We engaged Samantha as our birth doula at 38 weeks pregnant. She has an intuitive sense of just what you need at just the right time. Very caring, containing and skillfull. Her sound bowls were also incredible. She was careful to always be on the same page as me and gave very personalised support, listening to our first birth story and familiarising herself with our home water birth plans for our upcoming birth. She was also very good with our older child and our dogs whenever she visited. She was at the other end of the phone daily, reassuring and helping me stay grounded when I was in prodromal labour for 1.5 weeks. Her support during the birth itself was invaluable - she arrived within half an hour, very reassuring and encouraging, knew just how to massage me to help with pain relief, helped to liaise on the phone with labour line on our behalf, helped with the birth pool and helped me stay hydrated, gave me the positive words of encouragement I needed, held my hand throughout the second stage which was just what I needed. She also took photos of our birth so we can cherish the memories. The post birth debrief has also been very helpful. I would definitely recommend Samantha as your birth doula!