Introducing some of the newest members of our Ideal Birth family ...
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We had a great birth experience thanks to Cheryl's expert coaching! As new parents-to-be we weren't sure what to expect, but Cheryl talked us through several different scenarios and this put our mind at ease. On the day her support resulted in a intervention-free and timely birth of our first little one. Highly recommended.
Cheryl was an integral part of our birth team for the birth of our son. We had known from early on in the pregnancy we wanted a doula for additional support for both myself and my husband. After meeting Cheryl we knew she was the perfect doula for us (and for everyone!). Every aspect of her service was fantastic - from the birth preparation education, advice on additional resources, the support and reassurance towards the end of the pregnancy, the birth itself and the postnatal check ins, not to mention the incredible lasagnes she brought us! I can't imagine having gone through it all without her, I felt truly supported to have a normal physiological birth. It was reassuring for both of us to have Cheryl to draw on both in birth prep and in labour for each progression, it empowered me to have the confidence in myself to give birth to our son without any pain relief and minimal interventions. For anyone seeking a supportive and experienced doula I would say Cheryl is really the only choice!
Thank you for everything Cheryl :)
Cheryl was so amazing for us during the birth of our second child. We couldn't recommend her highly enough!
I had a difficult birth with our first child and so I wanted the second time around to be different. After meeting Cheryl, we knew she was the one to help us have the birth we wanted. We were so grateful for her advice and support before and during the birth. She enabled us to truly have an ideal birth and enjoy the miracle of bringing our baby into the world.
My wife and I had such a great birthing experience with the help of Cheryl, that I felt obliged to share my
experience - and written by a father, for fathers-to-be.
Hiring Cheryl was the best decision we made with our pregnancy, as through her recommendations we had a
great experience, got some great care and people on our team. We also massively reduced our confusion,
anxiousness, and ‘fear’ around the pregnancy and birth - this peace of mind is just priceless.
Why we chose to use a Doula
My wife and I had always wanted a birth that was as ‘natural’ as possible - in our words, that was with as little
medical intervention (especially pain relief / drugs) as possible.
This is because we read and agreed that having these chemicals in my wife’s, and therefore the baby’s
bloodstream, doesn’t do them any benefit during their welcome into the world.
We knew this wouldn’t be easy to achieve given the physical requirements from my wife, and also the
preference and trends of births for more medical intervention and to unnecessarily control the timing of
everything through induction or surgery.
Reviewing our journey with Cheryl over the past 9 months, we’d have to say there was a number of things we
found of value to us:
Sounding Board
During the pregnancy, my wife and I both had access to questions if they popped up for Cheryl - related to the
pregnancy, or the birth.
This was great, as often we would receive or read conflicting advice on certain topics, and it was great asking
Cheryl, given her breadth of experience with births and pregnant mothers, along with keeping up to date with
research on what’s best for babies and mums.
It gave my wife great peace of mind having that non-emotionally involved sounding board to bounce those
questions off. This in turn gave me peace of mind, by knowing she was supported and not confused given such
conflicting, and often unrequested advice.
Planning the Birth
Cheryl met with us a number of times to discuss different birthing options, and also provide evidence and
research based recommendations and suggestions for what we needed to plan out.
She had some great templates for birth plans, and walked us through what to expect during labour, and the
birth.
We were determined to have a different experience with our second baby but didn’t quite know how to navigate the hospital system to get an intervention free birth. Cheryl showed us how and with her support and expertise we literally had the dream birth I had only imagined could happen. We couldn’t be happier and certainly have Cheryl to thank.
If you’re reading this and wanting to know if Cheryl is the right doula for you, then the answer is 100% yes!
My last pregnancy resulted in me having a rare complication and quite a traumatic birth experience. I ended up suffering both Antenatal anxiety and Post Natal Depression. My journey was not easy.
When I fell pregnant with my second child, I was DREADING the pregnancy journey - even though I felt blessed.
My pregnancy once again wasn’t an easy one. I suffered ongoing sickness, severe reflux and once again, I faced another rare complication that landed me in hospital. This time, it was different as I had Cheryl by my side encouraging me, believing in me and supporting me.
I truly can say, I wouldn’t have been able to survive this pregnancy without Cheryl’s calming ways. For somebody who has generalised anxiety disorder - I needed a strong support network and someone who could help me at my most vulnerable time.
Cheryl did all of that and beyond. When it came to birth - it was so reassuring to have her by my side keeping me calm and focused. Anybody who suffers anxiety will know the shear panic and the “what ifs” that are constantly circling in your mind , especially when you’re at your most vulnerable . To have her present, supporting me and reassuring me is something I will truly cherish for a lifetime. I brought my beautiful son into this world surrounded by people who believed in me and made me believe in myself.
I’ll truly be forever grateful for the help and support throughout my pregnancy and postnatal period and will cherish it for a lifetime.
“ Having professional support was our best birth decision. We had control over this aspect no matter what happened. ”
New Father
Give yourself the best chance of a positive birth in a hospital setting. A new book by one of Australias leading doulas, Cheryl Sheriff.
Sharing wisdom from her 30 years experience as a midwife and doula, and her presence at over 1000 hospital births.
After reading this book you will have more direction, and feel confident, excited and less daunted by the experiences to come.
