Guardian Doula’s Diary

Send us Fan Mail “PUSHHHHH! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…” Sound familiar? That’s coached pushing - when you’re told how and when to push during labour.  Sometimes it’s helpful… sometimes it’s not… and sometimes, it’s just a hospital trying to beat the clock 🕒 In this episode, I’m breaking down:  👉 What coached pushing actually is  👉 When it can be a game-changer (hello, avoiding forceps 🙌)  👉 When it can b...

Send us Fan Mail The end of your pregnancy is here, finally. The last stretch! You’ve done all the prep. You’re informed, empowered, and ready for your unmedicated birth.  But... There’s one vital piece that often gets overlooked – and it’s not about your pain threshold or the perfect birth playlist. In this episode, I’m diving into the mental game that matters most in the final weeks of pregnancy...

Send us Fan Mail Have you heard this myth before? 👉 “When you feel like you c an’t do it anymore , it means you’re in transition – and baby’s almost here!” Me too. More times than I count! And sometimes that’s true… But  - other times, you still have a while to go. And when the labour isn’t nearly over yet, that belief can really mess with your head. So in today’s new podcast episode, I’m busting...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever wondered what specific, practical things I actually DO as a doula, and thought “do doulas just help with breathing?!”...  Then this episode is for you! 👇 In today’s chat, I walk you through what I actually do for my clients during pregnancy, birth and postpartum – and how it makes a very real, evidence-backed difference. Including:  What my support actually looks l...

Send us Fan Mail " Do I really need a doula if… (insert your situation here)? " This is a common question I get as a doula - and in this episode, I’m walking you through the honest, evidence-backed answer. Because you might have wondered, "do I *really* need a doula if...":  👉 If I've got a supportive partner…?  👉 Or if I'm having a home-birth…?  👉 Or if I'm i...

Send us Fan Mail Let’s talk about something LOTS of women are nervous about, but few women talk about enough… perineal tearing . How common is it?  Can you actually prevent it?  What really causes it — and what doesn’t? Tearing is something I VERY often find my clients feel nervous about going into birth. But it doesn't have to be scary! So in this episode, I’m breaking down the truth about t...

Send us Fan Mail Are doulas really worth their weight in gold?  In this episode, we dive into the research that proves just how powerful doula support can be in labour.  From shorter labours to lower rates of intervention, the evidence is clear — the doula difference is real. Let's explore exactly what the research proves! 4o Where to find me: 👉 If you're in Sydney and are looking for i...

Send us Fan Mail The first VIDEO episode of the podcast is here, yay! 🎉 And if you've ever wondered, "how will I handle the pain of labour!?" - then this episode is for you. You’re not weak for worrying about it.  You’re smart for wanting to prepare.  In this episode, I’m giving you everything you need to tackle birth pain head-on: ⚡ Why pain in birth is different and how to work...

Send us Fan Mail A concern I hear from pregnant women all the time, is that they'd love to have an empowering, natural birth - but they're birthing in the hospital system and they're not so keen on all the unnecessary intervention that commonly comes with that... Well, today I'm here to give you all the practical tips and tricks to improve your odds of the birth of your dreams....

Send us Fan Mail Today, my past client, Claire, shares the positive, empowering birth story of her first baby. Now as a side-note, recently, I was chatting to another client who was worried about a complication she'd encountered in her pregnancy.  I sent her all sorts of super reassuring evidence. (I'm talking, a studies that looked at over 500,000 women with this complication, and 99.5%...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered whether midwives don't like doulas? Do you *really* need a doula if you have a midwife? How are the roles different?  In today's episode, Abby Sidery (seasoned midwife & mum to 2) answer these questions & more, as we chat all things midwives + doulas. The evidence shows that midwives & doulas working together brings improved birth outco...

Send us Fan Mail Leaving at the right time for the hospital is crucial. But have you ever wondered how the heck you're supposed to know?!.  Leave too early? Cascade of intervention. 🙃 Leave too late? Carpark birth. 😬 See why finding the "sweet spot" is huge? 💡 😂 In this episode, I'm going to share some tips and frameworks to help you navigate this so you can pick your timin...

Send us Fan Mail Okay mama's, time for a heart to heart. This message is SO freaking important. 🙌 People pleasing is such a common struggle that women face throughout their lives - and it often affects your pregnancy and postpartum. 😔 I've seen & experienced the negative impact of this in my own life, and I've seen it impact my clients.  I'm telling you - overcoming the n...

Send us Fan Mail So last week we heard my lovely past client Amber's beautifully remeptive VBAC birth story (episode 17 if you haven't listened yet!), but today, I wanted to focus on HOW to have a VBAC. Something that should be so straightforward, is unfortunately anything but that. Today, Sammy and I unpack it all and hopefully you'll have a much clearer understanding of what you c...

Send us Fan Mail Today, my beautiful client Amber shares her VBAC story.  After a not-so-positive experience with her first daughter, she decided to hire me as her doula to help her work towards a beautiful, redemptive VBAC. She knew VBAC's don't just "happen", that they take preparation and commitment. But she wanted to experience birth as the sacred rite of passage it can be,...

Send us Fan Mail It's an unfortunate reality that with a due date around the holiday period, women are 3-4 more times more likely to be induced (this was confirmed by a study conducted by the university of QLD). Unwarranted induction of labour can have very significant impact on women's birth outcomes, and I'm afraid, it's not usually in a positive way. That's what the res...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Dr Melanie Jackson about common birth myths that need some serious busting like women's birth experiences depend on it... because they do.  Mel is a private midwife with her PhD, host of the amazing 'Great Birth Rebellion Podcast", and a mumma. She's worked for 16 years as a midwife caring for birthing women, and now trains + mentors...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I chat to Ruby Kellaway. Ruby had 5 kids under 4 (yep, you read that right!) & is a passionate chiropractor who has a particular passion for working with birthing women. So much so, she's undertaken study in midwifery & is now considering becoming a doula too... Ruby is a wealth of knowledge & experience, in this episode she talks us throu...

Send us Fan Mail We've probably all heard of the oh-so-dreaded "cascade of intervention", but what is it *really*, and most importantly... how can we avoid falling victim to it!? Today, I'm going to tell you. Here's everything you need to know about the cascade of intervention. Enjoy! PS. Time is running out to grab your ticket & secure your spot in my workshop ! Jump...

Send us Fan Mail Buckle up, because today I am taking you on a wild ride down memory lane. After so many requests to share my own birth stories, today I'm going to spill the beans on my experience giving birth to my first child Mali. And, arguably, most importantly, sharing the mistakes I made in this birth - so that you can learn from them.  I had Mali at 38 weeks, after a very long, posteri...

Send us Fan Mail Today I chat to Tara Menzies. Tara is the creator of the Christian Hypnobirthing app, and a mum to two. She tells us her own birth stories, and through them, highlights the importance of birth preparation, and the difference it can make. Speaking of birth prep - don't forget to grab your tickets to my online live workshop "How to Have an Empowering All-Natural Birth&quot...

Send us Fan Mail One of the most prevalent (and damaging!) misconceptions around birth out there is the idea that "you can't control anything about birth". This is just NOT true! In reality, there's so much we do have control over when it comes to birth. In this episode, I unpack just 10 of the many things we do have control over when it comes to birth - and why it can be so im...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we go over some common misconceptions about doulas that cost women big time in their births. It’s probably my most “straight up” episode yet, I drop some truth bombs that may be hard to hear, but are important to hear. It’s all from a place of love, I promise! I’d be very surprised if you listen to this whole episode and don’t find one of these myths that you’ve be...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is a little different! Instead of interviewing someone, it's just me chatting to you guys. We talk about why it's worth considering going for an unmedicated birth - even in a world where we are so often told "you don't get a medal" for it. I explain why (in my opinion), the benefits of an unmedicated birth are actually a lot better than a meda...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, we chat to Elsie. Elsie is the co-founder of Homebirth Victoria, she's a birth doula, host of "Birthing at Home - a Podcast", and most importantly, she's a mumma. We chat about Elsie's experiences giving birth at home, some common misconceptions on home-birth, some of the reasons women choose to birth outside of the hospital system...