Doula Services | Preston | Mana Health Practice

Sue Lee - Doula

Mana is pleased to offer a Doula service to pregnant women. A doula is a trained professional that accompanies a woman in labor and stays with her for the duration of birth, right up until the first breastfeed is established. She will meet with you on several occasions before the birth as well as after to ensure all is going well.

The intention of a doula is to bring back the timeless tradition of women being supported by women during birth, taking fear away from birthing, instilling the wisdom of the laboring mother's body, whilst maintaining the safety of mother and baby.

Whether you are birthing at home or in a hospital, whatever your birthing plan is, a doula can help improve the birthing experience of mother and baby.

Whilst a doula is not a doctor or midwife and has no clinical role in your birth, studies such as the Cochranes Review show that the support of a trained doula is more effective than just hospital staff, friends and family alone. The same studies demonstrate that the support of a doula significantly reduces the rate of Cesarean Section, use of forceps, request for epidural, use of synthetic oxytocin, the use of drugs for pain management and the length of labor. The use of a Doula in your birthing journey is a calming, strong, beautiful and nurturing support for you and your baby.

Sue is also a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE), certified through Lamaze International. This certification is the most respected and recognised credential in childbirth education worldwide. Based on evidence-based information gathered from well-respected research, it is designed to promote, support and protect every woman’s right to give birth, confident in her own ability, free to find comfort in a wide variety of ways, and supported by her family and all members of the birth team.

DOULA

Sue's Birth doula services include:

Minimum of two prenatal meetings, which includes birth education and assistance in creating birth preferences
One of the meetings with your birth support covering labour support techniques
Two prenatal massages, post 37 weeks can include induction points for birth readiness
Phone support as needed throughout pregnancy
On-call status 24 hours a day 2 weeks before and after EDD
Evidence-based information for you to research so you can make informed decisions about your care during pregnancy, birth and postpartum
Labour support at your home or hospital as required, or requested
Continuous support once active labour has begun and up to an hour after birth
Non-medical comfort measures such as position changes, relaxation, massage and other techniques for pain management during labour
Maintain a calm and peaceful birth environment as allowed by medical staff
In the rare event Sue is attending another birth or unwell, she will organise a backup doula to attend until she can arrive
A post birth massage named ‘Closing the Bones” designed to assist your body to integrate, usually done at around the 40 day mark
One postnatal follow up, usually occurring within the first seven days after the birth. This is to see how you are going, discuss any concerns you have, to review your birth.

Support Package $1800 payable by 38 weeks

More information on Sue Lee

Testimonial

Sue's warm and comforting presence during labour was priceless. She was my calm and my strength and she gave me the confidence to achieve my perfect birth. My husband and I dreamed of birthing our son in a calm drug-free setting, and that's exactly what we achieved. From labouring at home on my fit ball and breaking waters, to the car ride to the hospital with a nervous husband and some intense contractions, to the hospital birthing suite which she somehow managed to make feel like not a hospital at all, Sue was our constant sense of security and comfort. A simple look of strength into my eyes, a gentle reassuring pat on my husband's back, her hand in mine (which I probably nearly broke from squeezing so hard!). Sue knew exactly what to do and say to empower me to keep going. Even during the immense intensity, I felt so safe in her presence.

Despite being in a private hospital where intervention rates are high, Sue's guidance enabled me to make our wishes known. She assisted me in preparing a simple but effective birth plan which the hospital midwives understood and respected beautifully. Her kind and compassionate nature makes her the perfect support person to bring into the hospital setting because she instantly gains respect and admiration from hospital staff. I wanted my birth team to be on the same page, working together holistically and as 'one'. We achieved that and so much more. I felt completely free, able and willing to lean in and depend on those around me to support the birth of my baby. I had faith in my team and I knew they believed in me. The midwives and my obstetrician had such wonderful things to say about Sue after the birth.

But what makes Sue that EXTRA bit special is her holistic style of care - from pre-natal support and education to the often dismissed post-natal care and love. Sue's pre-natal yoga/birth education classes were phenomenal and something all mammas-to-be should do! She provided my husband and I with a private birth ed class where we learned about massage, accupressure points and positions for labour. Her induction massages were heavenly! Her sweet check-ins made me feel like I always had someone to lean on and our constant communication in the last LONG week before labour kept my worries of being overdue at bay. When Sue arrived at our house on the morning of the birth, we felt an instant shift in energy, the space around me suddenly felt calm, I was ready to birth my baby with Sue by my side.

Sue empowered me. She was a pivotal aspect of this pregnancy and birth. We couldn't have done it without her! It was an absolute honour to have Sue as our doula, and it doesn't end there - we now get to see and continue learning from Sue at Mums and Bubs yoga! What a beautiful experience she provides! A very special woman with an abundance of knowledge and skill. Uniquely gifted. She is absolutely magical.

-Bianca Caserta Voado

Birth Classes