You're expecting a baby, or your baby has just arrived, in a country that isn't the one you grew up in. Your French is fine right up until someone says déclenchement, or hands you a form about your projet de naissance, or tells you to book your rééducation périnéale and you have no idea what that is. Your mother is in another country. Your friends are having babies on a different continent, and you're watching it on a phone. Everyone tells you the French system is excellent, which is true, and doesn't help at all with the fact that you don't know how it works or who to ask.
That's most of the people I work with. You're not being difficult, and you're not underprepared. You're doing something hard in a second language.
For anyone having a baby in and around Montpellier who'd like someone in their corner.
In English or French.
The Evidence
What the research says about doula support
The benefits of doula support are backed by robust international research, including the gold-standard Cochrane systematic review of 27 randomised controlled trials involving nearly 16,000 women.
References:
Bohren, M.A., Hofmeyr, G.J., Sakala, C., Fukuzawa, R.K. and Cuthbert, A. (2017) 'Continuous support for women during childbirth', Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 7, Art. No.: CD003766. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub6
Who I am
I'm Alex. I'm a doula in Montpellier and I work in English and French.
I was a nurse for over ten years before this: A&E, intensive care, a homelessness service in London. I have two children. My first was born in London, my second here.
I came to this work because of my own first birth, and because of a doula who paid attention to me when everyone else was occupied with something else.
WHAT I OFFER
Support at every stage
Pregnancy support
Sessions at your home to talk about what you're going through, what you want from this birth, and what's worrying you, including thinking through your birth plan.
Postpartum support
Appointments at your home. Time to sleep, eat or shower while I hold the baby. I'll also do the washing-up.
Breastfeeding support
Positioning, confidence, and the questions that come at 3am. If it needs clinical input, I'll point you to an IBCLC.
Fertility support
Emotional support through fertility treatment or the stage before you know what comes next. I'll come to clinic appointments if that helps.
Pregnancy loss
Support after miscarriage, stillbirth, TFMR or termination. No package, no minimum, and no need to explain anything.
Workshops
Six sessions with a small group in Montpellier, in English and French. Cooking, first aid, and the year after the birth.
WORKSHOPS
Six evenings that become a village
Six sessions over eight weeks, in my living room, with seven or eight people who are all somewhere in the same three months of their lives.
We cook for the postpartum weeks. We learn infant first aid from a certified trainer. We talk honestly about what the months after birth are actually like. And somewhere in the middle of that, you stop being eight strangers.
There's a WhatsApp group for each cycle. It's yours to keep, most of them are still going long after I've stopped being in it.
In English and French. €180 for all six. Eight places.
What is a doula?
A doula is a non-medical companion who supports you through pregnancy, birth and the weeks after it. Emotional support, practical help, and clear information when you need it.
I'm not a midwife and I don't do any part of a midwife's job. I don't examine you, I don't monitor your baby, and I don't give medical advice. I work alongside your medical team, never instead of them. I don't speak for you, I don't make decisions on your behalf, and I don't try to steer you towards any particular choice.
What I do is stay. Through the appointments, the long afternoons at 38 weeks, the first weeks and months at home. If you're navigating all of this in a language that isn't your first, I do it in English or French, whichever you'd rather.
Book a free call
Thirty minutes, by phone or video, no commitment. We talk about where you are and what you'd need — and if I'm not the right person, I'll tell you who is.
Pick a time that suits you below. Evenings and weekends are usually possible if nothing here works.
Have questions? Let’s chat
Write to me for any reason. I reply within 24 hours.
If you'd rather talk, the discovery call is thirty minutes, free and with no commitment. We look at where you are. If I'm not the right person, I'll tell you who is.
