Born 30th September 2012
My husband and I always knew we wanted
a doula; friends interstate had a doula for their second birth and rated their
birth experience very positively. When we met Cherie we felt a positive
connection and knew we wanted her to be our doula for what was to be our first
baby.
Cherie provided wonderful support in the form of both meetings
and helpful information during the pregnancy.
When it came close to my due date, I felt reasonably prepared for labour
and had a very clear idea of the kind of labour I would like to experience (as natural
as possible with no pain relief). I was counting on Cherie to keep me strong
when the going got hard.
As it turns out, I endured a rather short labour with no
more than five hours of active labour. During that time I banged stress balls
together as my main method of coping but by the time Cherie arrived I felt I
was starting to lose control and the labour was very intense. As soon as Cherie
sat down next to me she started rubbing my back and wiping my neck with a cold
cloth. The thought ran through my head that she was worth every penny. It’s not
that my husband couldn’t have done these things, it is just that he wouldn’t
have known to do this (although he was very supportive and helpful in other
ways) and I would never have known to ask him. Having Cherie at this time was
invaluable. I remember the pleasant smell of her wafting scented oils in front
of my nose, a nice distraction.
I relied on her to be there for every contraction and having
her there gave me a sense of calm. In the end I got the exactly the kind of
labour I wanted. Not once did I even think about asking for pain relief,
instead only wondering what I could do differently, and due to Cherie’s
experience she had plenty of ideas.
I highly recommend having a doula as it made my first labour
and birth experience one that I look back on positively. Even though I now know
what giving birth feels like, I still feel that having a doula the second time
around would be just as valuable. I feel truly lucky that we were able to share
the birth of Miles with such a caring and supportive person.
Fiona.