Effie – “When I found out I was pregnant, my biggest fear was having to go into hospital to give birth. Hospitals gave me fierce anxiety as my pastexperiences of them had always been negative. I wasn’tconvinced that hospital was my only option, so I took to Dr Google and discovered thebirth place for my baby – OUR HOME.
The Taurus in me reared its head and Iwas determined to make my homebirth happen. I wanted my child to be delivered gently and peacefully into this world. Throughout my days of research, I kept coming across this one particular word which sounded familiar to me because of my Greek heritage, but I had never heard it being used in every day language. Doula, doula, doula… I wanted to know what this doula was. I discovered thats a doula was exactly what we needed to fulfill our dream of a successful homebirth.
Upon meeting Erika, both my husband and I felt instantly at ease with her. She was experienced and knowledgeable and made us feel so comfortable as first time parents with fears and anxieties about the year that lay ahead of us. Erika met with us several times during our pregnancy and shared her knowledge and experiences with us in support of our concerns and fears about parenting, especially parenting! There was also discussion about choosing an independent midwife to be my primary care provider. She was able to remind us to enjoy the pregnancy and gave us a heap of positive reinforcement about having the natural homebirth that we were planning.
Alongside the midwives, having Erika’s skills and calm presence was one of the most important parts of our planned homebirth. She helped my husband and mum (who were a bit scared of the drug free at home birth) feel at ease and important as they witnessed the power of birth.
The day of my beautiful homebirth will be etched in my mind as THE most amazing day of my life. Erika was there with me always with exactly the right words to say to keep me sane and positive. The birth of Arianna went exactly as planned and I now look at my daughter and think of the precious gift that Erika was a part of”.
Erika – “Thank you Effie for your beautiful testimonial. It was a wonderful experience to be a part of your family during your pregnancy and birth. Especially during the labour…You were powerful and worked with all that you felt. You were amazed at yourself and so happy too.”
