Melanie is AMAAAAAZING! 

My family are hosting a Ukrainian refugee family, with a heavily pregnant mum-to-be.  I reached out on a Facebook forum to see if anyone could help with accompanying the pregnant lady (let’s call her Mum) to her midwife appointments — and Melanie stepped in immediately, offering not only to do that, pro bono, but also to support Mum throughout her pregnancy, birth, and beyond. What an incredibly kind and generous offer! 

Melanie supported Mum in so many different ways: practically, physically, mentally, and emotionally,.  Melanie helped Mum navigate the UK medical system, she appealed an unfortunate allocation of hospital, she accompanied Mum to scans and midwife and doctor’s appointments — overcoming the language barrier as Mum doesn’t speak any English. To say that Melanie went above and beyond is an understatement. 

When Mum’s waters broke early and unexpectedly at 4am, Melanie dashed across Birmingham and whisked Mum off to hospital. She stayed with Mum throughout and was the first to welcome the baby into the world, whilst Mum was under general anaesthetic. Melanie had the bitter-sweet pleasure of introducing the newborn to her dad (via video call) as he was forced by the war to remain in Ukraine. 

Melanie’s invaluable input did not end at birth. She gave so much assistance post-partum as well! While Mum was recovering from her c-section in hospital, Melanie was by her side, offering company, advice, and invaluable breastfeeding support. 

Mum is now home, with a happy, healthy, gorgeous little girl. I cannot thank Melanie enough for enabling this to happen. I did not expect, when I posted on Facebook a few months ago, to find Melanie. She was an absolute godsend.  The refugee family who have suffered so many war atrocities, have finally found a ray of hope: her name is  Melanie. 

(Sent via email)

I met Melanie at the Magic Bean Coffee Shop, a few weeks before I was due to give birth. She was very approachable and was happy to answer the very many questions I had! She was very warm and knowledgable and I came away feeling much more empowered to advocate for myself and for the birth that I wanted. Thank you!

Melanie is a wonderful person and a fantastic doula. We booked Melanie's services as a birth doula. She provided so much support during my pregnancy and also postnatally. Melanie is honest and upfront with what she can do. She was always caring and generous with her time. She never rushed me during our meetings. She is a very good listner. She heard our preferences and then helped us to plan for them. Since the birth of my first child, Melanie has been so generous with referrals to local baby and parents services and available support. At our lowest postnatal moment, my husband and I reached out to her; she listened to my breastfeeding challenges and arranged for me to get the support I needed. I am so glad to have booked Melanie's services as a doula. I highly recommend her, she is a treasure.

Since giving birth I felt a bit disconnected from my body. I am no longer pregnant but my body looks and feels different to my pre-pregnancy body.

Everything has been about my baby , all my time and attention. I no longer had time to meditate and feel present in my body. This treatment provided me the  opportunity to pause and brought my attention to my body. The massage on the stomach area felt like an affirmation that I am no longer pregnant. The mixture of deem lighting, candles,  music and clever choice of essential oils ( same as the ones used during my labour) really set the mood. Once again I talked about my birth with Melanie. I found the use of rebozo on the hips really soothing. I had no idea how much tension I had in my lower back and hips. The treatment ended in such a lovely way by reading this beautiful poem.

This treatment felt like a mindful  celebration of the end of my pregnancy,  birth and my transformed body. A welcome to motherhood. I highly recommend this treatment to all persons who have gone through pregnancy and birth, specially to new mums.

Thank you Melanie 

As soon as I found out I was expecting our third baby I also knew it was also going to our last and I wanted to honour the experience more than I previously had. After meeting Melanie I knew instantly that she would be the perfect birth partner to help support me. However what I didn’t expect is how much support Melanie would provide antenatally as well. By the time the day came for my baby to make his way into this world, Melanie’s support was already worth her weight in gold! I thoroughly enjoyed all the antenatal visits she provided, I never felt rushed and she would come and sit and chat for hours making sure I felt comfortable and informed. During my pregnancy my plans for birth changed multiple times and Melanie was always there to support me and make me feel safe. Towards the end of my pregnancy I started to receive a lot of pressure and fear mongering and Melanie was my sounding board and strength during that time when both my husband and I were confused and a bit scared. My labour was fast and intense and Melanie was right there through it guiding my husband which was so useful to him compared to feeling a bit helpless during my previous labours. After our baby was born, Melanie was so incredibly helpful and just a wonderful energy to have around. I was so happy she was there, she made the whole experience calming and positive which is just what I needed to close this chapter of birthing in my life. I can’t recommend Melanie enough!

In addition to being my wonderful birth doula, Melanie also did a motherhood ritual and massage for me a few days after my birth. She created a spa-like atmosphere in my home in which I felt relaxed and safe. The ritual and massage felt restorative both physically and emotionally and it was a wonderful way to praise and thank my body for what it had done and close a chapter on my pregnancy and birth.Write a description for this list item and include information that will interest site visitors. For example, you may want to describe a team member's experience, what makes a product special, or a unique service that you offer.

Soon after finding out we were expecting our first baby we fell in love with the idea of a calm and relaxed home birth and wanted someone we could trust to help us prepare for our little ones arrival. After initially speaking with Melanie over zoom (due to covid) we knew it was her we wanted to help us. Throughout the pregnancy she was there to offer her support, guidance and reassurance and to help put us at ease. Like many first time mums, my mind was full of horror stories of painful and traumatic births but with Melanie’s reassurance and calming presence she helped untangle these myths. She told us what to expect during each stage of labor as well as the different eventualities that could appear, detailing all the options available to us, things that hadn’t even crossed our minds. She also went through the options we had should things not go to plan, and taught us techniques to help prepare for birth such and Forward-leaning Inversion and Rebozo, leaving both my partner and I informed, more confident and quite excited! We ended up having to have a number of scans at the hospital. Each one was filled with potential ‘risks’ and ‘problems’ so we often left feeling scared and worried. Melanie was always there, checking in to see how the appointments had gone and sending us evidence based, factual articles explaining what the hospital had told us but in more detail, helping us make informed decisions. Thank you for helping make Finley's arrival into this world a wonderful experience, for making me feel strong, powerful and respected and for helping me believe in myself as well as being a great support to Dave throughout.

From the moment I met Melanie I knew I wanted her to support me at the birth of my second baby. As my doula she made sure I’d planned thoroughly for birth, supported me with preparing for midwife appointments in the run-up and was with me for birth. She also supported us in the hours and days after birth.  Her calm, reassuring presence was invaluable. She knew exactly when and how to step in to protect my homebirth dreams, helped protect the calm birth space I so badly wanted and was an enormous support to my husband throughout. I had complete trust in Melanie, and she more than met our expectations. Having a doula like Melanie is an invaluable way of preparing for an informed birth, no matter what kind of birth or where it happens, and I would recommend Melanie every time.

Thankyou so, so much for everything you did for us during the delivery. I'm not sure I could ever put into words how much you did for us. I still can't believe we managed a water birth and such little intervention. Your support the whole way through was absolutely amazing and I can't thank you enough for everything. I'll never forget that day/night my whole life. 

Melanie is an amazing Doula! Calm, caring, loving, respectful, informative, assertive and professional. She shared her skills and techniques that really helped. I felt truely safe and supported. Melanie made sure i was informed, and given time to make the right decisions. She gave up her Christmas to be at our birth, and truly made it special.

Melanie is naturally a kind, responsive and gentle character who immediately puts you at ease when you’re with her. She knows a lot about pregnancy, child birth and raising children and offers support and advice without ever being judgemental. She helps inform and 100% supports personal choice. In my first pregnancy and labour she provided lots of remote support and encouragement so that I felt in control. She also recently helped me (my second pregnancy) manage my symptoms of PGP and with a listening ear. If I lived closer to Melanie I would seriously consider hiring her as my doula, as I know she would be a fantastic support and advocate for me. I certainly wouldn’t hire anyone else!!

I recently attended a mum retreat held by the lovely Sara and Mel. They were amazing as was the whole day. I felt a lot calmer after the retreat and have so many tools to be able to deal with every day life in a more positive way. I would highly recommend both of these ladies to anyone needed support.

I attended the Mum Retreat on 21st July which was hosted by the delightful pair Sara and Mel. This was a brilliant opportunity to take time out from my busy schedule of being a mum and business owner, to reflect on how I feel, and learn new ways to manage life. 

I had never done yoga before and was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed I was after and with the combination of meditation (also something I had not tried before) I was able to relax and take onboard so much information.