Holistic Birth Support
Holistic birth support for pregnant or postpartum mums and families. Whether you’re after a birth doula, preparation workshops or postpartum support, I’ll guide you through your pregnancy journey with quiet strength, a calm mind, and the tools and techniques to equip you at every step.
Empowered Birth: Workshop
We offer inspiring and empowering childbirth education workshops to ease and enhance your experience of pregnancy, birth and parenting. We provide information to help parents feel safe and connected, so you can open your awareness to birthing options and what is best for you. We facilitate sharing and learning to bring trust in the birth process, so you can develop confidence in yourself for birth and parenting. Here, you’ll learn the skills and techniques needed to prepare both mentally and physically for a positive birth experience, whatever that may look like.
Certified through Birthworks International.
Empowered Birth: Private Session
Join me for a one-on-one private birth session, where you’ll leave feeling empowered, informed and confident about your upcoming birthing experience. Unpack beliefs and fears around the birth, and start reframing your thoughts to a more positive mindset. In this session, you’ll learn the skills and techniques needed to prepare both mentally and physically for a positive birth experience, whatever that may look like.
You’ll learn about the physiology behind birth, about what happens to your hormones during pregnancy and birth, and about how to create a positive birthing environment for you and your baby. I’ll teach you to move and connect inwards, guiding you with relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, pelvic floor awareness, dealing with discomfort, and a whole range of practical tools and skills for your birth support person to feel confident in their role.
What’s included
These are 1-hour sessions tailored to you and/or your support person.
Price
$80 for one person, $100 for two people
Birth Doula
As a trained Birth Doula certified through BirthWorks International, I’ll support you and your loved ones on this journey of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. With a holistic approach, I’ll provide emotional and physical support, bringing evidence-based practices to enhance the birth experience for you and your baby. I’ll help you build confidence before birth, unpacking any fears or anxiety you or your partner might have, working together to make your childbirth experience as calm and smooth as possible.
I’ll equip you with tools and knowledge to ease your pregnancy and birth physically. I’ll teach you comfort techniques, yoga and meditation, relaxation techniques and pelvic bodywork. I’ll also be there for you throughout the entire birthing process - before, during, and after. I’ll be available 24/7 from week 38 of your pregnancy right up until birth, and will stay with you up until 2 hours after you’ve birthed your baby. I’ll also be available after the birth to offer postpartum and breastfeeding support.
What’s included
Two 2-hour prenatal visits, either at Dome, in your home, or via Zoom.
Birth preparation information, comfort techniques, exploring birth preferences, yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques and pelvic bodywork.
Hands-on techniques for your partner to support you during pregnancy.
A complimentary 1-hour Pelvic Balancing Bodywork session, then repeating sessions at a discounted rate of $50 per hour.
Regular phone, text, and email care and support throughout your pregnancy journey up until your baby is 10 days old.
On-call 24/7 care from 38 weeks until birth. A constant presence throughout labour and birth, and up until 2 hours after the birth.
Free TENS machine hire during labour.
Free access to comfort tools in Kate’s Doula bag, eg: Rebozo, birth comb, weapon balls, essential oils and more.
A 2-hour home visit a week after the birth to offer breastfeeding and postpartum support.
Free access to my pregnancy, birth and postpartum library, including a pregnancy yoga video and relaxation audio on request.
Price
$1600, paid in Three instalments by 37 weeks.. This includes travel within 85kms.
Pelvic Balancing Bodywork
Our pelvic bodywork sessions are designed to gently release tightness in the pelvis, relieving discomfort during pregnancy and creating more space for your baby to find comfort. These sessions include very gentle, hands-on work, creating freedom of natural movement in soft tissue connections. This helps achieve balance in your body, enabling your baby to find the most efficient and unhindered way through the pelvis.
Our couples sessions allow you to come together and connect with one other and with your baby, learning hands-on techniques to support you during pregnancy, labour, and birth. Support partners will gain confidence using their hands on their partner so she feels safe and fully supported.
As a certified Spinning Babies® Aware Practitioner, I am trained in a bodywork curriculum designed to allow comfort in pregnancy and labour, and spontaneous change to a more optimal fetal position for your baby. This can also involve supporting the turning of a breech baby using Spinning Babies techniques and pelvic balancing bodywork.
Please note, results are individual. Make sure to plan a course of care with your provider or practitioner that’s right for you.
What’s included
This is a 1-hour session involving very gentle, hands-on work to achieve balance throughout your body for you and your baby.
Price
$125 first visit, one person. 90 minutes.
$150 first visit, two people. 90 minutes.
$80 following visits. 1 hour.
Closing the Bones (postpartum)
Many indigenous cultures teach that as communities, we have the responsibility to care for new mothers. Vulnerability is an essential part of the transformation to motherhood, and can help bring your recovery full circle, whether 3 days or 30 years postpartum.
This Closing the Bones ceremony is a calming, grounding experience that acknowledges the huge changes women undergo in pregnancy and childbirth. Physically, it guides your bones back into place, helps your pelvic organs shift and your uterus shrink back down while stimulating blood flow throughout your body. It allows you, as a woman, to rest.
First, a rebozo (shawl) is used to rock different parts of the body, creating a soothing effect and honouring the work your body has gone through to bring new life into the world. Then, the woman’s body is tightly wrapped using six rebozos between the hips and head. The woman is then left to rest as we hold this sacred space for her.
I was initially taught this practice by birth doula Virginia Maddock, and more recently learned Rebozo techniques by Mexican midwife Naoli Vinaver.
What’s included
Allow 90 minutes for this session.
Price
$140 per session.
TENS Machine Hire
Specially designed for mums-to-be, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) machines provide a safe and effective form of natural pain relief before, during and after birth. Labour TENS machines are highly effective and portable, allowing you to remain mobile and in control throughout your labour and beyond.
TENS machines use a mild electrical current to relieve pain. Users attach Electrode pads to the affected body part and then switch on the TENS Machine. The TENS Machine passes tiny electrical impulses to the affected area, which reduces the pain signals to the brain, relaxes the muscles and relieves pain. They also stimulate the production of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. Users may feel a tingling sensation similar to pins and needles.
If you're interested in trying TENS, speak to your midwife or get in touch for more info. Collection options include free pick-up from Dome in Hāwea Flat, $5 delivery throughout the Wānaka region, or courier options are available.
What’s included
Elle TENS machine - large display, preset modes & integrated boost button
4 x large electrode pads
2 x leads
Easy-release neck cord & soft carrying pouch
2 x AA Batteries, plus two spare
Price
$70* for 6 weeks, then $15 per week pending availability.
*All hires require a $50 bond, refundable upon return. Please note, late returns will not be eligible for a bond refund. If the TENS machine is lost or damaged, full replacement costs are required.
Get tailored birth support.
I’d love to support you through your pregnancy, birth, and early days of parenting. Get in touch for more information, or book a class now.
What people are saying
“Kate made us feel empowered and listened to. She was always a phone call away, and had so much useful knowledge to help both me and my partner prepare and feel confident for the big day. And not only is Kate a wonderful doula, she’s also an amazing yoga teacher! She helped keep my body pain-free throughout my pregnancy.
The day I went into labour, Kate dropped everything the second we called and stayed throughout the entire birth. I wouldn’t have made it without her essential oils, massages, rebozo and encouragement. We are so happy and so grateful to have had Kate support us through the pregnancy and birth of our beautiful baby girl!”
— Enora & Ed Andrieu
“During labour and birth, your body undergoes a huge amount of work. Closing the Bones was the perfect, necessary way of thanking my body. After birth, so much energy is put into caring for your baby that sometimes we forget to care about ourselves. This felt like a giant hug. I felt safe, heard and supported. Once the wraps came off, I was able to let go of my labour and birth and look forward to being a mum. My mind was clear, and I felt rejuvenated through and through.”
— Katrina
“Kate was so intuitive throughout my birth. She knew exactly what I needed without me needing to ask. She has such a warm, kind and nurturing presence, and her strength, experience and trust in our amazing bodies showed us very quickly that she was the right fit. Though my partner initially didn’t know what a birth doula was, he’d now recommend Kate to everyone welcoming their baby earthside.
I also went along to Kate’s pregnancy yoga course for the 8 weeks leading up to my birth. The wisdom she provided and the different relaxation techniques shared were so beneficial - Kate really helps you remember and trust the beauty of giving birth.”
— Renee
"Kate went above and beyond my expectations, and was in every way the perfect addition to our experience. This was my first child, so I hadn’t been part of a birthing journey before. Having Kate there provided exceptional support and was a great way to add confidence to the home birth environment from the partner’s perspective. I couldn't recommend Kate more - she so naturally formed a bond with us, and that was incredibly special.”
— Matt
"Working with Kate was incredibly empowering. As our birth doula, Kate gave us confidence and assurance throughout the entire process. She was very supportive of my plans for a home birth, helping us write our birth plan and educating my partner on ways to support me through labour. When my midwife was unable to attend the birth, Kate was there to advocate for my birth plan while giving me the emotional support of someone who knew me, my body and my emotions.
I also did pregnancy yoga with Kate, where she taught me how to use yoga for optimal birth positioning. This made for an easier delivery and helped me stay in a calm and meditative state during the birth. Overall, Kate’s passion, knowledge and experience is unmatched. I would highly recommend her as a doula.”
— Enger Pelosi-Fear
"We could not have hoped for a more passionate, knowledgeable, kind, and wonderful woman to support us through our second pregnancy. Right from the word go to more than 6 weeks postpartum, Kate went the extra mile in every way. I also really enjoyed the Pregnancy Yoga, it was super gentle and suited to all stages of pregnancy.
During labour, Kate read the room and was always there to squeeze my hips or apply back pressure before I even asked. She was very supportive of Joel, giving him the extra confidence needed to welcome our baby. Kate truly helped me achieve a calmer birth with a good head space - the entire time, I felt very at peace and empowered knowing my body was capable. Kate was a truly incredible birth partner, we’re all so grateful to have had her there.