Mother's Embrace - Pregnancy, Birth and Postnatal Services

Mother's Embrace - Pregnancy, Birth and Postnatal Services Doula and Hypnobirthing teacher
Breastfeeding Peer Supporter
Trauma informed

📍 Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK

I have always felt a calling to a supportive, nurturing role and throughout my life have been drawn to working with children and their parents. Being able to support families right from their beginning, and supporting and empowering women as they step into their new role as a mother is the greatest honour. Through Mother's Embrace my aim is to provide support for expecting mothers and their famili

es, educationally, emotionally, and physically throughout their pregnancy journey; to support you through pregnancy, labour & birth, and into postpartum as you journey from woman to mother.

Sending love to all Dads this Father's Day 💙
21/06/2026

Sending love to all Dads this Father's Day 💙

Louder for the new mum who doesn't think her struggles are 'bad enough'...I see you & you should be receiving support 🫶🏼...
12/06/2026

Louder for the new mum who doesn't think her struggles are 'bad enough'...
I see you & you should be receiving support 🫶🏼

A gorgeous review from a wonderful postnatal client ❤️Words like this mean so much when you do work that reflects your p...
11/06/2026

A gorgeous review from a wonderful postnatal client ❤️

Words like this mean so much when you do work that reflects your passion. I love supporting every client I work with and knowing they appreciate and enjoy my support too means the world. It's truly an honour and reviews like this help me continue supporting families so I'm grateful for every one 🥰

Personally I don't think any of these should be surprising or non-mainstream views on the postnatal period, but I know t...
09/06/2026

Personally I don't think any of these should be surprising or non-mainstream views on the postnatal period, but I know that's unfortunately not the case.

So here you go.

✨ Enjoying every second of your postnatal period is not realistic nor is it a helpful comment to make. Many (I would venture most) new parents find it an incredibly challenging time and a huge adjustment and the reality is, even if you do absolutely love it, your hormones are all over the place and likely means you'll have days when you feel sad even if you're not.

✨ You are the main caregiver for your baby. Your baby is receiving top notch, obsessively considered care from you (and your family, midwives and health visitors). You on the other hand, will receive a minimal check up at best from the GP. So I am far more concerned about making sure you feel supported, able to recover in whatever way you need, and have access to any information or specialist services you might need. My job is to hold you, so you can hold your baby.

✨ 6 weeks is a ridiculously short time to be thinking about recovery after birth. It took 9 months for your body to grow your baby, it's going to take more than a few weeks for you to recover. Yes, your stitches might have healed in 6 weeks, but there's so much more healing to be done including emotional and psychological healing. You deserve to understand what the healing process is, and have it acknowledged that it might be a prolonged time of needing support.

✨ Anyone who says 'breast is best' or 'fed is best' when talking about infant feeding is sadly misinformed, or has an agenda. Neither of these statements are helpful and both carry guilt, expectation and pressure. The only acceptable view on feeding is 'informed and supported' - what can I do to support how you want to feed?

✨ Grieving the life you had, person you were, or relationship you had before having a baby is normal, common, and absolutely an ok way to feel. Becoming a parent is an enormous transformation (ask me about Matrescence) and is difficult to navigate even if you had a straightforward birth experience. For those with birth trauma the adjustment can be even harder.

Continued in comments

So many reasons to hire a Doula - which one matters most to you? Research shows having continuity of care from a Doula l...
03/06/2026

So many reasons to hire a Doula - which one matters most to you?

Research shows having continuity of care from a Doula leads to;

• 39% decrease in the risk of Cesarean*

• 15% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth*

• 10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief

• Shorter labors by 41 minutes on average

• 38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five-minute Apgar score

• 31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience

Data taken from the 2017 Cochrane review on Continuous Support in Childbirth.
* Percentages were significantly more impactful where a Doula specifically was the person providing continuous support (Vs a medical professional, care provider, or other known person such as a friend or family member).

A 2023 scoping review also showed Doula support significantly decreased stress and anxiety both during labour and postnatally, and in low income families led to increased uptake and continuance of breastfeeding.

Not one study found any negatives or adverse outcomes to Doula support.

Want to know more?
www.mothersembrace.co.uk

🤎✨

It's time!Today we're talking about birth trauma. I've heard so many people say things like "I had an awful time but m...
30/05/2026

It's time!

Today we're talking about birth trauma.

I've heard so many people say things like "I had an awful time but my baby was born naturally/there wasn't an emergency/other people have it much worse so it can't be proper birth trauma..."

Nope.

Birth trauma doesn't only happen when your birth experience looks a certain way. There is no criteria for what is or isn't considered a traumatic experience other than how you felt about your experience.
Two people may have the exact same experience and it feels traumatic for one but not the other. You might have friends whose experience was 'worse' than yours in a medical sense yet you're the one who feels like your experience was traumatic. Your trauma is still valid.

Someone might tell you "at least you and your baby are here safely, that's all that matters..."

Nope.

It's great that you're both safe and well, but how you feel about your birth experience matters, a lot, and can have a huge impact on how you feel postnatally. The only person who gets to decide if your birth was traumatic is you.
Sometimes it isn't until you look back at your experience later that you realise it was traumatic, that's ok too.

It's so important you are able to recognise and process your trauma, take time to heal and talk about it with whoever you feel comfortable with.
If you have experienced birth trauma and would like support, the following organisations and charities are excellent sources of support and information;

Maternal Mental Health Alliance
Birth Trauma Association - UK
Make Birth Better
Mothering Minds
Mind

🤎

Let's talk induction; here's what I would tell my best friend if she was trying to avoid, delay, or manage it during lat...
29/05/2026

Let's talk induction; here's what I would tell my best friend if she was trying to avoid, delay, or manage it during late pregnancy.

My top tips for the end of pregnancy, when you're likely to be offered induction but don't want to feel tempted to accept:

✨ Book a date night with your partner for your 'due date' - dinner out, a carpet picnic, a day trip somewhere you love, anything that will give you something guaranteed to look forward to and also provide a chance for connection before baby arrives - only 3% of babies come on their 'due date'!

✨ Mute group chats, turn on Do Not Disturb, or designate your partner as the one who provides updates to relieve the pressure of well meaning (but often unwelcome) curiosity as your 'due date' approaches

✨ Better yet, don't tell anyone your actual 'due date' and instead give them a vague window of time... "Some time in September" etc

✨ "Thank you, we'd like to have some time to think about and will let you know our decision tomorrow/next week/at our next appointment" is a perfect response when induction is offered and you don't want or feel able to say a direct 'no' there and then

✨ "If we accept XYZ, what happens next/as a result?... What does that mean for my preference of using a birth pool/a midwife led unit/having a home birth?"
This is a great way to assess if what's being offered is the right choice for you - often accepting certain induction methods means you might not be able to access other things you planned to, if there's something specific you want (like pool access) then ask if what's being offered will affect your ability to access it

✨ Use the BRAINS decision making tool to make sure you have all the information you need before making the decision. Know that you can change your mind at any point, including once you've arrived at the hospital ready for induction

*These tips are based on the assumption you have a healthy, low risk pregnancy. If there are additional medical complications or circumstances which mean you are being advised induction for a medical need then please consider carefully before refusing and discuss your options fully with your care provider*

🤎 What would you add?

Every birth is different, but there are common threads that run throughout every experience. So often reassurance comes ...
16/05/2026

Every birth is different, but there are common threads that run throughout every experience.

So often reassurance comes from reminders of safety and encouragement to let go and surrender to the process. These are some phrases I find myself coming back to often, in many different types of birth.

What do you remember people saying that helped you during labour?

21/04/2026

Upcoming availability for Birth Doula support 🤰🏼💚

June - One space for early-mid EDD
July - Fully booked
August - Not available
September - One space for early-mid EDD
October - Two spaces
November - Once space for early-mid EDD

Contact me for more information and booking
🔗 Link in bio

Almost 5 years on from my first pregnancy and birth experience, these are a few of the things I would consider doing dif...
13/04/2026

Almost 5 years on from my first pregnancy and birth experience, these are a few of the things I would consider doing differently, or learn about before baby's arrival, if I had my time again.

That's not to say I regret any part of my birth and motherhood journeys, they are rich with love and the experience and knowledge I had at the time. They were the right way to do things for the version of myself that experienced them. I don't wish I'd had a different experience in any way because what I experienced is what brought me to my work now.

However, with the increased knowledge I now possess, these are some things I would have recommended for myself, or with hindsight done differently. They might be helpful for you to reflect on ahead of your own journey.

If you've already experienced pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, what would your reflections be now?

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Shaftesbury
SP7

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