Hi, I’m Georgia
I am a birth and postpartum doula servicing the Hawkesbury, Hills District, Western Sydney and surrounds.
I became a doula because, more than anything, I want women and their families to experience pregnancy, birth and postpartum in the most positive, joyful, empowered and connected way possible.
Birth is a transformative rite of passage, and my role is to be a supportive guide for women and their families so that they can experience their dream birth and carry that through to the next phase of their lives.
I am also a co-host of the Australian VBAC Stories podcast, where we share and celebrate the stories of women who planned a vaginal birth after caesarean.
My journey to motherhood and becoming a doula
I am a mother of two beautiful daughters, Luna and Remi.
I became pregnant with my first baby the month after my husband and I were married. I booked in to the local public hospital without a second thought, and planned to just ‘go with the flow’, assuming I would have a normal, uncomplicated birth. I had a completely normal pregnancy, was otherwise healthy, and was incredibly excited to become a mother - something I had dreamed of for years.
I was induced for post-dates, and unfortunately, experienced the typical cascade of interventions that led to an unplanned caesarean due to ‘failure to progress’. The caesarean itself and physical recovery were fairly straight forward, but the separation from my baby, Luna, the subsequent four days in hospital and the emotional recovery were horribly difficult.
I had an incredibly difficult early postpartum, marred with breastfeeding challenges and feeling incredibly alone and isolated. I had so much grief from the birth and those early days, and sadly believed that my body couldn’t work the way it was supposed to. I held on to this belief for a long time.
I planned a repeat caesarean in my subsequent pregnancy due to a lack of knowledge of my options. Everyone I knew of that had had a caesarean went on to have repeat caesareans. I had heard of VBAC, but with self-doubt weighing on me, I opted for what many mistakenly call “the easy way out”. I only knew of ‘going public’ or hiring a private obstetrician, and had never been made aware of MGP or caseload midwifery care. I definitely had never heard of a private midwife or a doula. I did know that, in an ideal world, I would have loved more support after my baby was born, but I didn’t think I had any options.
I was completely unaware that my unwanted caesarean had been the result of the system failing me, as opposed to my body ‘not knowing how to birth’. That “failure-to-progress” moniker really does weigh on you. However, after being told I would not be allowed skin-to-skin in theatre or recovery, I started researching the alternative to another caesarean, and so the journey to my VBAC began when I was 24 weeks pregnant.
After hours and hours of listening to podcasts, reading books and articles and doing my own internal work, I now had complete trust in my body and my baby. I booked a private midwife, Ashlee from The Birthing Tree Midwifery, and gave birth to my second daughter, Remi, at home after a 36-hour labour that was beautiful, empowering and like nothing I could have ever imagined.
It was at that moment, and in the days, weeks and months afterward, that my mind and heart were opened to the sacredness of birth and the incredible power of women. I couldn’t ignore the call to help support other women to feel as empowered as I did during my HBAC (homebirth after caesarean), and am honoured to walk with them as they experience their transformation to motherhood.
Photo by Natural Focus Photography
Podcast Interviews
The Motherwhelm
The Motherwhelm is an interview-style podcast for women to safely share the challenges and triumphs of motherhood, shed light on taboos and celebrate everyday victories.
Definitely Baby with Chelsea McCrae
A podcast sharing diverse stories of parents' transitions into parenthood, exploring the profound shifts in identity and relationships that come with it.
Australian VBAC Stories
A podcast sharing stories of those who have embarked on a journey to VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean).