My name’s Beth, though I often go by Betty, and I am a qualified birth and postnatal Doula. As the youngest of five girls from a large Mediterranean family, I have grown up surrounded by strong, inspirational women and, in turn, a fair few babies!

When I was 7 years old I proudly told my parents ‘I don’t care what my job is or where I live, when I grow up I just want to have babies- loads of babies’ and, whilst I may have only had the two, it was having children of my own combined with a desire to not only work with, but support, nurture and empower women and birthing people that lead to me becoming a Doula and founding Born New.

So what is a Doula? The word ‘doula’ comes from the Ancient Greek δούλα meaning ‘female slave’, however, since the 1960’s, Doula has come to mean someone (not necessarily a woman) who supports, cares for and provides comfort and safety to a person during their pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. As a Doula, I see myself as an advocate for the mother/birthing person and someone who is there to build confidence and bring out the strength and power you have inside you, even when you doubt yourself! Both pre and postnatally, my approach balances warmth with pragmatism, informed and evidence-based expertise with kindness and calm with strength.

I work closely with families of all shapes and sizes to create a bespoke service to meet their needs and respect their choices. I am a keen advocate for increased inclusivity in birth work to ensure all people feel seen, heard and empowered. As such, I will always ask for preferred pronouns and you shall see phrases such as ‘breast/chest feeding’ and ‘birthing person’ used in my work.

Being a Doula is a huge honour and it would be a privilege to work with you and your family as you go through one of the most awe inspiring, love-fuelled, dizzying and transformative experiences life has to offer.