, when we went to the hospital. I found her presence very supportive and reassuring and she was able to give my husband a break, which was invaluable to me as I didn’t need to worry about his needs as well as my own. She gave advice and support on positions and breathing, which was great as I was in no position to think for myself at that point!
Post-birth, she has been really helpful at home. Her assistance has been what my family would have done had they lived nearby – cleaning, cooking, looking after my newborn so I could have a bath or eat lunch, picking up medicines and food. I’ve really appreciated her support and help.
Erika is a very warm, knowledgeable and loving person, with a great sense of humour, clearly providing help and support out of compassion rather than duty – often going beyond what is required of her. She obviously loves her work, which helps to make her a wonderful doula. I’d highly recommend her to women who feel afraid for any reason, who have no family nearby or who simply want a little bit of extra support for themselves or their birth partners.
N – Mama to S

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Erika’s support during the entire birthing process was invaluable. She was calm and confident throughout and always supported the decisions we made. She was very good with my wife and had a positive impact on a stressful and unfamiliar event in our lives. I would very much recommend her as a doula.
Siy – Daddy to S

Erika brought a lot of positive energy and expertise into the labour process and helped me and my husband deal with labour in a calm manner –  she also stayed with us at home and helped manage the hospital transfer and made sure our birth plan was heard and followed. She also championed my desire to have an intervention-free birth and assisted me with active labour positions and helped negotiate with the consultants and hospital staff. Furthermore, she always helped me and my husband focus on the positives – having someone I totally trust during labour was invaluable, I believe it helped my body relax and helped me get in tune with me and my baby. I ended up squatting on the floor and delivered my baby in just 3 pushes, as the hospital midwife panicked about not being able to see the baby, Erika was already there with a birth mirror!
We could not have done this without Erika, she is a godsend!
S & Madhu – Mummy & Daddy to L

Colour image of a women in labour at home in a pool supported

Home waterbirth with Doula support

Dearest Erika
Words cannot convey the deepest gratitude and appreciation that we have for all you have done for our family. The support and love that you have shown to N has surpassed any of our expectations and we will always hold you most dearly in our hearts.
Yesterday afternoon, after we left Naomi’s house was probably the most traumatic time I have ever experienced and without you, I don’t think we would have coped in any way. At our most fragile you allowed us to step back and you bore the brunt of everything that Naomi was going through. You have been amazing and awesome beyond words and we are so blessed to have crossed paths with you. You did everything in your power to look after N and you went far beyond what was expected of you. 
I don’t know whether you still have any more time booked with N or our contract has run out but I absolutely know this is not the last time we will be calling on you for the amazing work you do. To know that there is someone like you that we can call on to help N over the coming days, weeks, months is wonderful and to be able to offer my daughter that sort of support makes me so incredibly happy.
Perhaps one day when you are not too busy you could come over for a coffee so I can thank you in person for being no less than an Earth Angel, who shone the brightest of lights of one of our most difficult days.
With love and appreciation.
J xxx 

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Just wanted to let you know that we had opted for a home birth but Grace came out so fast – in just 3 hours – that the midwife didn’t even have time to reach us so we ended up in hospital. But I had a natural birth and pushed her out with no drugs so it was still an empowering experience. Thank you very much for your advice and support – it certainly helped me come to a decision for choosing home birth.
S – Mummy to G (Hong Kong)

Erika has been a tremendous help to me over the past few weeks.  She immediately built a bond with the whole family, especially the girls aged 4 & 2.5 which enabled me to focus on recovering & our newborn.  She has a wonderfully positive nature, is incredibly calm, perfect with 3 young children around and happy to help in any way she can.  She is also a fantastic cook so always ensured we were well fed.  I have really enjoyed having her around and would not hesitate in recommending her.
C – Mummy to a family of three

I just wanted to tell you that we are still putting your great tips into practice and they are working!
Sometime later…….L slept in his own room and slept through the night.  He woke at intervals but settled straight away on his own.  He didn’t cry just made little sounds and I’ve not had to feed him through the night.  He is also having naps during the day.  I can now see when he is tired and manage to get him to have a nap before he is overtired..woo hoo!
C – Mummy to L

Erika listened to our concerns.  She is a caring and compassionate person who has her own children and has a wonderful way of seeing the humour in things.  If we asked for advice she would offer ideas, but she would really only do this when we asked which I think is healthy.  She would sometimes ask us questions that seemed to help us think through things and feel better.  Our home feels safer and more organised with Erika around.
S and A – Parents of L

Erika would be able to provide a break which helped me feel stronger and this allowed me to bond and connect with my son because my heart is more open to positive energy rather than feeling exhausted and/or alone.  She would help with errands outside the house as I was unable to drive due to my C-section and she would do light chores around the house – none of which would have happened without her assistance.  I trust her completely and she has a great sense of humour and is really warm and very knowledgeable.
Nina – M to S

I am delighted to recommend Erika, she is an absolutely fantastic doula!
I found her support, encouragement and safe advice invaluable.
I was very anxious about labour and birth and I first got in touch with Erika very early in my pregnancy.
Throughout the course of my pregnancy she and her wonderful Positive Birth Group really set my mind at rest, helped to empower me and helped to focus me on all the positives.
I can honestly say that when the day for my induction came I was calm and excited, not anxious and nervous.
Although my birth didn’t go according to plan and resulted in an EMCS (my worst-case scenario), I was well informed and well prepared for different eventualities so it was far less daunting.
Erika’s antenatal sessions, her lending library and the PBG meant I had enough knowledge to feel confident and deal with the situation when it arose.
Erika’s presence was very comforting and her being there stopped me feeling so overwhelmed by the turn of events when it was decided I needed to go to Theatre.
Between Erika and the HypnoBirthing, I had the best birth experience that I could have had. I managed to stay quite calm and relaxed and managed to get to 10cm and pushing without any pain relief (except for a bit of gas and air) something I previously thought would be impossible.
It would have been a very different experience without her support and I am very grateful to her for everything, as is my partner, especially the beautiful post-birth photographs of our gorgeous daughter!
J – Mummy to D

Black and white image of Mother and newborn daughter

Just wanted to let you know that L was born on the 2/2/16, weighing 7lb 3oz, after being induced the day before.
Despite a slow start which saw nothing much happen for the first 24 hours, I had a hugely positive birthing experience, and the total length of labour is recorded in my hospital notes as 41 minutes!
I used the hypnobirthing breathing techniques throughout the process, which not only enabled me to stay calm, but also to deliver L with no pain relief apart from two paracetamol smile emoticon I was very much ‘in the zone’ the whole way through and the midwives were amazed at how in control I was, particularly at the ‘pushing’ stage, when they said they’d never seen a first time mum with such good breathing techniques.
The community midwife today was also amazed at how well I’d done and said the others were all talking about it at their team meeting this morning!
It’s a credit to the work you do that my labour went as well as it did, so I wanted to say a huge thank you and keep up the good work!
M – Mummy to L

Thank you so much for helping my Mummy & Daddy look after me.  Being home has been a bit scary for me, and I know I have been hard on Mummy & Daddy at times, but having you come round to help and support has made them very happy.
K – Mummy to J

Wanted to thank you for all your help.  It was a great help to have a friendly face and an ever so helping person like you with me in those initial difficult days for me.  You have helped me whenever I needed it, calmed me in those anxious moments and your words of reassurance meant a lot to me.  It was lovely to see you and Mridhun bond well and for me to find a reliable friend in you. Thank you so much!
S – Mummy to M

More clients sweet words from a lovely Italian family using my fluent Italian language skills…

I needed help after the first bleeding caused by placenta previa. I was scared and with low morale, worried about losing my baby and not being able to take care my eldest child of ten months. It scared because we were here alone, our families were in Italy and we had no one to lean on.  But when I opened the door and I found myself in front of Erika who with her 
simple “hello” accompanied by her wonderful smile I knew immediately that I would make it! And so it was!My daughter, like me, immediately adored her! It was like having a sister, a mother here with us. She helped us with B, the house, but above all helped me morally. Erika remained close to me in the worst weeks of my life, supporting me, listening to me and signposting me. Without her, I would not have been able to carry the pregnancy to term and stay almost three weeks in the hospital.
Only thanks to its support and experience with now G in my arms. She continued to do so even after the birth of G, when the baby blues could be difficult, it was crucial.
I would tell people that they need a support, a help and that it would be really fortunate for them to have Erika.
I feel blessed to have known Erika, to have had her with us!  Thank you again for everything you did for us!
M – Mummy to B & G

I had Erika as my Doula after I had a very traumatic first delivery, I felt I needed the support with my second. Erika was so calming, whenever I was anxious about the imminent birth I would call her up and she was always so supportive and had many ideas to help me cope with my anxieties. Her knowledge of childbirth really helped me understand that my body was made to go through this process. I was very fortunate that I managed to deliver my son at home with no pain relief.  With all the birth physiology preparation I received from Erika this was at the forefront of my mind during labour. Her help around the home and with my newborn after the birth was invaluable too, I really would have struggled to cope without her.”
L – Mummy to L

I cannot recommend Erika enough, she guided my husband and me through the Hypnobirthing course providing a calm and informative environment to prepare for our first child. The course was fascinating and filled with information that really opened our eyes to choice and the alternative options during pregnancy and childbirth.   Erika is truly caring, knowledgeable and engaging, I know for a fact we wouldn’t have had such a positive birth without having completed the Hypnobirthing course and we wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone other than Erika.
V and D

My husband and I did a one to one Hypnobirthing course with Erika and I cannot recommend her enough. The class was extremely informative and helped us prepare for the birth of our baby as well as feel more relaxed throughout pregnancy. Thank you, Erika!
L was born 14.01.17 via last minute c section but Hypnobirthing
kept me, my husband and the baby calm. Thank you so much.
A and C