Birth support
from$1,250
- Help writing your birth preferences
- Continuous support through labour and birth
- One home visit in the first week
- Phone and message support during pregnancy
Calm company for pregnancy, birth and the weeks after
Gentle Arrival offers doula support for you and your birth partner: steady emotional care, practical comfort and clear information, so the choices stay yours. Your midwife or doctor looks after the medical side, and we stay beside you through all of it.
3 visitsbefore the birth
On callfrom 38 weeks
2 doulaswho both know you
- Pregnancy and birth
- Birth partners included
- Home, birth centre or hospital
- The first weeks at home
What a doula does, and what we leave to your midwife
A doula is a trained birth companion. We get to know you before the birth, help you think through your preferences, and stay with you through labour, so there is always a familiar face in the room. Partners are supported too, which lets them focus on you instead of wondering what to do next.
A doula is not a midwife or a doctor. We do not carry out examinations, monitor the baby, give medicines or make clinical decisions. If anything worries you, we encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor straight away, and we can help you put your questions into words.
- Emotional support and reassurance
- Comfort ideas such as massage, movement and breathing
- Clear information, so you can ask good questions
- Support for your partner as well as for you
Packages, shaped at a first meeting
These are starting points. At the first meeting we talk through what you would like and agree a package in writing, with the visits, the on call dates and the fee set out clearly.
Birth and early weeks
from$1,900
- Everything in Birth support
- Four postnatal visits of two hours each
- Encouragement with feeding, plus contacts for feeding specialists
- Time for you to rest, shower or simply talk
Postnatal hours
from$420
- Daytime visits of three or four hours
- Light meals, laundry and confidence with baby care
- Time with older siblings while you rest
- A listening ear about how the birth went
The first meeting costs nothing. A deposit of 25 percent holds your due month once a package is agreed, and the balance is due at 37 weeks. Travel beyond an hour's drive is added at cost and written into the agreement.
How we work together
Five stages, with the same two doulas from the first hello to the last postnatal visit.
First meeting
An hour at your home or by video to talk about your hopes, your worries and what support would help.
Agree a package
We write down the visits, the on call dates and the fee, so nothing is left unclear.
Prepare together
Visits before the birth cover your preferences, comfort ideas to practise and what your partner can do.
On call and labour
From 38 weeks one of us is ready to come when you call, and stays until after your baby is born.
The weeks after
Home visits to talk through the birth, help with the practical side and ask how you are feeling.
Comfort ideas we practise before labour
None of these are rules. We try them together during pregnancy, so you and your partner know what feels good when the time comes.
- Slow breathing
- Upright positions
- Rocking and swaying
- Pressure on the lower back
- Hand and foot massage
- Warm packs
- A birth ball
- Low light and music
- Words that help
- Rest between waves
- Cool cloths
- Sips of water
Which of these suit you depends on your labour and on what your midwife advises on the day. A doula offers ideas and encouragement, never medical treatment.
The first weeks at home
Bringing a baby home can feel enormous, whether it is your first or your fourth. Postnatal visits give you a few hours of calm: someone to hold the baby while you shower, fold the laundry, make a simple lunch, or listen while you talk about the birth.
We do not replace your midwife, health visitor or doctor. If something about your health or your baby's health worries you, contact them, or your local emergency number if it is urgent, and we can sit with you while you make the call.
- Visits of three or four hours, by day
- Practical help around the house
- Encouragement with feeding, and contacts for specialists
- Time to talk about how you are feeling
Small moments we are part of
Visits at home, quiet hours in labour and the slow first days with a new baby.
Families we have supported (example reviews)
Shared with permission by families after their babies arrived.
From the first meeting we felt listened to. Through a long labour there was always someone calm in the room, and she worked easily alongside the midwives.
Plans changed and our son arrived by caesarean. Our doula stayed with my husband, explained each step in plain words and visited twice that week.
The postnatal hours were worth every cent. Hot lunches, folded laundry and someone to talk to while the twins slept.
Questions from parents to be
Is a doula the same as a midwife?
No. A midwife is a registered health professional who provides clinical care in pregnancy, labour and after the birth. A doula offers emotional and practical support and does not give medical care. The two roles work side by side.
Can a doula come to a hospital birth?
Most hospitals and birth centres welcome a doula alongside your birth partner, although rules on how many people may be present vary. We check the policy of the place you have chosen well before your due date.
Are doulas trained and registered?
Our doulas have completed recognised doula training, hold first aid certificates and carry professional insurance. Doula training and registration are handled differently from one country to another, and in many places doulas are not regulated at all, so ask any doula about training, insurance and references.
What if you are at another birth when labour starts?
We take a limited number of families each month, and every family meets both doulas. If one of us is already at a birth, the other comes to you.
What happens if plans change on the day?
Births do not always go to plan. If you are induced, need a caesarean or move to hospital from home, we stay with you as far as the hospital allows and help you and your partner follow each step.
What if the baby comes before you are on call?
Call us anyway and we come if we can. If we are not able to attend the birth, we refund the labour support part of the fee and still make the postnatal visits.
Tell us when your baby is due
Share a few details, and within two working days we get back to you to set up a first meeting at your home or by video.
This form is for enquiries only. If you are worried about your health or your baby's, contact your midwife or doctor. When it is an emergency, your local emergency number comes first.
- First meeting at no charge
- Packages agreed in writing
- Fees paid directly to us
Get in touch
Enquiries are answered on weekdays and Saturday mornings. Families on call with us receive a separate number for labour at the first meeting.
Contact
Home visits in the city and the surrounding towns, with births attended at hospitals, birth centres and homes within about an hour's drive
When we answer
| Monday to Friday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 to 12:00 |
| On call from 38 weeks | Day and night |
Worried about your health or your baby?
We are not medical professionals. Contact your midwife, doctor or maternity unit with any concern, and call your local emergency number in an emergency.