Handle with Care Birth Support

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Melanie Maycock

I am a mother of two gorgeous children. After having my children I trained with the wonderful Rhea Dempsey of Birthing Wisdom with the encouragement of my own doula Charmaine Dennis (of Fertile Ground Health Group). I also trained as a Birth Educator with the Royal Womens Hospital in Melbourne.

I absolutely love working with pregnant women, supoorting them to make informed choices to enable them to have the best birth possible. I have experienced first hand the benefits of having a doula in both a hospital and home birth situation with my two children and can only hope that I can be as supportive and valued by my own clients.

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Role of a birth attendant/Doula

As a birth attendant/doula I support women throughout their pregnancy, labour and birth. My role is to be a compassionate and knowledgeable labour companion who will support your birth choices whether they may be in a Hospital, Birth Centre or Home setting.

In my role as a birth attendant/doula my support is three fold. I will provide emotional and physical support as well as supporting you through any decisions you may need to make with your health care provider. At times of decision-making I can provide reassurance and perspective to you and your partner. To support you physically I can make suggestions for labour progress and help with relaxation, massage, positioning and other techniques for comfort.

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Birth Attendant/Doula Service Fees

Initial Meeting (30min) $50

Our initial meeting is an opportunity for us to decide whether we are the right fit for one another. This is a very personal service and we need to make sure that we feel comfortable with each other right from the start. We will talk about what you are hoping for in your birth experience and how you envisage me supporting you in this. This meeting does not obligate you to engage my services, however if you do engage my services this initial fee of $50 is deducted from the total package fee.


Birth Package - $1450
($200 booking fee, $600 by week 30 and $600 by week 36

This package includes:

• at least two antenatal meetings with you and your partner of around 2 hours, usually at your place where we can take time to get to know one another; talk through your concerns about birth and how we can best work together; and look at preparing your birth plan


• access to credible resources during the pregnancy


• telephone and email support during pregnancy


• a 14 day, 24 hours a day on call period before your due date and until you have your baby


• attending the birth of your child, where I provide emotional and physical support before, during and after the birth.


• access to my homeopathic birth kit during labour


• initial post-birth support – where I remain with you after the birth of your child until you are all well settled in - around 1 or 2 hours


• post-birth visit at your home when you’re ready – usually a week or two after your baby arrives. A session of around two hours to talk through your birth experience.


• email/telephone support for the first month after the birth

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Testimonials

How do I begin to thank you for all that you have done.
The birth of Harvey was everything I had ever dreamed of and I owe a huge part of that to you.
Your support, knowledge and friendship have been amazing.
You support, calmness and coaching during my labour and birth enabled me to have the
most amazing experience and help me overcome so many fears and self doubt.
You are a natural!

October 2011

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I can't express enough how having your support made all the difference in my experience.
Your guidance was always perfectly timed, calmly provided and invaluable!
You helped me to see that I had the strength to achieve the birth that my husband and I had hoped to have for our baby Lucinda and we couldn't have done it without you!

April 2012

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Melanie was a calming and loving presence at the birth of our baby girl Pearl. We loved working with her from the planning stages right through to the big B- day. In the months before the birth Mel helped Nick and I vocalise just what we wanted the birth to be like, discuss various ‘what if’ scenarios and gave us loads of tips for labour. When our baby was breech around week 34, she was so fantastic with suggestions for how we could encourage her to turn – and it worked. As our due date approached we felt prepared, and that Mel’s support would help us to be our best in labour.
Ours was a long hospital labour and Mel worked with us through the night. She gave us the confidence to make informed decisions during labour. She helped Nick to be the best support person ever and encouraged me to push through some final difficult stages. We managed the pain naturally and delivered vaginally, which is just what the three of us had been working towards. For us, natural childbirth was all the more possible with a birth attendant like Melanie.

May 2012