About Me
My name is Susannah and welcome to Woven!
I believe my job as a Birth Doula is to create a space for a woman to labour in that is calm and without chaos. We are there to ensure that she is supported and respected for her birthing choices and that her focus goes undisturbed as she listens to her body and labours in peace.
My journey has a Birth Doula began 7 years ago and in 2015 I completed my DONA Training at Douglas College. I have supported women from Abbotsford to North Vancouver in their pregnancy-birth experiences and attended births at home and in hospital, including cesarean sections.
I have 3 children of my own (18, 16 and 10) and have lived 22 years in Canada. Originally from Australia, I have called the Lower Mainland my home for nearly my entire adult life!
Making music, photography, learning languages, dreaming of travel and time with family are all things I love to do when I am not working.
Let me help you have a birth experience that is calm and peaceful. Contact me today for a free online consultation.
Stay safe!
Susannah
"Giving birth should be your greatest achievement, not your greatest fear."
Jane Wiedeman
Services
Home Visits
Home visits are part of the services I provide both pre and post delivery of baby. If you are planning a home birth, I will be available to assist you in preparing your birthing space and offering suggestions on how to make the space ready for baby's arrival. If you are needing some pressure point massage to perhaps encourage labour, I also offer this to all my clients as part of my services.
Labour & Delivery
As a Birth Doula, my main task is to provide physical and emotional support to you and your partner during your labour journey. I offer pressure point massage, physical support, verbal encouragement assist you in maintaining your focus during contractions and the delivery stage. My role is as tactile and physical as you would like it to be--or not! Sometimes simply being a calming presence in the birthing space is all that is required or requested.
Virtual Support
Due to the current pandemic, I am no able to offer my clients Virtual Support using FaceTime or Whats App technology to stay connected during your labour and delivery. This is valuable knowledge to consider as some hospitals are limiting the amount of people allowed into the delivery room. Having access to the support of a Doula via FaceTime or Whats App provides you with the reassurance and emotional support you need during your labour and delivery.
Covid-19 Response
All birth workers, including Doulas, are required to wear proper PPE when attending a birth in any or all birth settings. It is also my personal rule to maintaining a small social bubble, and limiting activities outside my home to essential needs only. Wearing a mask, frequent hand washing and constant self-monitoring for any flu like symptoms are steps I am also taking to help reduce the spread of germs and keep safe.
While all BC hospitals now accept Doula Services Association of BC (DSA) Member doulas in the Labour and Delivery wards,
Postpartum Wards may not. Please confirm with the hospital you are booked into to give birth what their protocols are ahead of time. For home births, please ask your check with your midwives what their expectations are in regards to your PPE, etc.
Birth Photography
While my primary job is to support you physically during the labour journey, it is also my joy to be able to capture some of your moments on film. Having these memories to look back on are simply priceless. And now with the limited number of people allowed inside at hospital births, this ensures that you and your partner will have this life changing moment captured for you and freeing you to engage completely in the moment of delivering and meeting baby for the first time.
Pregnancy Loss
Sadly, not all pregnancies go according to plan and we find ourselves in the situation where a pregnancy is no longer viable and miscarriage occurs or baby is stillborn. You can ask a Doula to help support you and your partner through your pregnancy loss, which is a service I offer. Please contact me directly as this is handled on a case by case basis and not a service I charge for.
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Doula's are not health care providers or midwives and therefore cannot offer any medical advice or perform any medical procedures of any kind. If you are experiencing a pregnancy loss, please contact your midwife or primary caregiver immediately for assistance or dial 000.
Cost of Birth Services
$1600 + Tax
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$800 due upon booking.
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Your deposit in non-refundable and must be received within 1 business day of booking.
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Balance of $800 (plus tax) due at 37 weeks.
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Payment plans available prior to birth only.
What it Includes
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The Birth Services list above
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I am on call for you from 3 weeks out from your EDD until baby's arrival
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I will stay with you until up to 2 hours post delivery to ensure you are comfortable to leave
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Assistance in learning how to swaddle
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Post delivery home visit within the first week
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For home births, I will assist you in setting up your home in preparation for your labour
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Photos of your birth journey for you to keep
Contact Me
Please let me know when you're due, where you're planning to deliver and who you primary caregiver is when contacting me. This will assist me in preparing for our complimentary consultation appointment. Thank you!